Green Building Awards Wins the Support of Leading Business Entities

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16 Apr 2018

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, has announced Majid Al Futtaim and Jotun, both EmiratesGBC members, as sponsorship partners of the 2018 MENA Green Building Awards.

Majid Al Futtaim is the Platinum Sponsor and Jotun is the Gold Sponsor of the event to be held on May 9, 2018, at Roda Al Murooj hotel in Dubai, and for the second consecutive year the ceremony will be carbon-neutral. Sponsorship opportunities remain available for entities focused on promoting the message of sustainable development and to partner on this first of its kind regional awards in the Middle East and North Africa region.

2017 MENA Green Building Awards winner

Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: “The MENA Green Building Awards underline our commitment to highlighting best practices and inspiring more industry stakeholders from across the region to focus on green building practices. The success of the event will further drive the generation of innovative initiatives that contribute to the green vision steered by regional governments. We thank Majid Al Futtaim and Jotun for their sponsorship support, which highlight their commitment to promoting sustainable living environments.”

Ibrahim Al Zu’bi, Head of Sustainability at Majid Al Futtaim – Holding, said: “Sustainability sits at the heart of everything we do at Majid Al Futtaim. We continue to rethink the use of our resources by setting energy, water and waste targets for our businesses, working with several entities, including EmiratesGBC, to further promote international environmental standards in the way buildings are designed and operated. The MENA Green Building Awards provide an ideal stage to promote and encourage others in the industry to support and implement sustainable initiatives, and we are honoured to be partners and playing a role in driving this critical agenda.”

Continuing the tradition, the Awards will be carbon-neutral with the carbon offset to go towards Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Project: Chiller Station L.

The Chiller Station L project records high rates of reduction of 26,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, and is first of its kind initiative that adheres to the clean development mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is also the first project generating Certified Emission Reduction (CERs) in the region, ensuring a healthy, safe, and clean environment for generations.
“We calculated emissions from power consumption, heat energy, refrigeration, catering and lodging as well as the journeys of participants to the event and any related factors. We are pleased that the selected project is a local initiative, as it reflects the UAE’s efforts to ensure a healthy, safe, and clean environment, and complements the goals of UAE Vision 2021 and the Dubai Plan 2021,” added Al Abbar.

The 2018 MENA Green Building Awards has the largest number of award categories and partnerships to date. The honours will be presented in 19 professional categories in addition to the Dr. Owainati Student Excellence Award, which offers the potential of a cash prize specifically awarded to a student from a recognised university in the UAE who has conducted exceptional research work in a subject related to green buildings in the Middle East.

The MENA Green Building Awards is officially endorsed by the World Green Building Council and organised in partnership with Jordan Green Building Council and Lebanon Green Building Council with additional participation from Palestine Green Building Council, Egypt Green Building Council, Kuwait Green Building Council and Morocco Green Building Council for the first time. The awards will be audited by KPMG to ensure the highest standards of corporate governance and transparency.

The 19 professional award categories for the 2018 MENA Green Building Awards are: Green Building of the Year in six sub-categories: Commercial, Hotel, School, Residential, Public Building and Healthcare Building; Sustainable Building Design of the Year; Sustainable Urban/Community Development Design of the Year; Facility Management Organisation of the Year; Contractor of the Year; Developer of the Year: Green Building Material/Product: Energy Management, Indoor Air Quality, Conventional Construction Materials & Water Management; Green Building Research Award; Retrofit Project of the Year; Best Operations & Maintenance (existing buildings); and Training Initiative of the Year.