Emirates GBC honours winners of the 2019 MENA Green Building Awards

Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, honoured the winners of the 2019 MENA Green Building Awards. The annual awards, which recognise the sustainability champions in the Middle East and North Africa region, were presented at a ceremony held at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Founder and CEO of Alliances for Global Sustainability (AGS), said: “The fundamentals for the UAE’s sustainable growth were established by our founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was passionate about conserving the environment. His legacy lends wings to our leadership’s vision to ensure that UAE sets impressive benchmarks in all indicators relating to the sustainable use of resources, including securing renewable sources of energy and optimising the use of natural resources. While striving to complement Sheikh Zayed’s legacy and vision, AGS are actively providing progressive solutions to help the UAE continue to make strides towards a more sustainable economy.”

Sheikha Shamma concluded by stating: “I’m honoured to be part of events such as the MENA Green Building Awards. These events act as impactful platforms that promote innovation and tangible action to achieve more sustainable built environments.” 

Announcing the awards, Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: “This year’s awards have set another benchmark in the remarkable strides that the Middle East and North Africa region has made in promoting sustainable built environments. The innovative approaches, new products and above all, a clear commitment to make a difference shines through in the initiatives that the winners – as well as nominations we received – have rolled out. We see this as a tangible indication of the progress achieved by the region in creating sustainable building that deliver on the vision of regional governments. The commendable work on net zero buildings, a new category introduced this year, demonstrate the forward-looking measures already implemented in the region – making MENA a key partner in the global move towards zero buildings.”

The winners are: 

Green Commercial Building of the Year:  Izzat Marji Group Headquarter Green Building
Green School: Dubai American Academy, submitted by Eco-Structures for TermoDeck
Sustainable Building Design: Saint-Gobain Multi-Comfort House in the UAE
Sustainable Urban Community Design: Tilal Al Ghaf by Majid Al Futtaim 

Facility Management Organisation: Dubai Silicon Oasis Facility Management by Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority
Contractor of the Year: Multiplex Constructions LLC
Developer of the Year: Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority
Green Product of the Year: 

Energy Management: Carrier AquaEdge® 19DV Water-Cooled Centrifugal Chiller by Carrier Middle East Limited
Indoor Air Quality: Carrier Airovision Air Handling Units by Carrier Middle East
Conventional Construction Materials: Gyproc Habito Activ’Air by Saint-Gobain Gyproc Middle East FZE
Water Management: Drinking Water System for reducing the GHG emissions by Nael General Contracting LLC

Green Building Research of the Year: An Overview of Green Buildings Potential in Palestine by Al-Quds University Deanship of Scientific Research & Deanship of Graduate Studies
Retrofit Project of the Year: JAFZA building Retrofit project by Al Etihad Energy Services company
Best Operations & Maintenance: Emaar Entertainment 
Green Training Initiative: Department of Urban Planning and Municipalities (DPM) for Estidama Training Programme
Zero Building Design: Majid Al Futtaim for Tilal Al Ghaf Sales & Experience Centre

In addition to the above awards, the Dr. Owainati Student Excellence Award was presented to a student from a recognised university in the UAE for exceptional research work in a subject related to green buildings in the Middle East. The 2019 Student Excellence Award went to Mohamed Elimam from Rochester Institute of Technology - Dubai.

The MENA Green Building Awards is officially endorsed by the World Green Building Council and is organised in partnership with Jordan Green Building Council, Lebanon Green Building Council, Palestine Green Building Council, Egypt Green Building Council, Kuwait Green Building Council and Morocco Green Building Council. The Awards were open to all organisations including public and private sector enterprises, associations, consultants and practitioners for demonstrated innovation and a high level of excellence in sustainable principles and practices in the MENA Region.

Majid Al Futtaim was the Platinum Partner of the event for the second consecutive year, and Multiplex was the Category Sponsor of the Zero Building of the Year, which was introduced this year.

Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi, Chief Sustainability Officer at Majid Al Futtaim, said: “The MENA Green Building Awards are an inspirational platform for organisations and individuals in the region to partner in sustainable development. At Majid Al Futtaim, we have been frontrunners in embracing sustainability as a key ethic and have invested significantly in creating green buildings. Being recognised on such platforms is a testament to our commitment to adopt international best practices in our building design, development and management.” 

James Grljusich, General Manager of Multiplex Middle East, added: “Our support to the MENA Green Building Awards highlights our focus on building a culture of environmentally sustainable practices that benefit our clients, the community and the region. An emphasis on promoting green and sustainable built environments is not an option, but a necessity for the region, especially as the construction sector contributes significantly to the environmental impact. Multiplex see a clear opportunity to work with like-minded partners to bring positive change to the construction sector.”

For the full list of winners and short-listed nominees, please visit: https://emiratesgbc.org/2019-mena-green-building-awards-results/

EmiratesGBC regularly hosts and participates in multinational events, conferences and forums. It has also developed a suite of activities, inclusive of networking events, technical workshops, focus days and facilitated training based around specific issues related to the built-environment that meet the needs of its members, of the UAE community and the wider Middle East.