At a glittering award ceremony, 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 EGBC Awards 2014. The awards were presented in six categories in addition to a student award for best practices in built environment sustainable development projects, products and research.

Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman and Jeffrey Willis, Vice Chairman of EmiratesGBC, presented the awards to the winners.

The Change Initiative, ‘the premier sustainable living destination in the Middle East,’ won two awards for the ‘Green Building of the Year’ and ‘Training Initiative of the Year.’ Emaar Community Management won the award for ‘Green Facility Management Organisation of the Year’ while Johnson Controls Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Inc won the ‘Green Building Material/Product of the Year’ for its York YVAA air-cooled variable speed screw chiller. The award for ‘Green Building System of the Year’ was clinched by Royal City Contracting for a villa project in Al Warqa.

The British University in Dubai won the award for ‘Green Building Research of Year’ for its work on ‘Refurbishment of Federal Public Housing Villas in the UAE – Energy Savings and Economic Analysis.’ The Dr Owainati Award for Students, sponsored by EmiratesGBC co-founder Dr Sadek Owainati, awarded to a university student for exceptional research work on a subject related to green buildings in the Middle East, was won by Omair Awadh, a student of British University in Dubai, for his work on ‘the impact of external shading and windows glazing and frame on thermal performance of residential buildings in Abu Dhabi.’

Announcing the awards, Saeed Al Abbar, said: “The quality of entries for the EGBC Awards 2014 underlines the significant investment and research undertaken by various organisations and individuals in the Middle East region on sustainable development. The panel of judges who evaluated the entries has expressed their high appreciation for the innovative approaches adopted by the industry stakeholders in the region. We thank all our partners and participants for their support to EGBC Awards 2014.”

“We hope that the recognition will serve as an inspiration and the ideas presented will set a roadmap in our journey to achieve the ‘green economy for sustainable development’ vision announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. The current dynamism and enthusiasm in creating and sustaining green building solutions will position the UAE and the MENA region at the forefront of the global initiatives to promote sustainable built environments for our future generations,” he added.

The panel of judges included: Dr. Ghalib Y. Kahwaji, Professor and Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT); Dr. Michael Schmidt, Board Member of EmiratesGBC and Head of Development, Construction Chemicals Division, ORA: Middle East, West Asia, CIS & Africa, BASF; Mohammad T. Asfour, Chairman of JordanGBC and Member of the Board of Directors of WorldGBC; Dr. Rob Cooke, Board Member of EmiratesGBC and Associate Sustainability Consultant, Buro Happold; and Sarfraz Dairkee, Secretary of EmiratesGBC Board of Directors and General Manager Corporate Dev. & Engineering, M.A.H.Y. Khoory & Co. LLC.

Dr Ghalib Y. Kahwaji said: “The effect of the built environment on the food production chain, water and air pollution is undeniable. This EmiratesGBC award is one more of the great initiatives of the UAE that will increase the awareness of the people and the industry about the importance of sustainable development in preserving resources for future generations.”

Mohammad Asfour added: “Being on the jury provided me a better idea of current market trends, and helped better understand why some companies are going green. Such awards are important as they help us celebrate success stories in a way that will help create more demand for ‘green’ products and services in the Emirates and throughout the region.”

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