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Message from the Chair - MENA Regional Network
Message from the Chair - MENA Regional Network
September 01, 2011 at 1:58 PM
The last quarter has witnessed major achievements in the MENA region, as LebanonGBC, KuwaitGBC and BahrainGBC have been approved by WorldGBC and they attained the status of Prospective Council. This development will further strengthen efforts of GBCs in the region to cooperate on common challenges, namely excessive consumption of electricity and scarcity of water. I expect during the next six months further consolidation of efforts by newly formed councils and interested groups in the region will be fruitful and they will gain approval by WGBC.
There is a general slowdown in constructing new buildings but there is a trend to start looking at efficiency of existing buildings. Awareness and capacity building continue to be a major part of activities in the region, either in the form of training workshops or through seminars and conferences.
GBCs in the region are paying special attention to upgrade their websites and Newsletters are being prepared such as the monthly issue by EmiratesGBC. Social media is another form that have been initiated by some GBC such as Linked In and Facebook, especially in Jordan and Saudi.
A trend for cooperation between GBC in the region for training purposes has just started as observed in the arrangement between SaudiGBC and JordanGBC. Although LEED continues to be the popular rating system, localised rating systems will continue to emerge in the future, such as Estidama in Abu Dhabi and QSAS in Qatar. On the hand, LebanonGBC has launched last June its first rating system (ARZ) to assess existing buildings at an event coinciding with 2nd Sustainability Week Conference where I was invited as a Keynote speaker. I am particularly pleased to observe the emergence of interest in conducting practical research in the region and hopefully we can report on progress in this regard in next quarter.
The World Green Building Week has been promoted among MENA GBCs. As part of its activities the EmiratesGBC will hold a ceremony on 15 September to inaugurate its new office (expected to obtain Gold LEED certificate) and it will hold its annual meeting next December. Having direct contact with individual GBCs in the region has proved successful in creating basis for collaboration and a delegation from the MENA region will be attending the next WorldGBC Congress and GreenBuild in Toronto.
- Sadek Owainati, Co-Founder, Emirates GBC
There is a general slowdown in constructing new buildings but there is a trend to start looking at efficiency of existing buildings. Awareness and capacity building continue to be a major part of activities in the region, either in the form of training workshops or through seminars and conferences.
GBCs in the region are paying special attention to upgrade their websites and Newsletters are being prepared such as the monthly issue by EmiratesGBC. Social media is another form that have been initiated by some GBC such as Linked In and Facebook, especially in Jordan and Saudi.
A trend for cooperation between GBC in the region for training purposes has just started as observed in the arrangement between SaudiGBC and JordanGBC. Although LEED continues to be the popular rating system, localised rating systems will continue to emerge in the future, such as Estidama in Abu Dhabi and QSAS in Qatar. On the hand, LebanonGBC has launched last June its first rating system (ARZ) to assess existing buildings at an event coinciding with 2nd Sustainability Week Conference where I was invited as a Keynote speaker. I am particularly pleased to observe the emergence of interest in conducting practical research in the region and hopefully we can report on progress in this regard in next quarter.
The World Green Building Week has been promoted among MENA GBCs. As part of its activities the EmiratesGBC will hold a ceremony on 15 September to inaugurate its new office (expected to obtain Gold LEED certificate) and it will hold its annual meeting next December. Having direct contact with individual GBCs in the region has proved successful in creating basis for collaboration and a delegation from the MENA region will be attending the next WorldGBC Congress and GreenBuild in Toronto.
- Sadek Owainati, Co-Founder, Emirates GBC
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