Winners of the 2017 MENA Green Building Awards

Emirates Green Building Council (Emirates GBC) on May 17 recognised and honoured innovation, creativity and excellence in promoting sustainability best practices during the 2017 MENA Green Building Awards in Dubai. According to Emirates GBC, the awards exercise attracted record submissions from six nations across the MENA region, which the body said, highlighted the growing focus of industry stakeholders to promote innovation and best practices to drive sustainable built environments.

HVAC companies, Daikin and Edmonds were among the winners that were honoured during the ceremony, attended by government officials, industry leaders, representatives of academia and media. The two companies won in the ‘Green Building Material/Product’ category. Daikin won the award in the sub-category, ‘Energy Management’ for its Daikin inverter R-32 split system. Edmonds won the award in the sub-category, ‘Indoor Air Quality’ for its Edmonds Eco Power Hybrid Ventilator, Synergy United.

Speaking after winning the award, Sana Hamdani, Product Marketing Manager of Daikin Middle East & Africa, said: “We are happy to receive such a prestigious award. The R-32-based system, in combination with the inverter technology, is 50% more efficient than conventional split systems. It has a total CO2 equivalent emissions reduction of 80% when compared to R-410A. It uses 28% less refrigerant for the same unit compared to R-410A. The R-32 system is suitable for high-ambient conditions.”

Supported by the World Green Building Council (World GBC), the Awards was organised by Emirates GBC in partnership with the Jordan GBC and Lebanon GBC. A panel of 12 judges from the region, including members of the MEP and building performance communities, evaluated the submissions. KPMG was the Official Observing Auditors of the evaluation process.

Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of Emirates GBC, said: “We congratulate the winners of the 2017 MENA Green Building Awards not only for their demonstrated excellence in driving the sustainable built-environment of the region but also for their commitment and dedication to innovation and promoting green best practices. This year, we had a record number of submissions, underlined by their quality, creativity and original thinking. Across all the categories, what is clearly apparent is the focus on pushing boundaries, setting new benchmarks and contributing to the all-round vision of securing a greener future for our coming generations. We hope to share the insights from our winners for the benefit of the larger community and to support the building industry in undertaking new and proven sustainable best practices that help achieve better living environments, higher energy- and water-use efficiency, and reduce the carbon footprint.”

Lee Siang, Chairman of World GBC, added: “The 2017 MENA Green Building Awards highlights the dedication of the regional construction industry stakeholders to pursue environment-friendly practices. The innovations and best practices that the winners present are uniquely suited for the region and can be replicated in similar environments, globally. This makes the Awards a key part in the global sustainability narrative that the World Green Building Council promotes.”