The building industry in the GCC is projected to grow by up to 4% annually in 2023-2024 as investments in sustainable design strategies and ESG-related programmes will continue unabated despite persisting economic dark clouds, said a report by Gensler, a leading global architecture, design and planning firm.

 

This projection presents a great opportunity for sustainable developments and implementation of clean energy, it stated.

 

This comes especially at a time when more and more organizations understand that their real estate may be the most powerful climate action tool at their disposal, it added. 

 

As embodied carbon analysis gains recognition alongside the drive for operational net zero goals, design and construction strategies that sequester carbon in buildings and prioritize locally manufactured materials will see a high degree of success, said Gensler. 

 

With 53 locations and more than 7,000 professionals, Gensler has its network spread across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and the Americas.

 

Advocacy for local building code improvements will be critical as governments seek to raise the standard across projects, stated Samar Hussein, Design Resilience Leader and Associate at Gensler Middle East. 

 

Hussein outlined the following trends in the sustainability space with a spotlight on the region:

 

*Carbon performance certifications will increase in importance across global real estate in the immediate future.

Radical transparency is the name of the game as companies shift to a culture of disclosure around their environmental commitments. Net zero energy and carbon certifications will become baseline expectations even in industries with traditionally poor building performance.

 

*Europe will chart a course toward regenerative systems and Middle East will follow suit.

Recognizing that carbon reduction is only a first step in a long journey, much of Europe is embracing climate action strategies focused on low-tech design and regenerative systems. Such strategies will shift the focus from minimizing environmental harm (net zero) to actively benefiting local ecologies and generating renewable, clean energy (net positive). 

 

This presents a great opportunity for the Middle East to learn and leverage from this success and partner for advancement in these sectors.

 

*Transforming existing buildings and materials with reuse strategies will supersede new construction.

As energy grids decarbonize, the embodied carbon associated with new construction will become more consequential. Adaptive reuse, which can reduce a building’s life cycle carbon by 40%, will be an important antidote to this dilemma, especially as forward-thinking governments and firms pledge to prioritize retrofits over new builds. 

 

The GCC currently has growing initiatives on reuse and recycling, with upcoming focus on low carbon projects, emphasized by KSA’s vision for sustainable giga-developments. 

 

Renovating existing building stock to a zero-carbon-ready level should be the next priority for advancing the region’s sustainability targets for 2030-2060. Renovating buildings typically save between 50% to 75% of the embodied carbon emissions compared to constructing a new building, particularly when the building foundation and structural skeleton are maintained.  

 

*Certifications will emerge to better define and quantify socially responsible strategies — the ‘S’ in ESG.

 

While many prominent certification programs exist to demonstrate environmental and governance commitments, the same cannot currently be said for social aspects of ESG. Funds are increasingly seeking clarity on equity, inclusion and wellness. 

 

"In coming years, we expect new evaluation systems for socially responsible strategies as companies look to prove their mettle to investors and customers," remarked Hussein.

 

An uptake of qualification targets will encourage a new set of baseline sustainability measures to be enforced across the Middle East and globally, he stated. 

 

While the region is far behind the rest of the world in building renovation and reuse volumes, the region has a unique opportunity to develop and implement sustainability measures from the off-set across new projects, he added.-TradeArabia News Service