The Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS) launched by Barwa and Qatari Diar Research Institute (BQDRI), which focuses on new knowledge in sustainability and its application, has won an international excellence award.

QSAS clinched 'The Excellence award' for outstanding contribution to sustainable development at the 2009 International Real Estate Financial Summit in London.

The ceremony, held at the Radisson SAS Portman Square Hotel in London, was attended by CEOs and representatives from international finance and real estate companies representing more than 24 countries across the world.

QSAS was recognized among some of the leading companies in the financial and real estate sectors and was among 28 other award winners.

Dr Yousef Al-Horr, chairman and managing director of BQDRI, received the QSAS prize from Liz Peace, CEO of the British Property Federation.

The award nomination was handled by a judging committee comprising international VIPs working in the financial and real estate sectors. QSAS was recognized by the committee as outstanding, and above any other nominated system and company.

The selection criteria included the system expansion strategy to include a wider geographic area or to be adopted by other companies or countries in the region; the size of achievements realized by the company which has developed the system; the system development strategy to ensure specialized activities and the social role played by the selected company.

Dr Al Horr said: “It is a great honour to win such a prize after considerable growth and important achievements. We have developed QSAS over three years, and it has been introduced as the Middle East’s first integrated and performance-based Green Building Assessment rating system."

"So, QSAS is distinguished from other systems as it corresponds to the environment and needs of this region, when other practiced methods depend on imported systems that were developed to address different environmental climates," he observed.

“The sustainability concept continues to grow. We at BQDRI strategically support the people and employees working in the real estate sector by empowering them about the concepts of sustainability. We are delighted with the prize which comes in recognition of our ongoing contribution to develop this sector,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service