UAE has achieved a place among Top 10 Green building nations (outside the USA) – as per the Green Building Council.

UAE has achieved an entry in this coveted group through persistent efforts in the development of cool buildings that are more livable & energy efficient.

The US-based council, an industry body that promotes cost-efficient and energy-saving buildings, released its ranking for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) outside of the United States.

The LEED green building certification system is the world's foremost program for the design, construction, maintenance and operations of green buildings.

The notable projects in the UAE are:

1.     Dubai Electricity and Water Authority Headquarters, which has a LEED Platinum rating (highest possible under this system).

2.     Pacific Control Systems LLC (PCS)headquarters in Jebel Ali is the first Platinum-rated green building accredited by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) programme in the Middle East and sixteenth in the world.

3.     The Change Initiative (TCI) — on Shaikh Zayed Road, which has a LEED Platinum rating achieved 107 points out of 110, making it the most sustainable commercial building in the world. The record was previously held by Pixel, a four-level building in Australia, with 105 points.

The list of the top 10 countries for LEED reflects the global adaptability of the world?s most widely used and recognized system guiding the design, construction, operations and maintenance of green buildings.

To date, project teams in more than 140 countries and territories have implemented LEED in their building projects, taking advantage of its global, regional and local applicability to create structures that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions create healthier indoor environments for workers, students and community members and lower utility bills for building owners through reduced energy and water use. Green buildings are booming all over the world.

 
In the Middle East, the UAE is the only country on the Top 10, but its ranking may well go up based on the magnitude of post-crisis recover and en route to the Dubai's hosting of Expo 2020.

Over the last 18 months, more than $12 billion in previously-stalled construction projects were resumed in the country.

Based on USGBC figures, the UAE?s real estate industry has a much higher number of LEED-certified and registered projects (as opposed to only LEED certified) than three other countries that ranked higher than the Emirates South Korea (4th), Taiwan (5th) and Germany (6th) put together.

The UAE also has nearly 10 times the number of LEED-registered projects than Singapore, which ranked eighth.

These are very encouraging stats which cements the statement that UAE not only says but delivers also, that too in most sustainable manner

Hey Eco-Gen Team, Congrats, South Korea is on 4th position.

Thanks for reading

Source:

The National, Gulf News, US Green Building Council based upon April 2014 Figures