The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on the sidelines of the World Energy Forum in Dubai:
Concerted initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in both residential and commercial projects of Emaar in Dubai Underlines commitment of Emaar to support Dubai’s ‘green vision’ for sustainable development
Dubai, UAE; 24 October 2012: Emaar Properties, the global developer of iconic projects, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence (DCCE), established under the guidance of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy to provide advisory and carbon aggregation services, to launch a strategic collaboration for promoting greenhouse gas reductions in the various lifestyle communities of Emaar in Dubai.
This was on the sidelines of the World Energy Forum in Dubai, which highlighted the global stand on sustainable energy, reiterated by the key message delivered at event that energy is a key focus of the newly established Sustainability Development Goals. A high-level international energy conference, the World Energy Forum was held for the first time outside the headquarters of the United Nations, in Dubai, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Ahmad Al Matrooshi, Managing Director, Emaar Properties, and Waleed Salman, Chairman of DCCE, signed the MoU. The signing ceremony was attended by His Excellency Saeed Al Tayer – Vice Chairman of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Dr. Harold Hyun-Suk Oh – President & Chairman of World Energy Forum and Najib Zafarani – Secretary General, Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, and several senior officials.
His Excellency Saeed Al Tayer said: “We strongly encourage private sector initiative in energy management not only as part of the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, but also to allow a more participatory approach that includes all stakeholders.”
As per the MoU, Emaar mandates DCCE to identify and explore projects that can result in energy savings and waste reduction across its residential and commercial projects in the city. DCCE will also identify emission reduction opportunities and strategies for projects that could potentially lead to the generation of Certified Emission Reductions. The approach to be undertaken by the entities will ultimately allow end-users to reduce their energy bill and evaluate a number of measures to further enhance the financial viability of other activities, such as waste avoidance and green procurement planning.
Ahmad Al Matrooshi said: “Dubai is focused on promoting sustainable development initiatives, which is underlined by the hosting of the World Energy Forum in the city, and its commitment to explore renewable energy sources. As the pioneer in developing master-planned communities, Emaar is at the forefront in identifying and potentially implementing advanced projects that can reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. Our partnership with DCCE to evaluate the potential to achieve Certified Emission Reductions will not only lead to more energy and water savings in our communities but also reduce the carbon footprint.”
“We want our stakeholders to be active partners in the green initiative and actively participate in some of the initiatives that were shared in the context of the World Energy Forum 2012,” explained Al Matrooshi. “Emaar has already undertaken several environment-friendly initiatives, and our partnership with DCCE will further enable us to be an industry thought leader in managing sustainable lifestyle entities.”
Waleed Salman said: “The DCCE was created to encourage and complement a business-led drive towards de-carbonizing the UAE economy. Together with the public sector and wider society in Dubai, we aim to achieve greater environmental efficiency and improved economic performance on carbon reductions. Emaar today is a key partner to provide access to such knowledge to its key partners both in the commercial and residential sphere.”
As per the MoU, Emaar and DCCE will look at the different streams of carbon dioxide emissions in selected activities within Emaar’s portfolio and develop a set of strategies and recommendations reducing the energy and resource consumption patters and ultimately monetizing them through a Green Building Programme of Activities under a carbon scheme.
“The Green Building Programme of Activities and the carbon abatement strategy addresses key requirements of a more sophisticated community which considers environmental development and economic opportunities closely related,” added Salman.
The DCCE will recommend to Emaar viable measures that could be introduced in retro-fits and enable a end-user forum to facilitate knowledge transfer between developers and owners/tenants in the benefits of adopting best practices.
Emaar’s sustainability commitment is highlighted in the development of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. The tower’s high performance exterior cladding system is designed to withstand the UAE’s summer temperatures. The condensate collection system of Burj Khalifa provides about 15 million gallons of supplement water per year, equal to about 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Another sustainability feature is the solar panels used to meet a bulk of the water heating requirements of residents. The air-conditioning and water systems also incorporate extensive energy saving control systems to reduce part load energy consumption. Emaar has implemented many measures across its residential communities to enable residents to attain cost savings and optimise resource usage while protecting the environment.