Today in Doha a press conference took place at the Qatar National Convention Centre, denoting the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation and agreement between the Standardization Organization of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GSO), and the Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GORD). The representatives present being, The General Secretary of GSO, His Excellency, Mr. Nabil Amin Al Mullah, together with the Founding Chairman of the Board of Directors of GORD, Dr. Yousef Mohammad Al Horr, and Dr. Mohammed Saif Al Kuwari, assistant Undersecretary for laboratories in the Ministry of Environment.

One of the main provisions within the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two parties embodies the development of codes and standards related to sustainability in urban environments and green building, in order to minimize energy and water consumption as well as to reduce carbon emissions, and to decrease rapid depletion of natural resources. In addition to providing a sustainable environment to maintain economics and environmental balance, the provision ensures the preservation of an urban identity unique to the Gulf region. Another provision elaborates on the organization of workshops which provide human resource training in the Member States, based on the methodology of the Global Sustainability Assessment System, GSAS, as well as sets the standard of all the phases of design and construction, and the operation of various types of real estate projects. 

In a related context, GORD is hosting the annual meeting for GSO from May 26th until May 29th.At that time, GORD will present its new Eco-Mark system, which is a system of evaluation of building materials, that has been sponsored by GSO for the GCC, to be a fundamental criterion towards assessing the building materials used in the Gulf region. Immediately after the press conference, there was the launching of the first workshop for the Eco-Mark system, which will be attended by architects, engineers, designers, and professionals working in the field of construction. 

GSO General Secretary quoted Dr. Mohammed Saif Al Kuwari, Assistant Undersecretary for laboratories in the Ministry of Environment stated: “It's such sessions and meetings that spread the green building culture, and raise the level of interest in environmental protection, especially given the warmer climates of the Gulf Cooperation Council, where such climates lead to high costs as a result of inefficient energy usage. Through these meetings, we encourage all sectors involved in construction commitment to do what is applicable in international regulations, including the Ecomark system of GSAS. The sustainable development of green buildings is not complementary to the development of regular buildings, but an alternative to it, and the green building industry needs to make a genuine partnership between the public and private sectors."

Dr. Yousef AlHorr added: “We consider that the signing of the memorandum of cooperation between the organization and the Gulf Standardization kind of strategic partnership between the two parties, in which the GSO is the moral umbrella core for the region, for the development of specifications and standards at all levels;
And directly aids in the unification efforts between the organizations working in the region to serve the development goals for the GCC countries, and at the same time contributes significantly to the increased awareness of the GSAS standards developed by the organization over the past years.

Mr . Ahmed bin Amer bin Mohammed Al-Hamidi, the Minster of Environment of the State of Qatar, hosted both His Excellency, Mr. Nabil Amin Almullah, and Dr. Yousef Al Horr following the signing of the memorandum. Where the parties exchanged points of view on issues of common interest, particularly with regard to strengthening the sustainability processes in urban areas, and in particular, focusing on specifications and standards for construction materials.

Afterwards, Dr. Yousef Al Horr and Mr. Nabil Amin Al mullah and a group of delegates from the GCC, participated in the annual meeting of the GSO in Doha, and subsequently visited Lusail City; which representing the world, the head city for sustainability efforts.  There, everyone witnessed a vivid contrast to the application of the basic components of the award-winning, global sustainability system known as the GSAS system; given that the city contains the following advantages:

The GSO seeks to expand and broaden the adoption of the concepts and requirements related to sustainability in the Member States, through the development of standard specifications and relegations related to sustainable construction, in order to achieve a sustainable urban environment, to provide better lives for current and future generations. GORD, operates mainly in the development of standards and regulations related to sustainable construction, such as GSAS, as well as the evaluation and assessment system of construction materials which are environmentally-friendly.