Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, has unveiled the EGBC 2014 Awards to honour excellence in sustainability initiatives.

Following the strong response to the first edition of the Awards, from diverse stakeholders involved in driving sustainable growth, the EGBC 2014 Awards is also open to organisations and individuals from across the Middle East and North Africa region.

Saeed Alabbar, Acting Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: The EGBC Awards have set a definitive benchmark for excellence in sustainability initiatives in the design, construction and operation of buildings. As the MENA region takes concerted measures to promote sustainable built environments, it is important that the innovative approaches are recognised, to encourage the next generation of green innovators.

Hosting the awards in the UAE also complements the remarkable strides that the nation has made in promoting a sustainability culture. Through the awards, we aim to help establish a world-class and replicable regional model for the sustainable built environment. As the EGBC 2013 Awards proved, the initiative fosters industry knowledge-sharing among the various stakeholders.

The six categories of the EGBC 2014 Awards include: Green Building of the year, for a building finalised between 2012 and 2014 in the MENA region that employed the highest sustainability standards and included innovation in design and processes in its construction and completion; Green Facility Management organisation of the Year for a UAE-based FM organisation for its commitments towards sustainability; Green Building Material/Product Award for the successful introduction to the MENA region of a construction material or product/component which addresses green building principles; Green Building System Award for a building system that provides a more sustainable solution to green building construction than traditional construction methods; Green Building Research Award for research that establishes dependable data, in an area not previously available, related to green building performance; and Training Initiative of the Year for the best sustainability training initiative in the MENA region.

A special Dr Sadek Owainati Award for Students, sponsored by EmiratesGBC co-founder Dr Sadek Owainati, will also be awarded to a university student for exceptional research work on a subject related to green buildings in the Middle East. To qualify for the Dr Sadek Owainati Award for Students, the research topic must be directly applicable to green building design, technology, construction or operation with emphasis on its applicability in the MENA region.

More details on fees, application form and guidelines are available on the EmiratesGBC website (www.emiratesgbc.org/awards ). For details, email: egbcawards@emiratesgbc.org. The award winners will be announced at an Awards ceremony later this year.

EmiratesGBC regularly hosts and participates in multinational events, conferences and forums. EmiratesGBC 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.