Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by conserving green structure practices, has actually established nine priority locations that will certainly lead its tasks throughout 2018. Approved by EmiratesGBC's Board of Supervisors, the priority areas have actually been determined to straighten with both the UAE's Vision 2021 National Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Saeed Al Abbar, Chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: "EmiratesGBC has actually set our 9 priority areas of 2018 after closely checking out the UN SDGs and UAE's 2021 Vision to establish exactly how we can add to the global sustainability schedule along with the UAE's nationwide top priorities. Consequently, each of EmiratesGBC's priority locations is straightened with an appropriate SDG to produce a more targeted impact."

Developing part of the UN's 2030 Advancement Program entitled "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," the SDGs develop an essential part of the agenda as they stress sustainable and environmentally mindful social and economic advancement targets. Several of the SDGs promote the situation for responsible, energy reliable, sustainable building practices that sustain the conservation of our world by minimizing reliance on high power and water consumption.

In a similar way, one of the target areas of the UAE's Vision 2021 is the 'Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure' pillar that focuses on protecting natural resources, enhancing the contribution of clean power, and developing an energy-efficient, smart city framework that is environmentally-friendly. The UAE has taken numerous actions over the last few years to construct a green economy for sustainable growth in line with this vision. As an example, with regards to green building standards, the UAE is already aligned with the global timeline to adopt Virtually No Energy Structures (nZEBs) according to EmiratesGBC's current record, Defining Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in the UAE 2017.

EmiratesGBC's nine concern areas targeted for 2018 are:

- Building Retrofit Training - to operate a training program that offers capacity building for industry and federal government, encouraging retrofit of existing buildings.
- Benchmarking/Building Efficiency Accelerator - to support Dubai's dedication to the global Building Efficiency Accelerator program and increase EmiratesGBC's benchmarking initiatives to assist operators and owners across different sectors evaluate their building and operational efficiency, and eventually provide a dimension to urge more powerful energy efficiency measures.
- Technical Publications - to generate technical documents and magazines appropriate to the green structure industry. Publications will include study, white papers and bi-annual records among others.
- Emirates Coalition for Green Schools - to engage UAE colleges and encourage power efficient operations and retrofits of existing school facilities. The program promotes ideal techniques and makes green structure details conveniently available for school administration.
- Green Key - to operate and expand the Green Key eco tag to sustain sustainability in the hospitality industry in the UAE.
- Annual Awards - to implement a MENA regional Awards Program annually that honours firms that have demonstrated clear execution of sustainable design, construction and/or operation of buildings and structures.
- Outreach & Awareness - to host informative events, structure trips and workshops, including the front runner Annual Congress, to enlighten and develop capability on green building subjects within the industry.
- Membership - to preserve current members and recruit new participants, hence widening the Council's effect for lasting structure techniques.
- nZEB Centre of Excellence - to lead the movement for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings in the UAE.

A few of the SDGs that EmiratesGBC has lined up with include: Objective 3 that stresses Good Health & Well-being; Objective 6 for clean Water & Sanitation; Objective 7 for Affordable & Clean Power; Goal 9 on Industry, Innovation & Facilities to advertise inclusive and lasting industrialisation; Goal 11 on structure Lasting Cities & Communities; and Goal 13 on Climate Action to deal with climate modification.

Al Abbar, added: "We are living during an critical time for humanity. Our natural deposits are being diminished and with a fast-growing global populace, we must believe long-lasting - especially for future generations who deserve to acquire a lasting, clean world. Our job, and practices today are exceptionally essential, and as we promote lasting, energy-efficient structure techniques one building at a time, we are making a significant impact. The forward-looking green vision of the UAE is likewise a tremendous boost to EmiratesGBC's agenda, and we are confident that 2018 will be an impressive year for us."

EmiratesGBC has a dedicated online database that highlights suppliers of power effective equipment for structure retrofit/new construction projects. In addition to releasing 2 ground-breaking industry records - EmiratesGBC Technical Guidelines for Retrofitting Buildings and Energy & Water Benchmarking for UAE Hotels - it frequently hosts Emphasis Days and networking sessions to promote green buildings.