With a shared vision to support the Middle East’s net zero agenda, PwC and Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners) – Dar – have announced a strategic collaboration to drive sustainable solutions in the regional built environment.
The partnership will leverage PwC Middle East’s advisory expertise across sustainability, finance and emerging technology, alongside Dar’s global expertise as a leading built-environment and engineering consultancy, to deliver climate-ready development solutions for their clients. Together, the firms will seek to provide solutions that bend the carbon curve in the built environment, enhance the liveability of cities and accelerate economic performance for regional investors, governments and communities.
Commenting on the strategic collaboration, Hani Ashkar, Middle East Senior Partner, PwC Middle East, said: “At PwC, we believe connected and well-functioning buildings are at the heart of any leading cognitive and sustainable city’s goals and aspirations. Our partnership with Dar Al-Handasah, who have led numerous award-winning sustainability projects globally across key horizontal and vertical infrastructure, will tap into their unique expertise to deliver innovative solutions for the most complex engineering and design needs in the region.”
The urban built environment contributes to 75% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, with buildings and conventional construction alone generating nearly 40% of the sector’s solid waste[1]. Insights from regional projects tracker MEED Projects shows that more than $2 trillion USD worth of construction and infrastructure projects are planned and underway in the Middle East, providing a significant opportunity to instil greater sustainability in the region’s built environment.
Dr. Yahya Anouti, Partner and ESG leader, Strategy& Middle East, said: “The new wave of regional investment in the industry over the coming decade represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to move away from traditional labour-intensive techniques and reimagine the region into an innovation and start-up hub in the field of sustainable construction, with the potential to pioneer new material and construction technologies that empower the region as an export hub.
He added: “The region shows great promise in this field. With countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Egypt announcing net zero related commitments, we strongly believe the Middle East is well-positioned to lead a paradigm shift in the built environment. Yet, given the scale of the spend, decision makers in the region will need to drive a balancing act of five objectives: fast, affordable, sustainable, smart, wellbeing centric, and localised developments.”
Anchored to regional specificities, the partnership will spotlight best practices, overarching governance, future technologies, sustainability and circular economy principles with businesses and governments across the Middle East. It will also cover solutions relating to sustainable construction methods and materials, with a particular focus on future green field developments.
In the lead-up to and during this year’s COP28 summit, the collaboration will bring together leading urban planning and smart cities experts through workshops and panels to highlight sustainability opportunities across the infrastructure and real estate industry.
Commenting on the MoU signing, Danny Aoun, Regional Director, Dar, said: “We are on a clear mission; to support the built environment – both buildings and infrastructure – on its path to decarbonize by 2050 with significant progress being made by 2030. As a signatory to the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment, Dar promotes pragmatic sustainability strategies for our built environment, driven towards a zero-carbon future.
“We are committed to working with PwC Middle East to help clients in the region attain net zero operational carbon by 2030 and ensure that all new buildings and major retrofits within direct control attain net zero whole-life carbon by 2030. Our work with PwC will also tackle our industry’s major trends that strongly align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”
Balsam Nehme, Head of Sustainability, Dar, said: “The overall built environment sector demands clear climate and sustainability targets, frameworks, methodologies, and greater alignment. As a leading built environment consultancy, we promote a low whole life carbon approach and net-zero carbon pathways in our work to clients. We also actively collaborate with industry partners to advance thought leadership on sustainable infrastructure and policy activation. We believe that an integrated approach to the whole built environment is essential to deliver change in line with the commitments of the Paris Agreement.”
[1] https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/m1/en/articles/2019/how-circular-economy-can-make-construction-more-sustainable.html