Sorouh Real Estate has called for the real estate sector to make a firm commitment to take an 'early adopter' approach to going green at the Middle East Green Buildings & Sustainability conference.

Gurjit Singh, chief operating officer of the company, made these comments whilst on a distinguished panel, discussing 'The Economic Implications of Going Green'.

“Sustainability should be an important part of any real estate company’s overall strategy in both the Place Making and Place Management stage of the real estate value chain.”

Sorouh is committed to adopting Estidama, Abu Dhabi’s sustainability assessment criteria, in taking an early adopter approach to creating sustainable communities in line with Abu Dhabi’s Plan 2030, he added.

“We launched our sustainability report this year as part of our corporate governance effort. This is a first for an Abu Dhabi real estate developer and we have received a very positive response. We believe that companies need to commit to a set of guidelines and today’s conference is an important catalyst for encouraging companies to make this happen. All the participants in the broad property sector must take the responsibility to protect our current and future environment.”

Gurjit Singh, along with his fellow panellists, focused on four main topics; the impact the financial crisis is having on building sustainable buildings, the cost of developing green buildings, the use of sustainability to reduce costs and the outlook for the future, at the conference organised by MEED.

Sorouh recently announced, 'Green Your Life', an innovative online campaign, launched in partnership with Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, to educate people on how to become more environmentally responsible in their own homes.

The campaign, which is available online on Sorouh’s website (www.sorouh.com), provides the public with practical localised tips on how to conserve water and energy whilst also reducing waste in each part of their home.-TradeArabia News Service