Emirates Green Building Council and International Living Future Institute Sign Mou

In a move that will further advocate for decarbonising the built environments in the United Arab Emirates, the Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International Living Future Institute (ILFI).

ILFI is an environmental non-governmental organisation that works to make ‘communities socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative.’ In 2006 the Institute established the Living Building Challenge, an advanced green building certification programme that aims to encourage the creation of regenerative and sustainable built environments.

Under the MOU, ILFI and EmiratesGBC will partner on the development of ILFI’s Zero Energy (ZE) and Zero Carbon (ZC) Certifications that will be adapted for the UAE market and launched during the Living Future UnConference in 2019. ILFI and EmiratesGBC will also raise awareness around the ZE and ZC certificates among industry stakeholders, and the Council will act as the exclusive auditor of the two certifications in UAE.

The MOU between EmiratesGBC and ILFI is an important strategic step for the Council that will further support efforts to transform the United Arab Emirate’s construction industry and to support advanced climate action by setting ambitious targets to eliminate operational carbon emissions from new building portfolios by 2030 and to advocate for all existing buildings to be net zero by 2050.  

Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: “Our partnership with the International Living Future Institute is an affirmation of the Council’s leading role in advancing toward a net zero carbon built environment in the UAE in line with World Green Building Council’s net zero targets and Paris Agreement goals. The MOU is a foundational step in transforming the UAE built environment towards decarbonisation and the fulfilling of Dubai’s goal of having the lowest carbon footprint worldwide by 2050.”   

The collaboration will also support the tangible expansion and work of EmiratesGBC's ‘Net Zero Centre of Excellence,’ a think-tank and accelerator which provides an important platform for government, academia and the private sector to learn and share knowledge on how to advance net zero carbon buildings in the UAE. The MOU with ILFI delivers on the objectives of the Centre of Excellence to engage as many entities as possible in this global movement toward net zero.  

“We are thrilled to see the United Arab Emirates embrace its commitment to zero carbon buildings through this new partnership between the International Living Future Institute and EmiratesGBC,” said Amanda Sturgeon, CEO of ILFI. “This is a model for how other countries can adopt proven approaches that can be adapted to local contexts,” she added.

Globally, almost 40% of energy related greenhouse emissions come from buildings, with 28% generated by a building’s operation, which calls for the building and construction sector to play a key role in achieving large scale emissions reduction.

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.