A New Road Map
The world has been watching in wonder at the construction boom in the UAE, especially the one in Dubai. It was a couple of years ago, Dubai’s credentials as the number one ‘boom city’ in the world was clearly established.The most amazing aspect with any boom is the noise it generates; any voice of caution or reason gets lost in the din. As luck would have it, development gave way to unbridled growth – with developers paying scant attention to sustainable practices. The construction industry never had seen such good times, massive urban growth and a deluge of property launches announced every day.
A few individuals and organisations, who were genuinely concerned about this rapid growth in the construction sector, came together to form the Emirates Green Building Council (EGBC) in 2006, as a not-for-profit organisation. The council has been in pursuit of its goal of advancing green building principles for protecting the environment and ensuring sustainability in the United Arab Emirates.
On 7th August this year, board of directors of the EGBC unanimously elected Ali bin Towaih as the new chairman. Taking over from Dr Sadek Owainati, bin Towaih promises to drive his vision for sustainable and environmentally friendly development, and further enhance the EGBC’s push to achieve the highest level of sustainable built environment for the UAE.
In 2005, Ali bin Towaih was appointed as executive director of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Division (SEED) and Energy and Environment Park (ENPARK), a fully comprehensive eco-friendly community for commercial and residential use at TECOM Investments, a member of Dubai Holding.
“Three years back no one spoke about green buildings in Dubai. When we started EGBC, the immediate goal was to spread the word on the benefits of green buildings,” says, bin Towaih. “Our mission is to make people realise that we cannot afford to ignore sustainability in buildings.”
The sense of achievement bin Towaih shares with his fellow council members can’t be missed, when he says, “Look at what’s happening today, there is so much happening on green buildings: conferences, workshops and campaigns - you name it. The public awareness has definitely increased.”
The market has been quick to identify the potential of going green, believes bin Towaih. “I have been with the green building movement in the UAE since 2005. We have witnessed so much of development and the achievements are remarkable; without the market accepting the green values, we wouldn’t have made this big progress – the market needs to be lauded for its efforts.”
Ali bin Towaih explains why the market was quick to adopt the LEED rating system, “When we started green buildings in Tecom, we wanted a system which has a third party certification. Naturally we started to work with the LEED rating system as it was the only readily available system in the market, and one that is very flexible.”
Talking about the challenges faced by the green building sector in the UAE, bin Towaih says, “What we lack here is the know-how, the expertise in technology that can drive green buildings.” He believes that the real estate boom has been the major driver for new technologies and expertise coming into the market.
The EGBC has been pushing a sustained campaign on green buildings in the UAE. “We started to attract corporate interest in green buildings; new products and technology started to appear in the market.”
Once the market started to explore into the green buildings sector, the government was quick to support the movement – triggering the green building revolution in the UAE. Ali bin Towaih is proud of his country’s leadership in the green building domain, “We have seen the proactive role played by the Government in driving the development of green buildings industry in Dubai and in Abu Dhabi. In Dubai, it is His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE vice president, and prime minister and ruler of Dubai’s Green Building resolution of November 2007, which is part of Dubai Strategic 2015 plan. And in Abu Dhabi, the Government launched the Pearl building rating system, Estidama, in May 2008.”
Explaining on how the markets work elsewhere, where the industry waits for a system or a policy to be set by the government, bin Towaih believes UAE presents a different paradigm in addressing the challenges of climate change and global warming. “Here in the UAE, we have the opportunity to show, explain to the government of the many sustainable things we can do within the construction industry. It is an open market, totally different from other modern economies; if you can prove your sustainable claims – nothing stops you from doing well.”
That said, bin Towaih spells out in very clear terms, why green buildings are so important to the UAE, “We are not after technologies, we are trying hard to create a healthy environment. After all these buildings are for us, the people, who have to live and work in there. What we are striving for, is to benefit people and the community. Taking care of the welfare of the people is to take care of their infrastructure. I am sure others will follow.”
The overwhelming success in promoting green buildings in the UAE is obvious as bin Towaih exudes confidence, “The green buildings sector is booming in this country, we are attracting all the leading green technology players – they have identified the opportunity our country offers. Nowhere in the world would we find a country developing infrastructure at this massive scale and also attracting green technologies.”
Talking about the various green building rating systems available worldwide, bin Towaih says, “It doesn’t really matter which system a building adopts – as long as they achieve the green objectives. May it be LEED, BREEAM, Pearl rating (Estidama) in Abu Dhabi, the new rating system being developed by Dubai Municipality – they are all to guide developers in achieving green building standards. We at EGBC do not stand for one rating or the other; we support green buildings and sustainable development.”
When asked about the perception in the market that EGBC leans towards the LEED rating system, bin Towaih is very categorical in his response, “Let me place it on record, EGBC is not an associate of USGBC. We are a member of the World Green Building Council.”
“As I said before, LEED was the only readily available rating system in the market. It is only natural for LEED to take over a big chunk of the market share, simply because so many LEED consultants are available in the market.” He adds, “The know-how is the key point, it’s not about information, it’s about how to implement it. There are many LEED Accredited Professionals available locally, which is essentially driving LEED in the market. The media too has been promoting LEED.”
Talking about the EGBC’s main objective this year, bin Towaih says, “We need to align our members from the industry with local and federal Government initiatives. The partnership will be the council’s way of conducting business with its stakeholders in addition to its role in increasing public awareness.”
When asked about ISO 15392, the new sustainable development code, and the 31st ISO general assembly to be held in Dubai in October this year, bin Towaih explains, “The green buildings movement needs to sustain its momentum; all green building rating systems are supporting the movement. The ISO holding its general assembly in Dubai is really remarkable achievement for Dubai and the green buildings movement here. They have identified the potential of Dubai and the region. This is what exactly we at EGBC are also trying to promote... we would really be happy to cooperate with ISO.”
Ali bin Towaih is passionate about green buildings; he realises the overwhelming responsibility he carries as the chairman of EGBC. As an Emirati, he is proud of his heritage and has an intimate knowledge of the desert environment. He grew up in this environment and witnessed the changing landscape and the mind-boggling urban growth. Ali bin Towaih truly believes that sustainable development is a pre-requisite for any urban planning, and that United Arab Emirates can be a role model for the entire region and beyond.
The council is currently working on formulating a roadmap for 2008 – 2009, which has many initiatives and projects. EGBC intends to target the following industry players to help them in understanding ‘green buildings’ in depth:
