7 minute read
In Profile
Emirates GBC
Council for Change
ABDULLATIF ALBITAWI, DIRECTOR OF THE EMIRATES GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL, OUTLINES HOW THE ORGANISATION IS HELPING THE UAE’S BUILT ENVIRONMENT TRANSITION TOWARDS NET ZERO AND A GREENER FUTURE
t is estimated that 39% of all global CO 2 emissions can be attributed to the building and construction industries, with heating, cooling and lighting, the very basics of what people need from buildings, accounting for 28% of carbon emissions.
These figures highlight the importance of making our buildings more energy efficient and setting the industry on a path towards achieving net zero. By doing so, the global built environment can start being an active contributor to the fight against global warming, rather than one of the biggest contributors towards it.
In order to facilitate this evolution, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) launched the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment in 2018 at the Global Climate Action Summit. The Commitment challenges governments and businesses to operate new buildings at net zero by 2030 and advocates for all buildings to operate at net zero by 2050.
Within just a year of this initiative being brought forward, 31 businesses, 26
Net Zero advocate
Abdullatif Albitawi says that the EGBC’s role is to be an advocate and driver for the UAE’s net zero agenda to the construction and real estate sectors.
2006
Year the EmiratesGBC was formed
cities and six states and regions worldwide signed on, including UAE based retail giant Majid Al Futtaim, amongst others.
For the UAE, the organisation tasked with overseeing how companies implement and maintain the standards required of them by the Commitment is the Emirates Green Building Council. Formed in 2006, it is a non-government organisation that serves to promote and educate about sustainability in the built environment.
Endorsed by the WorldGBC, the EmiratesGBC is the UAE’s official Green Building Council, with around 150 members, representing thousands of individuals interested and involved in Green Building in the UAE and beyond. As such, aside from its other duties, the Council operates as an assessor of eligibility for the Commitment in the UAE and works under the umbrella of the WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment Taskforce.
As part of its advocacy for the Net Zero Buildings Agenda, the Council has implemented a number of initiatives within the local market to promote it, while also tracking carbon metrics to assess energy efficiency and renewable energy performance. These activities range from corporate and government engagement, through to training and awareness sessions.
One such initiative was the launch of the Net Zero Centre of Excellence in 2018 as a think thank and accelerator to advance net zero carbon buildings in the UAE. The aim of the Centre is to: • Provide a platform for government, academia, civil society, and the private sector to learn and share knowledge on net zero buildings. • Support future building regulations and the industry towards decarbonisation of the building sector by the global timeline of 2050. • Offer tools and resources to advance the net zero movement in the UAE.
The launch of the Centre has been met with a positive response from the UAE’s construction industry, and Abdullatif AlBitawi, the current director of the Emirates Green Building Council,
tells Big Project ME that there has been a discernible shift in momentum when adopting green building principles.
“Interest is certainly growing amongst stakeholders. Some are very serious towards sustainability in the building sector and have taken initiatives and implemented actions, whereas others are still considering the shift towards it,” he says.
“The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment calls on the building and construction sector to take action to decarbonise the built environment, inspire others to take similar action, and to remove the barriers to implementation. While we do not enforce it, we encourage organisations to sign up to it and assess their eligibility to join.”
Coming from a background in chemical engineering and energy studies, Albitawi was one of the first qualified energy engineers in Jordan. Although he only took on his current role a few months ago, he is no strange to taking the lead. In addition to his work with EmiratesGBC, Albitawi is also a member of the Energy Institute and serves as the honorary vice chair of the Institute’s Middle East branch.
He is also a Specialist Fellow of the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) and has served in many positions across the Institute. With more than 22 years of experience under his belt in the pharmaceuticals, chemical and manufacturing industries, in both managerial and consultative positions, he has cultivated handson experience in process technology and safety, energy and environment management, quality management and assurance, operations and energy management and sustainability practices.
As such, he is perhaps one of the bestplaced people in the UAE’s construction industry to comment on the paradigm shift that is occurring when it comes to the integration of technologies, efficiencies and sustainability.
“The UAE has high ambitions when it comes to sustainability and decarbonisation, but they also have leadership commitments and engagements. This is very important to be able to achieve their ambitions. This country invites everyone to contribute and take on a role, while providing
39%
an encouraging hub for corporates, organisations and individuals.
“The government decides and puts the strategies and main goals, but it also engages with every interested party to help them achieve these goals. I personally think that the UAE can achieve these ambitions, but there is a lot more work and thinking needed,” he asserts.
“Regionally, the UAE was the first to announce its ambitious national Net Zero by 2050 Strategy. Cities such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah are all taking serious and active steps. The journey has just started, and it will certainly need more efforts and collaboration between all stakeholders.”
To that end, Albitawi outlines some of the programmes and initiatives put in place by EmiratesGBC and the Net Zero Centre of Excellence that have helped drive change in the built environment as being: • An embodied carbon workgroup which contains a number of experts and construction professionals who will be working together on number of programs and studies related to the subject. • EmiratesGBC has partnered with
Bionova Ltd, developer of One
Click LCA. The partnership is based on raising awareness around embodied carbon, with an objective of transforming the market towards low carbon design, construction and manufacturing practices. • Furthermore, EmiratesGBC is partnering with international organisations to offer net zero certificates.
“I personally believe that a lack of knowledge and information is the biggest roadblock (towards transforming the industry). But also, understanding what needs to be done and the funding to achieve that is no less important.
“We work closely with our members and the government to be a link and a thinktank that produces solutions and guidelines,” he says, adding that EmiratesGBC is also very keen to conduct studies and research that will make the necessary information and data easily available.
“It is very important to consider net zero in the early stages of a project’s lifecycle – architects and engineers can play a key role in making these projects more viable. Technology has always played a role and will always play a key role in the advancement of human life. Artificial intelligence, digitalisation and other technologies can enhance and facilitate achieving the industry’s sustainability ambitions by providing a wealth of analysed data, improving efficiencies and smarter monitoring, to mention a few examples,” he states in conclusion.
Sharing knowledge
As part of EGBC’s commitment to sharing knowledge and information with the industry, Albitawi spoke at the Energy & Sustainability Summit.
150
The GBC has around 150 members
