The United Arab Emirates, sometimes simply called the Emirates, is a country in Western Asia at the southeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south and west, as well as sharing maritime borders with Qatar to the west and Iran to the north. The sovereign constitutional monarchy is a federation of seven emirates consisting of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain. Their boundaries are complex, with numerous enclaves within the various emirates. Each emirate is governed by a ruler; together, they jointly form the Federal Supreme Council. One of the rulers serves as the President of the United Arab Emirates. In 2013, the UAE's population was 9.2 million, of which 1.4 million are Emirati citizens and 7.8 million are expatriates.
Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. USGBC is best known for its development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating systems and its annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. USGBC was one of eight national councils that helped found the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC). The current president and CEO is Mahesh Ramanujam who acquired this role in January 2017 after co-founder Rick Fedrizzi.
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, commercially rebranded as du in February 2007, is one of the two telecom operators in the United Arab Emirates. du offers fixed line, mobile telephony, internet and digital television services across the United Arab Emirates.
The Code for Sustainable Homes is an environmental assessment method for rating and certifying the performance of new homes in United Kingdom. First introduced in 2006, it is a national standard for use in the design and construction of new homes with a view to encouraging continuous improvement in sustainable home building. In 2015 the Government in England has withdrawn it, consolidating some standards into Building Regulations.
The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the largest emirate by area, accounting for approximately 87 percent of the total land area of the federation. Abu Dhabi also has the second largest population of the seven emirates. In June 2011, it was estimated to be 2,120,700 people, of which, 439,100 people were Emirati citizens, which has risen to 2.3 million in 2012. The city of Abu Dhabi, after which the emirate is named, is both the capital of the emirate and federation.
The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) is a North American 'forest certification standard' and program of SFI Inc., a non-profit organization. The Sustainable Forestry Initiative is the world's largest single forest certification standard by area. The SFI is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario Canada and Washington D.C. USA.
Masdar City is a planned city project in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Its core is being built by Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, with the majority of seed capital provided by the Government of Abu Dhabi. Designed by the British architectural firm Foster and Partners, the city relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources. Masdar City is being constructed 17 kilometres (11 mi) east-south-east of the city of Abu Dhabi, beside Abu Dhabi International Airport.
The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) is the strategic planning agency for the Abu Dhabi (emirate), which supports the realisation of Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 through the creation and continuing evolution of an Emirate-wide strategic framework plan. Chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council is responsible for defining the shape of the Emirate, along with the associated land uses, to ensure the development of a professionally designed, sustainable and well-managed urban environment, which incorporate world-class transport and infrastructure systems and support the implementation of Economic Vision 2030 and Environment Vision 2030.
Abu Dhabi is the capital and the second most populous city of the United Arab Emirates. It is the largest of the UAE's seven emirates and also capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi city is situated on an island in the Persian Gulf off the central western coast, while the majority of the city and Emirate reside on the mainland connected to the rest of the country. As of 2019, Abu Dhabi's urban area has an estimated population of 1.45 million people, out of 2.9 million people in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, as of 2016
This article provides examples of Green Building programs in the United States. These programs span the public, private, and non-profit sectors, and all have the goal of increasing energy efficiency and the sustainability of the built environment.
The Chicago Center for Green Technology was a 34,000-square-foot (3,200 m2) US Green Building Council LEED Platinum certified building located on a plot of 17 acres (69,000 m2) in Chicago's East Garfield Park Community built to showcase green technologies. This was the first municipal and brownfield site to win a LEED Platinum award. This project was completed as part of Mayor Richard M. Daley's Chicago Brownfield Initiative (CBI). The center offered workshops focusing on green technology and sustainable design, a green building resource center, and self-guided or guided tours to visitors.
Canada has implemented the "R-2000" in 1982 to promote better than building code construction to increase energy efficiency and promote sustainability. An optional feature of the R-2000 home program is the EnerGuide rating service. This service is available across Canada, allows home builders and home buyers to measure and rate the performance of their homes, and confirm that those specifications have been met. Some Canadian provinces are considering mandatory use of the service for all new homes.
Green building on college campuses is the purposeful construction of buildings on college campuses that decreases resource usage in both the building process and also the future use of the building. The goal is to reduce CO
2 emissions, energy use, and water use, while creating an atmosphere where students can be healthy and learn. Universities across the country are building to green standards set forth by the USGBC, United States Green Building Council. The USGBC is a non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed and built. This organization created the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which is a certification process that provides verification that a building is environmentally sustainable. In the United States, commercial and residential buildings account for 70 percent of the electricity use and over 38 percent of CO
2 emissions. Because of these huge statistics regarding resource usage and emissions, the room for more efficient building practices is dramatic. Since college campuses are where the world's future leaders are being taught, colleges are choosing to construct new buildings to green standards in order to promote environmental stewardship to their students. Colleges across the United States have taken leading roles in the construction of green building in order to reduce resource consumption, save money in the long run, and instill the importance on environmental sustainability on their students.It is a better way to motivate new generation to live a sustainable life.
The LEED Professional Exams are administered by the Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) for professionals seeking to earn credentials and certificates. The exams test knowledge based on the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating Systems.
The Pearl Rating System is the green building rating system developed by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council as part of their sustainable development initiative, Estidama. The system can be applied to communities, buildings and villas, with different requirements for each.
Green Building Initiative (GBI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that owns and administers the Green Globes green building assessment and certification in the United States and Canada. It was established in 2004 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
