GORD, Qatar's leading research, consultancy and training organization, has been awarded a certificate by the Qatar Ministry of Environment for its contributions in the preparation of the new green specification chapter of the fourth edition of the Qatar Construction Specification (QCS 2010).

QCS 2010 adopted a number of Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS) categories & criteria to apply the minimum limit of assessment (Table 1) on some types of construction as a first stage.

Dr. Yousef Al-Horr, Founder and Chairman of Gulf Organization for Research and Development, received the award from the Qatar Ministry of Environment during the launch of QCS 2010 on December 5, 2011, at the Marriott Hotel in Doha, Qatar. Dr. Al-Horr has been personally involved in the preparation of QCS 2010, providing knowledge related to sustainability.

Dr. Mohammed bin Saif al Kuwari, the Assistant Under- Secretary for Laboratories and Standardisation at the MOE said, “QCS 2010, which will come into effect starting December 31, 2011, includes modifications in line with the recent global green infrastructure standards. It introduces new mandatory requirements for private constructions such as energy and water saving measures, reduction of solid waste and wastewater, and improvement of indoor environment to safeguard public health.

Dr. Al-Horr said: “The amendments made to the Qatar Construction Specification represent a very important step towards realising the country’s vision of achieving long-term sustainable growth and development. We are eager to continue to support similar initiatives to help reaffirm Qatar’s status as a global leader in the field of sustainable development.”