Dubai, UAE, 6 February 2018: The Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) has set nine priority areas that will lead its activities throughout 2018, it said through a Press communiqué. According to EmiratesGBC, the priority areas approved by its Board of Directors have been identified to align with the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“EmiratesGBC has set our nine priority areas of 2018 after closely examining the UN SDGs and UAE’s 2021 Vision to establish how we can contribute to the global sustainability agenda as well as the UAE’s national priorities,” said Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman, EmiratesGBC. “For this reason, each of EmiratesGBC’s priority areas is aligned with a relevant SDG to create a more targeted impact.”

The nine priority areas are:

• Building Retrofit Training: To operate a training programme that provides capacity building for industry and government, encouraging retrofit of existing buildings.
• Benchmarking/Building Efficiency Accelerator: To support Dubai’s commitment to the global ‘Building Efficiency Accelerator’ programme and expand EmiratesGBC’s benchmarking efforts to help operators and owners across various sectors gauge their building and operational performance and, ultimately, offer a measurement to encourage stronger energy-efficiency measures.
• Technical Publications: To produce technical papers and publications relevant to the green building industry. Publications will include case studies, white papers and bi-annual reports.
• Emirates Coalition for Green Schools: To engage UAE schools and encourage energy-efficient operations and retrofits of existing school facilities. The programme promotes best practices and makes green building information readily available for school administration.
• Green Key: To operate and grow the Green Key eco label to support sustainability in the hospitality industry in the UAE.
• Annual Awards: To implement a MENA regional Awards Programme annually that honours companies, who have demonstrated clear implementation of sustainable design, construction and/or operation of buildings and structures.
• Outreach and Awareness: To host informative events, building tours and workshops, including the flagship Annual Congress, to educate and build capacity on green building topics within the industry.
• Membership: To retain current members and recruit new members, thus broadening the Council’s impact for sustainable building practices.
• nZEB Centre of Excellence: To lead the movement for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in the UAE.

Some of the SDGs that EmiratesGBC has aligned with include: Goal 3, which emphasises Good Health & Wellbeing; Goal 6 for Clean Water & Sanitation; Goal 7 for Affordable & Clean Energy; Goal 9 on Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure to promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation; Goal 11 on building Sustainable Cities & Communities and Goal 13 on Climate Action to combat climate change.

Al Abbar, added: “We are living during a critical time for humanity. Our natural resources are being depleted, and with a fast-growing global population, we must think long-term – especially for future generations who have the right to inherit a sustainable, clean world.”