‘Green’ is the mantra for UAE buildings

ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business

In the journey towards sustainable and greener society, every single step counts. Especially in a country like UAE that is clearly on a spree to have more number of its constructions under the coveted umbrella of ‘green buildings’ and is continuously making efforts to achieve at least 10 percent use of renewable energy in its energy mix by 2030.
Like in the case of Al Ghurair Rayhaan Rotana — Dubai, replacement of traditional lamps with LEDs has saved upto 839,500 KWh (kilowatt-hours) energy in a year.
Timur Ilgaz, General Manager of this property that is part of Al Ghurair Investment, stressed that his property has managed to save tonnes of energy by introducing many green initiatives in the hotel complex in the last couple of years and installation of LEDs is one of them.
“Our hotel is one of the busiest properties in this region with 620 guest rooms and over 941 units. There is an increased footfall of tourists and pressure on the resources is enlarging with each passing day. Therefore energy consumption is obviously one of the highest in our complex in the city but at the same time we have managed to pioneer the art of sustainability. Since 2014, we have changed around 35,000 lamps with LEDs and fruitful results are before everyone,” Ilgaz told Emirates Business.
While throwing light on the outcome of green initiatives, Ilgaz said that his property has pocketed savings of upto 460 KWh per hour (considering around five-hour of operations of lights on an average per day), 2300 KWh per day, around 69,000 KWh per month and a whopping amount of 839,500 KWh of savings per year.
Interestingly, in 2015, the UAE was adjudged among the top 10 markets for green building space by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The council stated that UAE has the eighth-largest stock of Leed-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) structures outside the US at 3.1-million square meters.
Notably, there are many organisations in the UAE working towards realising the dream of having more number of green buildings. One of these ground-breaking organisations is Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) that was constituted in 2006, with the goal of advancing green building principles for protecting the environment and ensuring sustainability in the UAE.
Saeed Al Alabbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said in an official statement, “Aligned with the ‘green economy for sustainable development’ vision by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, both the public and the private sector are putting the spotlight on green building and energy efficiency.”
“We have therefore witnessed an increase in the number of qualified professionals but, as the industry grows, we will need even more professionals with a thorough understanding of green buildings. It is important that we identify the credentials and expertise that will be needed in the future and guide our graduates through the path that will benefit their career prospects while ensuring a healthy future for the green building industry.”
Recently Habiba Al Marashi, EmiratesGBC co-founder, board member and treasurer, was appointed to the Membership Committee of the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), a network of national green building councils in more than 100 countries.
“More number of UAE developers is now giving emphasis upon including sustainable green standards while designing the structures. UAE is already home to many iconic green buildings like Masdar, which have been visited by environmentalists and tourists from around the world. Their efforts are being recognised and currently UAE is one of the foremost leaders in the segment of green buildings globally,” Lalit Tripathi, an architecture engineer, working with an American MNC in Abu Dhabi, told Emirates Business.