The seventh Annual Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC) Congress will be held at the Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre hotel on 9 October 2018, focusing on the best practices and strategies to go beyond net zero carbon buildings and exploring the significance of net-zero cities in ensuring liveability of cities in the future
Organised by EmiratesGBC, an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, the Congress will be held under the theme ?Targeting Zero: A Vision for Future Cities.?
Saeed Al Abbar, chairman of EmiratesGBC, said, ?The fast pace of urbanisation today is a fundamental challenge and we are bringing both regional and international experts to the UAE to participate in this dialogue as the emphasis on sustainable buildings and cities becomes more crucial than ever. From the government to the public and private sectors, the UAE has shown its commitment and now we must boldly deliver on it as the global net zero emissions timeline approaches.?
The Annual EmiratesGBC Congress brings together international experts in diverse aspects of energy management and sustainable development to discuss strategies for promoting sustainable built environments for the cities of the future in line with UAE Vision 2021 and the objectives of the Paris COP21 Climate Agreement. The event aims to influence sustainable practices in the UAE?s built environment and to help identify major industry challenges and solutions as well as catalyse innovation in green building practices to create new models that support the country?s efforts to be more sustainable.
The 2018 Congress? discussions will focus on three sub-themes, marking the 100th birth anniversary of late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding Father of the nation.
These include:
Inspired Cities
The first theme will examine net-zero buildings in the global context and how to make the vision for decarbonised cities a reality in the UAE and globally. Sanjay Sridhar, regional director for South and West Asia, C40 cities will deliver the keynote presentation on ?Zero Carbon Cities: the role of cities in tackling climate change,? followed by presentations and a panel discussion on ?Approaches to achieving net-zero buildings and cities.?
Collaborative Cities
The theme will focus on how the transition to net zero can be achieved in the UAE with a series of presentations from the industry leaders. The session will include cases studies on innovative net-zero projects delivered by Chris Wan, head - design management at Masdar and Karim El-Jisr, executive director, SEE Institute.
Holistic Cities
The final theme will explore how the net-zero approaches can be applied to reduce the ecological footprint of buildings through waste and water management. The session will commence with a presentation on ?Beyond Energy: Taking a net-zero approach to waste and water management,? followed by a panel discussion on ?Achieving Sustainable Waste and Water Management in the UAE? moderated by Habiba Al Marashi, co-founder, vice-chairman and treasurer of EmiratesGBC.
The congress is held for the second consecutive year under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. The event has received support from industry stakeholders with Majid Al Futtaim as Venue Sponsor. The supporting associations are Clean Energy Business Council, Emirates Environmental Group, Emirates Nature-WWF, Middle East Facility Management Association (MEFMA), Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
