Green drive is growing on builders in Abu Dhabi

Green drive is growing on builders in Abu Dhabi ABU DHABI // When the Urban Planning Council launched its sustainability programme, Estidama, two years ago, pitching the green building guidelines was not an easy sell. We have to spread the word about how behaviour can have a positive impact. The next battle will be encouraging homeowners to go green when renovating or refurbishing structures that were built before Estidama became mandatory "We've still got a long way to go," Mr Alabbar said. Saeed Alabbar, the vice chairman of the Emirates Green Building Council, a forum of industry professionals committed to environment-friendly practices, said the progress in the past few years could be attributed to economic factors. "We still have some issues overall, but people are now coming around," he said. "Occupiers play an important role," said Rym Baouendi, an adviser for Estidama. Developers, builders and consultants initially baulked at the concept of green building, and nearly all the construction applications in the first three months after Estidama came online were rejected because they did not meet sustainability requirements. Mr Young said about 600 professionals were now qualified with Estidama, but added that training local consultants has been one of the UPC's biggest challenges. "We needed an additional team to support and guide the consultants and contractor," he said. The first response is an automatic rejection saying 'I do not want to do it'. "It's an economic driver; building green buildings makes more economic sense than not building green buildings. This year has seen so much progress, and we could not be prouder. We've changed the focus, and we're raising awareness. Experts at the World EcoConstruct Summit last week applauded the emirate's progress but warned that the battle was far from won. When it comes to behaviour, we have an opportunity to promote our message in places like mosques and schools. "We spent a lot of last year talking about myth and fact," Mr Young said. In the past year, however, attitudes have been quickly changing and the Urban Planning Council (UPC) is now training 30 people a week to use the programme. Buildings also receive a sustainability rating for operation, which is assessed two years after completion. "If you haven't done it before, sustainable is tough," said Edwin Young, an adviser for Estidama. "We can improve sustainable education. "We're seeing everyone on board now - builders, suppliers, government agencies," Mr Alabbar said. Green drive is growing on builders in Abu Dhabi Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 29/04/2012