Experts in diverse aspects of energy management will converge in Dubai for the sixth Annual EmiratesGBC Congress on October 17 and 18, 2017, to discuss strategies for promoting sustainable built environments.
Organised by Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, the annual Congress will be held at the Pullman Dubai Creek City Centre hotel, under the theme ‘Urban Energy: Powering Smart, Happy & Efficient Cities.’
The event has received strong support from industry stakeholders with AkzoNobel as Principal Sponsor and Majid Al Futtaim as Venue Sponsor. Also on board as Supporting Associations are Clean Energy Business Council, Emirates Environmental Group, EWS-WWF and Middle East Facility Management Association (MEFMA).
The Congress will commence with welcome addresses by the Congress Moderator Holley Chant, Executive Director of Corporate Sustainability, KEO International Consultants; Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC; Eng. Aisha Al Abdooli, Director of Green Development, Ministry of Climate Change & Environment; and Rajiv Rajgopal, Regional Director, AkzoNobel Middle East & Africa.
Saeed Al Abbar said: “With an increasing focus on diversifying urban energy sources and demand side management in the region, the Annual EmiratesGBC Congress is discussing a highly topical issue that has great importance and relevance to the public and private sector, and for the community at large. By addressing the three key pillars of a modern city – efficiency, smartness and happiness – the Congress will present not only path-breaking achievements in urban energy management but also discuss strategies to address future challenges. We have a line-up of experts at the event who will present compelling insights on sustainable built environments. We thank the support of all our partners in organising this Congress and look forward to strong partnerships that will offer significant value for all stakeholders.”
The discussions are centred on three sub-themes: Powering Efficient Cities, Powering Smart Cities and Powering Happy Cities. Each session will be addressed by experts in the field.
Powering Efficient Cities will examine local, regional and international clean energy strategies before diving into the role of retrofitting the existing building stock to achieve the necessary targets. Karim Elgendy, Founder & Coordinator; Senior Sustainability Architect, Carboun Initiative, Dar, will deliver a keynote presentation on ‘Carbon Emissions in the Middle East’ followed by a discussion on ‘Clean Energy Strategies’ to be addressed by Meshayel Omran Lehssoni, Director for Future energy and Security of Supply, Chief Happiness & Positivity Officer, Future Energy & Security of Supply Department, UAE Ministry of Energy; Faisal Ali Rashid, Energy Demand Side Director of Dubai Supreme Council of Energy; and Fareed Bushehri, Regional Resource Efficiency Officer, UNEP Regional Office for West Asia (ROWA), UNEP.
Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, will deliver a keynote on ‘Accelerating Building Efficiency’ followed by a discussion to be addressed by Ali Al Jassim, CEO, Etihad ESCO; Michel Abi Saab, Manager of Sustainability, Masdar; Charles Blashke, Founder and Managing Director, Taka Solutions; and Maria Malo, Business Development Manager MEA, AkzoNobel.
Powering Smart Cities discusses the relevance of smart technologies in green building design, construction, maintenance and operations. Abdulla Ali Ahli, Manager - Sustainable Energy Programmes, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center, will deliver a keynote on the Autonomous House, followed by presentations by Marco Janssen, Director Smart Grid PMO, DEWA; and Gauthier Dupont, Director of Clean Energy & Sustainability Services, EY.
Powering Happy Cities focuses on how green buildings can make us healthy, happy and productive. John Alker, Campaign & Policy Director, Steering Committee Better Places for People, UK Green Building Council, World Green Building Council, will deliver a keynote presentation on ‘Wellbeing’ followed by a WELL-certified office case study by Sreya Vempatti, Environmental Coordinator, AESG. A panel discussion on ‘Wellbeing in Buildings’ will be moderated by Holley Chant, Executive Director of Corporate Sustainability, KEO International Consultants, and addressed by Richard Fenne, Principal & Studio Chair, Woods Bagot; Sreya Vempatti; and Hrvoje Cindrić, Associate, Middle East Urbanism Leader, Arup Associates.
The second day of the Congress will be dedicated to a field visit to City Center Me'aisem where a workshop and a Green Building Tour of the LEED Platinum Core and Shell Property will take place.
Sponsorship opportunities are still available for Platinum, Gold, Silver & Other Sponsors, who are assured of a multitude of benefits in brand reputation building. Registration to the Congress is also open with a registration fee of AED 750 for members and partners of EmiratesGBC as well as the Supporting Associations of the Congress, and AED 1,000 for non-members and AED 250 for students. For more details, contact events@emiratesgbc.org or call on 04 346 8244.
EmiratesGBC regularly hosts and participates in multinational events, conferences and forums. It has also developed a suite of activities, inclusive of networking events, technical workshops, focus days and facilitated training based around specific issues related to the built-environment that meet the needs of its members, of the UAE community, and the wider Middle East.
