In November of 2013, the Burj Khalifa was lit with fireworks as Dubai won the bid to host the World Expo 2020. Within the overarching theme of “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, sustainability was positioned as one of three main pillars of the six-month exhibition event. As an estimated $7bn was slated to be spent on infrastructure development for the mega event – $1bn on Expo Village alone – the Dubai government had launched a full-scale campaign to leverage this winning bid to develop Dubai into one of the smartest and sustainable cities in the world.
Sustainable construction has become a foundational principle in the UAE as strategic economic plans include strong sustainability platforms. Driving the low carbon future of the UAE is the commitment to green infrastructure and smart buildings, ensuring eco-friendly architecture with things such as energy-efficient air conditioning units, recyclable construction materials, renewable energy systems for heating and cooling, and automated thermostats.
In an attempt to promote sustainable construction, United States Green Building Council (USGBC) had released its ranking for LEED. The list had Canada topping the charts, followed by China, India, South Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Brazil and Singapore. The UAE ranked ninth, ahead of Finland
How government regulations in sustainable construction has impacted UAE
Sustainable construction was first embraced in the UAE by Abu Dhabi, with the creation of a building and design methodology platform in 2010 known as Estidama, to promote the core sustainability principles of the Abu Dhabi 2030 master plan. Under Estidama, the Pearl Rating System (PRS), similar to the LEED rating system in the United States, was built as an essential tool to promote sustainable design, construction, and operations of new infrastructure development in the capital. The PRS building-rating framework operates on a scale from 1 to 5 Pearls with all new private projects mandated to achieve 1 Pearl, and 2 Pearls for government projects, based on specific credit requirements
As Abu Dhabi continues to realise its sustainable urban development goals through the sophisticated Estidama and Pearl Rating programmes, Dubai Municipality recently outlined its own Green Building legislation.
Government regulation on ‘green buildings’ in Dubai was a part of mandatory approach on sustainable construction was already taken by Dubai in 2008 for all new building starting in 2014. Intensifying regulatory parameters has been one of the key achievements of government of UAE in terms of its sustainable development.
Government of Dubai along with DEWA and Dubai Municipality have been instrumental in formulating the (Green Building Regulations & Specifications).
The regulations apply to all new buildings, additions, extensions and refurbishments of existing buildings that require a building permit from Dubai Municipality.
It may be heartening to note that that all 40 government buildings constructed in Dubai since publication of the regulations were in full compliance with their provisions at the start of 2014. One project in particular, Al Fuhaidi Souq, is understood to have achieved a 43% reduction in energy usage and a 15% reduction in water usage as a result. While the Regulations may result in an increase to short term costs for developers, any such costs are expected to be offset by reduced energy costs and the new technological opportunities provided by the regulations. In any event, the regulations look to be here to stay and developers must ensure that the contractual terms governing the development of new projects reflect the new requirements accordingly.
Mandatory regulation is just one of the many measures the UAE government is taking to support UAE’s vision, where sustainability plays a major role. As since Dubai has won the bid for World Expo 2020, there not only has been a massive demand for construction, but a greater need for higher standards of sustainability as well. Additionally, while the heavy hand of regulation will help accelerate green compliance, sustainability is, at its core, a voluntary code which plays an important role in contributing to the triple bottom line (Social, Environmental, & Financial).
Moving beyond the implementation phase, it is important to continuously assess the efficacy of the regulations so that they remain relevant and credible. The regulations themselves are a means not an end. They are a valuable tool, but become less valuable if their implementation results in an increase in projects that fail to meet the expected certification levels.
At the moment, the few projects in Dubai that are LEED-certified have achieved a higher level of certification (silver, gold and platinum). This is because the companies seeking accreditation are choosing to be so rather than this being a mandatory requirement.
Role of private sector in sustainable construction
New buildings aren’t the only target of Dubai’s drive towards sustainability — efforts are also being made to ensure that existing buildings in the emirate become more efficient, and therefore, greener. However, while there is no question that there are several benefits to retrofitting buildings, the market to do just that has been largely missing from the Dubai landscape.
It is to resolve this gap in the market that the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) created Etihad Energy Services in June last year to enable an energy performance contracting market in Dubai, by developing energy efficiency projects targeting more than 30,000 buildings in the emirate.
In its role as a Super Energy Services Company (ESCO), Etihad aims to jumpstart the creation of a viable performance contracting market for ESCOs by executing building retrofits, increasing penetration of district cooling, and building capacity of local ESCOs for the private sector, all while also facilitating access to finance for these projects.
The Dubai ESCOs market will provide new business opportunities for joint ventures, international partnerships as well as engage UAE national entrepreneurs through a diversified supply chain from financial institutions, technology providers and equipment manufacturers to service providers across the project development, management and reporting stages.
Future Roadmap
Mega events like Expo 2020 in Dubai and the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar are being deemed as opportunities for the Middle East to the lead the charge in eco-friendly construction and development. As the UAE ramps up its green building regulations and materials market, leadership would like to see the codes be used as a framework to regionalise standards across the GCC, which will likely broaden the market. Unlike other renewable and sustainable sectors, like solar and energy storage, which have had more sluggish government movement to spur the market in the UAE, the eco-friendly construction sectors really are enjoying the benefits of favorable policies and government buy-in. The policy push, along with all the new projects breaking ground, and old projects being revived after the 2008 crisis, have positioned the market to enjoy rapid growth as Dubai stands firm to earn the title of “Most Sustainable City”.