Barwa Real Estate, a leading developer, and Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment, a pioneer in sustainable developments, have introduced Middle East’s comprehensive ‘green building design’ rating system for all their projects.

The ground-up performance-based sustainability rating system in the Middle East was developed in partnership with TC Chan Center for building simulation and energy studies at the University of Pennsylvania, US.

“Barwa,  Qatari Diar and TC Chan Center have developed the first ground-up performance-based sustainability rating system in the Middle East to be applied in Qatar (QSAS) to create a sustainable built environment that minimises ecological impact while addressing the specific regional needs and environment of Qatar,” said Dr Yousif Al-Horr, Barwa president of strategy and investment, Barwa Real Estate.

“QSAS will allow Barwa and Qatari Diar to take the lead in addressing critical issues related to regional and national energy efficiency policies, reducing carbon emissions, minimizing ecological impacts, and ensuring high indoor environmental quality,” he added.

“By developing our own system that adheres to international standards and addresses sustainability goals specific to the area, Barwa and Qatari Diar will serve as a premier example for companies in the region and the world.”

Eng Mohamed Al-Hedfa, deputy CEO business development, Qatari Diar, said: “Developing QSAS based on local needs while leveraging best practices is a definite advantage, especially for regions where environmental, economic, social, and cultural conditions are unlike other areas in the world, factors such as desertification, scarcity of water, pedestrian connectivity, and cultural heritage/identity are either omitted or unsuitably addressed.”

“Other primary QSAS advantages include learning from established global best practices, all categories, criteria, and measurements are defined to be performance-based and quantifiable, a flexible scoring method which has overcome the limitations of other international rating systems, and complete control over the development, customization, and future modifications or expansion of the QSAS rating system,” Eng. Al-Hedfa added.

Barwa and Qatari Diar’s announcement came at the start of Global City, a two-day (April 7 and 8) sustainable urban development forum in Abu Dhabi, which has attracted more than 1,000 city and political leaders from 43 countries.

“Studying the local situation in Qatar has led to the formulation of value statements that are at the core of QSAS development,” said Dr Ali Malkawi, director of TC Chan Center, University of Pennsylvania.

“Each value statement constitutes a major category in the rating system, subsequently populated by the specific criteria with associated measurements that together quantify the category as a whole.

“These criteria were weighted according to their environmental impacts. In order to aggregate over different categories, a set of local stakeholders was assembled to assess the relative importance of each value statement, (i.e., the weight of each category).”

“To derive a rating system that responds to these local priorities, it is important to translate them into a set of value statements. Each statement expresses a particular need of society, such as the need to create a livable urban fabric, the need to conserve water, and the need to safeguard against long-term health risks of the population,” continued Dr  Malkawi.

In addition to addressing all locally relevant aspects of sustainability, ecological impact, and green building design criteria, QSAS developed a standalone building energy standard to support Qatar’s building energy ratings.

Sustainable, or green, building design focuses on increasing the efficiency of resource use — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environmen