A leading expert involved with Dubai’s Sustainable City project has called on local government authorities and the construction industry to elevate green building standards in the UAE, following their successful initial implementation in the country.

Speaking on at an international trade show in Abu Dhabi, Karim El-Jisr, director of the Diamond Innovation Centre for Diamond Developers, told Big Project ME that green building standards should be elevated worldwide.

“We covered – and in fact, exceeded – the specifications set out in the green building standards by Dubai Municipality,” El-Jisr said, when discussing The Sustainable City, Diamond Developer’s flagship project in Dubai. “These standards would be the floor today, not the ceiling anymore. We have exceeded those standards on many, many counts – from the U-Value, to the thermal insulation, through to the performance of the HVAC system.”

“We now have much higher standards, and we believe that – now that we know the industry, and that we understand performance and energy efficiency – the green building standards lenient. Looking forward, if you put that into perspective and look at the issues around climate change, the work done on the Paris Agreement and the research done in the Emissions Gap Report by the United Nations Environment Programme, then (you’ll realise) that green building standards are not enough.”

El-Jisr explained he believed that it was time for the UAE and the rest of the world to elevate these green building standards, citing the development of new products and technologies that will help companies and buildings perform better.

“As time progresses, new products are being made available and technologies are improving. That’s why we’re confident in saying that we should enhance green building standards worldwide,” he concluded.