Green Building

A Green building is one where the qualities of both the indoor and outdoor environments have been considered and protected during its design, construction, operations, maintenance and use. Green design attempts to balance economic, social, and environmental factors and its principles affect all phases of project development, from design to disposal. Green Buildings are also commonly referred to as Sustainable buildings, Eco friendly buildings or environmentally friendly buildings.

A Green Building is characterized by optimized energy consumption, improved energy efficiency, increased water savings, reduced pollution, enhanced indoor air quality, better productivity and reduced operation costs. At a broad level, Green Buildings greatly help the environment in terms of reducing the Green House gas (GHG) emissions and climate change adaptation.

On October 24th, 2007 His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai issued a resolution and directive that effective January 1st, 2008, all owners of commercial and residential buildings on the emirate of Dubai must comply with internationally recognized environment-friendly specifications of sustainable development to turn Dubai into Green Dubai.

EHS-TRAKHEES, the regulatory arm of PCFC and Dubai World established Green Building regulations to implement within Dubai World jurisdiction.

Sustainability department was created exclusively to administer these regulations for the built environments (New Constructions ) of the jurisdiction











Sustainability Department at a Glance

The Sustainability Department is also commonly referred to as the Green Buildings Department.

The Department was established late 2007 and serves as the regulatory arm of PCFC jurisdiction facilitating the Green Building projects.

The department primarily enforces its Green Building regulations on All New Construction projects of the jurisdiction






Features

1. Mandatory Green building regulations in vogue for New Constructions since January 2008.

2. Strong pool of EHS pre-qualified stakeholders (GB consultants, Commissioning authorities)

3. Robust regulatory mechanisms for Reviews and Issuing NOC (BP & BCC)

4. Several Projects of EHS jurisdiction already Certified by USGBC

5. Several Environment focused initiatives successfully undertaken...

Sustainability Department Main Functions

The development of facilities (New constructions) within the jurisdiction of Trakhees-EHS necessitates approval from the Green Building department (Sustainability Department) to facilitate the issuance of the NOC-BP and NOC-BCC from the permits department.

Accordingly the Sustainability Department facilitates the following activities

1. Review of the Green Building Submissions and giving clearances to the Permits section in the process of issuance of EHS-NOC for Building Permit for new projects that fall under the purview of Green Building Regulations

2. Review and approval of Green Building project progress reports during construction phase, for projects that have been issued with Building Permits.

3. Review of the submissions, carrying out relevant inspections and giving clearance to the Permits section in the process of issuance of EHS-NOC for Building Completion Certificate for new projects that fall under the purview of Green Building Regulations.

4. Green Building certification for projects opting for EHS In-House certification in lieu of external certification

5. Review of feasibility reports for Green Building projects that are at the schematic / conceptual stages. This is an optional service

6. Review and Approval of Pre-Qualification Applications for Third Party Green Building Consultants

7. Review and Approval of Pre-Qualification Applications for Third Party Green Building Commissioning Authorities (CxA)

Other Functions

1. Continuous improvement to EHS-Green Building Regulations in coordination with all the stakeholders, to reflect the environment, ecology and culture of UAE

2. Technical Assistance to stakeholders’ viz. Clients, consultants, developers, suppliers etc in the process of implementation of Green Building Projects.

3. Assistance to stakeholders on energy efficiency improvement programs for existing buildings

4. Create and oversee need based sustainability forums such as “Technical working group / Green Forum, Materials Forum etc

5. Accreditation / Training program on Regulatory awareness pertaining to EHS Green Building regulations for warehouses and industrial developments

Challenges

1. Promoting Awareness on sustainability of the built environment and its benefits to all stakeholders & encouraging the use of Renewable technologies and strategies.

2. Encouraging and promoting material resources that address the local environment

3. Special strategies on energy and water management for this region.

4. Demonstrating sustainability in design and operation.

5. Reducing the carbon foot prints of the developments.

6. Actively Discourage Green Washing





Achievements

The Sustainability department has achieved rapid strides in the domain of the built environment through several forward looking initiatives and responsible interventions.

Some of them are listed under

1. Hundreds of projects have been submitted to and reviewed by EHS sustainability department for compliance to green building regulations.

2. 38 Projects certified by USGBC / GBCI through proactive EHS intervention and facilitation.

3. Development of region specific and practical regulations that address the need of the specific development. Besides the original regulation that was aligned to LEED (with regional alignment), the sustainability department developed the following additional regulations.          a. Green Building regulations for villas and low rise residential developments          b. Green Building regulations for warehouses and industrial developments

4. High Quality Guidelines established for deliverables of Green Building Consultants, Commissioning Authorities (CxA), Auditing and Energy Efficiency Improvement program (EEIP)

5. Structured Procedures and Review mechanisms within the department

6. Creation of Key FORUMS such as          a. Material Forum– Sustainable technologies and products          b. Energy Efficiency Improvement program for existing industrial facilities.          c. Energy Efficiency Improvement program for existing commercial facilities.

7. BU / Client awareness sessions (Regulations, Procedures and New Initiatives).

8. Strategic Alliance with UNEP-SBCI & Participation in Global Metrics Project

9. Promotion of Renewable Technology / Sustainability Mock-up within EHS offices

10. Participation / collaboration with Academia

Environmental Achievements

No of GBCI certified projects within EHS jurisdiction administered by the department - 38

No of GBCI certified projects within EHS jurisdiction Voluntary initiatives) - 3








* Compared to baseline cases

EHS -Green Building Department AIMS to

1. Be an effective regulator

2. Be Responsible and Proactive to the needs of the clients , upholding environmental sustainability

3. Close the gap between design and delivery

4. Ensure that commitments get transformed to compliance

5. Bridge the space between paper and performance

6. Promote and encourage operational sustainability

7. Maximize the value to the CLIENT

8. Maximize the value to the ENVIRONMENT

Trakhees-EHS Green Building section is committed to providing world class services to all developers within Dubai World jurisdiction. It is steadfast in ensuring that the Green building projects not only remain green in paper but truly sustainable in performance.

Please feel free to click on to the relevant section for additional information.

You may send your questions, comments or inquiries through the email, ehs.greenbuilding@trakhees.ae