Dubai, UAE – Emirates Green Building Council  has released the 2020 UAE Green Building Market Brief coinciding with World Green Building Week.                        

According to the 2020 UAE Green Building Market Brief published by EmiratesGBC, the UAE has 63.96 million square metres of built up area adapted to local green building regulations or certification programmes. The in-depth publication also reveals the number of buildings under various green building ratings across the UAE region.

His Excellency Ali Al Jassim, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: “The UAE Green Building Market Brief presents evidence-backed insights on the progress achieved by the UAE in promoting sustainable built environments. With a growing footprint of buildings being developed under green building regulations, the nation is progressing towards its goal of achieving net zero carbon buildings by 2050. We are committed to strengthening this by offering insights on green building best practices and knowledge sharing. With buildings and the construction sector accounting for nearly 39 per cent of energy-related emissions globally and more so in the UAE, it is important to continue to focus on deep retrofitting and net zero carbon buildings.”                       

According to the 2020 UAE Green Building Market Brief, there are 35.3 million square metres of total built up area of certified projects under Estidama Pearl Rating System in Abu Dhabi and 26.9 million square metres of total built up area of completed projects following Dubai Green Building Regulations and Specifications in Dubai. Additionally, there are 239,200 square metres of total built up area of projects which received permits under Barjeel in Ras Al Khaimah.                                                            

Retrofit being one of the most critical elements of sustainability has also witnessed a lot of progress over the years. Dubai has completed 1,241 buildings and 6,658 villas under its retrofit programme established in 2013 whereas Sharjah has 18 buildings, having established the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) retrofit programme two years ago and Ras Al Khaimah has executed retrofit of 16 villas as of April 2020.

Since 2006, uptake of international green building standards became increasingly common with the first UAE project receiving the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, an internationally recognised green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.           

Recently, EmiratesGBC has witnessed that the health and wellbeing of building occupants has become a focal point within the green building realm, and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought even more attention to how indoor environmental quality is a major factor influencing wellness.           

In all, the UAE has 386 LEED certified projects as of April 2020 with a total built up area of 5.9 million square metres. Additionally, 4,000 square metres of built-up area in the UAE is WELL certified, an international performance-based system for certifying buildings based on their impact human health and well-being.