New rating system for sustainable building launched

A new rating system that aims to compel property developers to include energy-conservation designs in their projects has been introduced.

The tool, dubbed xD Sustainability Manager, was launched at the ongoing Facilities Management (FM) Expo in Dubai, by locally based FM business consultancy firm Langmead Associates in conjunction with software developers Objective World, to deliver LEED-certification and Estidama (sustainability in Arabic) compliant green-building ratings for project developers.

Speaking to reporters at the event, Douglas Langmead, the Managing Director of Langmead Associates said the new tool would help authorities monitor whether construction projects have achieved the standards required, in line with a comprehensive “green” rating system introduced in the UAE, where all new residential, commercial, and industrial structures must meet sustainability requirements prior to getting a building permit.

“The UAE is increasingly shifting towards green building compliancy in new and existing projects, and developers need tools that enable them meet these new requirements with ease and efficiency,” Langmead said.

“Developers seeking to achieve high rankings in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and Estidama ranking systems will find xDSM an immensely useful tool that can be specifically configured for each rating system,” he added.

The UAE applies the International Building Code, which is widely used in the United States, as a measure for sustainability building.

“Achieving Estidama or LEED-certification is the best way for developers to demonstrate that their building project is truly ‘green’,” the executive added.

Pearl Rating System in use in Abu Dhabi

Another tool known as Pearl Rating System is already in use in Abu Dhabi, having been introduced two years ago and upgraded recently to a superior version in order to meet changing requirements in the construction sector.

The system requires that every new private development must meet at least the first of five pearl ratings, while government projects must achieve two pearls, designed to promote construction practices that increase profitability while reducing negative environmental impacts of buildings.

All professionals involved in a particular project, including architects, engineers and contractors are expected to be familiar with the rating, in order to steer the development through to its completion.

According to its designers, the xDSM can be implemented from any stage. For instance, in the Operations and Management (O&M) phase, clients can use it to manage the day to day operations in terms of maintaining a green rating.

“Nowhere is it more important to get it right than the beginning of a project, where upwards of 80 per cent of the project cost and performance is decided and value engineering has the biggest impact,” stated Langmead.

“xD Sustainability Manager, together with the ability to actively monitor sustainability requirements against the evolving building information model, gives us the tools to get it right from the beginning, and monitor requirements over the whole project, all the way into facility management,” he added.

To achieve Estidama or LEED-Certification a number of credits are accrued in five green design categories, including water efficiency, building materials used, sustainable sites, usage of energy, products and resources and environmental protection procedures. LEED and Estidama standards cover all new commercial construction and major renovation projects, interiors projects and existing building operations that require retrofitting.

The new point-based xD Sustainability Manager is expected to complement the Pearl Rating System in the UAE’s quest to become a model of sustainability in the Arab world. The authorities hope that measures being undertaken in the emirates would help the country, in its 20-year master plan, eventually reduce energy and water use to bare minimum, at 41 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

UAE among top carbon emitters in the world

Taking advantage of the construction boom in the country, developers have recently faced condemnation for building energy-intensive structures not suited for the region’s hot climate, which have led to the UAE earning a reputation as one of the top countries with the largest per capita ecological footprint and carbon emitter in the world.

“Quite simply it means that these professionals should apply these standards in every aspect of the development, in order to demonstrate sustainability on their projects,” Langmead added.

Earlier, while inaugurating the FM expo, the Director General of Dubai Municipality, Engineer Hussain Nasser Ahmed Lootah, spoke about the need for a greater focus on sustainable facility management solutions in the UAE.

Lootah told delegates that facilities management is in a position to drive better environmental solutions throughout the management of buildings in the Middle East.

He also spoke about the various initiatives that the government has and is continuing to implement, in order to better promote a more sustainable way of living.

“The need for widespread adoption of sustainable strategies must become embedded into the operational maintenance of buildings in the UAE,” he urged.

This year, two new events - Sustainable Facilities Expo and the World FM Congress - have been added in the programme, in order to highlight the growing importance of facilities management in the Middle East, an industry expected to be worth $8 billion by 2013, according to the organisers.

“The addition of these events is indicative of the growing importance of facilities management in the Middle East,” David Wilson, the event director of FM Expo, said.