LEEDing the way

The concept of green building in the Middle East is nothing new and the emerging notion has already attracted some of the biggest developers in the region. So what and when will we see region-specific building and planning codes around sustainability? In an exclusive interview, Emirates Green Building Council Chairman Jeff Willis explains.

The Middle East has not traditionally been known for its focus on energy efficiency or sustainable buildings. However, that attitude is changing. Indeed, a not-for-profit organization, the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) was formed in 2006 with the goal of advancing green building principles for protecting the environment and ensuring sustainability in the United Arab Emirates. And back in 2007, Dubai ruler and UAE Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, passed a decree to implement green building in line with the region's strategic plan. He is reported as saying: "All new buildings to be constructed in Dubai emirate will have to comply with green building standards from January next year. Owners of residential, commercial and other buildings will have to implement the decision according to the highest international standards that are suitable for Dubai, to maintain a healthy city that follows the global benchmarks in sustainable development and clean environment."

Chairman of EmiratesGBC, Jeff Willis, explains that this means a developer needs to demonstrate that they have achieved a result that would comply with the highest national green building standard - exactly which one is not specified. It could mean that compliance is demonstrated through the lowest level of certification as measured by LEED or BREEAM or Green Star. Furthermore it does not explicitly state that the certification is essential. So has Sheikh Mohammed gone far enough? Well, according to Willis reactions have been varied. And despite projects like Dubai World achieving a number of LEED credits as part of the new compliance process, Dubai Municipality has been in the process of writing new building regulations, which are promised to address this, although these have not yet officially been issued.

Confusion

While LEED is currently being facilitated in the Middle East there is no doubt that there is a need for region-specific building and planning codes around sustainability. While LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using sustainable techniques and materials, it was developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Despite the fact that the certification system is internationally recognised confusion has arisen because of the different systems available. "We believe that a region specific set of building regulations and a sustainability assessment method would be beneficial because there is currently confusion over which system to use generated by the differences between local authority codes from area to area," says Willis.

BREEM or BRE environmental Assessment Method is another assessment method for buildings, and reportedly the most-widely used internationally. It is said to set the standard for best practice in sustainable design, addressing wide-ranging environmental and sustainability issues enabling developers and designers to prove the environmental credentials of their buildings. While specific versions are available for the UK, the Gulf and Europe, it is yet another set of guidelines that could potentially confuse both designers and producers of sustainable builders.

Willis explains that despite the confusion over which codes to use he has seen a considerable increase in interest from all developers, from one off smaller developments to the mega projects. This has led to a number of improvements both in energy efficiency and water consumption in the design of new buildings. In fact, a number of developments have incorporated more sustainable philosophies in the master plans, although as yet it is too early to see how those get through the process to implementation. There are many benefits including a more integrated and improved design, less energy and water consumption, reduction of waste.

"Local authorities, such as the UPC in Abu Dhabi are leading the way with new requirements for building permit applications, which enforce and integrate sustainable design attitudes," explains Willis. "A new assessment system named Estidama is being developed buy the UPC, which will raise the bar considerably in that emirate." Indeed, although Estidama, meaning sustainability in Arabic, is an aspiration as opposed to an actual rating system the desire is to achieve a sustainable way of living in the Arab world incorporating multiple facets of daily life.

Looking forward

On the 1 September 2009, EmiratesGBC announced its revised vision and mission at the annual general meeting. They were refreshed to reflect the progress made by the UAE since the council's establishment in 2006, and to inspire performance for the next five years. In regards to the revised statements, Willis says that he felt the focused intent provided a clear mandate and direction for activities across the UAE. "As the new vision and mission were collaboratively developed by our members and endorsed by our Board of Directors we know that they accurately represent our industry's position. The council has aligned its business plans to deliver on these ambitious goals and take the lead on continually improving the performance of the UAE's built environment."

Daniel Hajjar, Vice Chairman adds, "The EBGC's mission is succinctly explained so that all our members and stakeholders can engage with us in mainstreaming green building practices. As an industry forum we will be arranging regular events and gatherings across the UAE for professionals to meet and discuss how we can integrate sustainability into the entire building supply chain."

While the council is currently finalising its programme for the coming six months, including a Ramadan Sohur, evening seminars and training workshops covering the full range of green and sustainable building issues, it seems the EmiratesGBC is here to stay and will be leading the UAE in terms of green and sustainable building practices.

The results are in...

Global Green Building Trends, SmartMarket's report on market growth and perspectives from around the world, is in and major findings include:

• By 2013, 53 percent of responding firms expect to be largely dedicated to green building (on over 60 percent of projects), up from 30 percent today.
• The fastest growing regional green building market is Asia, where the population of firms largely dedicated to green building is expected to jump from 36 percent today to 73 percent in 2013.
• 86 percent of firms expect rapid or steady growth in sales and profit levels associated with green building.
• Solar power is the most common form of renewable energy in every region, used by over half (52 percent) of industry professionals today and expected to grow to 76 percent in the next five years. The most dramatic growth is expected in wind power use (57 percent expected in 2013, up from 20 percent today), followed closely by geothermal power (expected to double from 22 percent today to 45 percent in 2013).
• "The right thing to do" is the top business reason driving green building around the world. "Supporting the domestic economy" is prominent in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East/North Africa, while "environmental regulations" are driving market activity in Asia and Europe.

EmiratesGBC Vision

Announcing it's revised vision and mission at the 2009 Annual General Meeting in September the new statements are:

Vision statement:

EGBC will actively support the UAE to be one of the five global leaders in the reduction of the built environment's ecological footprint by 2015.

Mission statement:

The EGBC is an independent non-profit forum that helps shape policies for the built environment and facilitates collaborative solution to promote sustainable practices in the UAE.