Emirates Green Building Council (EmiratesGBC), an independent forum aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices, has extended the deadline for submissions to its annual Mena Green Building Awards 2018 until February 15.

The platform for this year’s awards are the largest yet in terms of award categories and partnerships from across the region, demonstrating a growing commitment to sustainable building practices, said the statement from EmiratesGBC.   

Over the years, the awards have drawn strong response and participation from the construction industry value chain, from across the Middle East and North Africa region, to become one of the largest gatherings of professionals and researchers focused on promoting sustainable built environments.

The increased interest has prompted the organising committee to include an additional four professional categories to cater to more specific design and building elements, it stated.

Saeed Al Abbar, the chairman of EmiratesGBC, said: "Recognising organisations in the region for their innovative and outstanding sustainable building principles and practices is extremely important to sustain the momentum as well as inspire their innovations for a greener future."

"The submissions that we have received for the awards have not only increased in number, but also the standards and quality are much higher signifying a shift in how the industry is implementing sustainable building practices. This has prompted us to expand the awards this year and include more categories as well as reach out to additional Green Building Councils from the region to create a larger platform that delivers meaningful change," stated Al Abbar.

This year, the Mena Green Building Awards are officially endorsed by the World Green Building Council, and are organised in partnership with Jordan Green Building Council and Lebanon Green Building Council with additional participation from Palestine Green Building Council, Egypt Green Building Council, Kuwait Green Building Council and Morocco Green Building Council for the first time.

The honours will be presented in 19 professional categories in addition to the Dr Owainati Student Excellence Award which offers the potential of a cash prize, specifically awarded to a student from a recognised university in the UAE who has conducted exceptional research work in a subject related to green buildings in the Middle East.

The awards will be audited by KPMG to ensure the highest standards of corporate governance and transparency.

Covering new buildings and retrofits as well as green products and services, the 19 professional award categories this year are: Green Building of the Year in six sub-categories: Commercial, Hotel, School, Residential, Public Building and Healthcare Building; Sustainable Building Design of the Year; Sustainable Urban/Community Development Design of the Year; Facility Management Organisation of the Year; Contractor of the Year; Developer of the Year: Green Building Material/Product: Energy Management, Indoor Air Quality, Conventional Construction Materials & Water Management; Green Building Research Award; Retrofit Project of the Year; Best Operations & Maintenance (existing buildings); and Training Initiative of the Year.

Al Abbar said the EmiratesGBC was confident of receiving more submissions from across the region, especially as regional governments place increased emphasis on sustainable development.

"We are looking forward to receiving this year’s entries and discovering the fascinating, sustainable projects and research-related entries," he added.

The short-listed applicants will be notified on April 19 and the winners will be announced at a gala dinner and awards ceremony to be held at Roda Al Murooj Downtown Dubai, on May 9.-TradeArabia News Service