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GORD to lead global dialogue in Green Building best-practice through the Green Buildings Expo 2014

GORD to lead global dialogue in Green Building best-practice through the Green Buildings Expo 2014

Gulf Organisation for Research and Development, (GORD), the authority for knowledge on sustainability in the MENA region announces Green Buildings Expo 2014 , the region’s biggest conference & exhibition for sustainable solutions in the built-environment. Green Buildings Expo will take place at the Doha Exhibition Centre, between 28 – 30 January 2014.

GORD is proud to announce IFP Qatar as the official organizer for Green Buildings Expo 2014. The event will provide a global platform for construction, infrastructure, engineering, education and research institutions to exchange products and ideas in the sustainability sphere to collaboratively address the specific needs of the region.

Green Buildings Expo 2014 consists of the following events:

1. International Sustainable Built Environment Conference (for academics)

2. Sustainable Practices Forum

3. Green Buildings Exhibition

4. Sustainability Awards

5. Innovation Theatre

Speaking at the launch, Dr Yousef Al Horr, Founding Chairman, GORD commented, “Qatar Has shown firm commitment towards sustainability, in line with the directions of His Highness the Emir and the Qatar National Vision 2030. The expo is yet another initiative in our pursuit to position “Qatar, the capital of green”. It will reinforce Qatar’s global role in promoting sustainability. Opening an international dialogue on green-building practices will influence the business decisions pertaining to the planning, procurement and implementation phases of any project. Qatar has demonstrated a solid commitment to sustainability, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 that outlines a shift from a hydrocarbon-based economy to a knowledge-based model.  Connecting academia with businesses promises such a grassroots-change that will bring in sustainability right from the outset and provide megaprojects with sustainable foundations.

The Green Buildings Exhibition will showcase industry-leading product portfolios and technologies for sustainable design, construction and the built-environment, including energy and water saving equipment and products, waste management methodologies, pollution-control and safety, security & disaster prevention among others. Experts will provide information, comparative analysis and demonstration of these products at the exhibition.. The exhibition will also provide an opportunity to network and grow businesses.

Through the expo,  in addition to setting benchmarks for sustainable building best practices, GORD is also establishing a platform for industry stakeholders to learn more about both locally developed and  global green solutions.

International Sustainable Built Environment Conference (for academics) will encapsulate global best-practice in sustainability. The conference will provide a speaking platform featuring policy-makers, professors and authors providing thought leadership, and promoting sustainable business strategies, products and practices.

Submissions of papers are welcomed on the Elseiver website to contribute to the International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment' that currently covers many categories under GSAS including urban connectivity, site or land use, use of sustainable materials, indoor environmental quality, energy conservation and efficiency, water conservation and production,  cultural conservation and support of the national economy, healthy and productive built environment including neighbourhood/building design management and operations, commissioning plan, organic waste management, recycling management, intelligent building control systems and maintenance. Select white-papers from the journal will be presented at the conference.

Ahead of inclusion in a journal, an editorial board comprising of 32 professors from across the world, from leading universities in Saudi Arabia, Denmark, New Zealand, Singapore, United States, United Kingdom, Serbia , India, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Norway, will peer-review the papers with the editor-in-chief Dr Yousef Al Horr.

GORD to lead global dialogue in Green Building best-practice through the Green Buildings Expo 2014 Apr 15,2013
GORD to lead global dialogue in Green Building best-practice through the Green Buildings Expo 2014

The Sustainable Practices Forum targeted at project management consultants, contractors, developers will see sustainability practitioners based in Qatar and from leading global companies share successes, exchange new solutions and cutting –edge concepts and seed potential collaborative initiatives.

Dr. Yousef Al Horr added, “We invite academics, scientists, industry practitioners and the student community to collaborate and share knowledge and expertise and experiences in sustainability to develop effective solutions that address key environmental challenges. Further to the last edition that centered on GSAS, we have made several advancements in the construction sector, especially around the processes surrounding procurement and installation of sustainable products. Following the government mandate on Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) and the wide reach of our training workshops, we are proud to have achieved as much as 95 per cent GSAS – Certified Green Professionals’ (GSAS-CGP) accreditation in Qatar’s currently active construction developments. Megaprojects such as Lusail City are already benefitting from our incentive-based star-rating under GSAS, a reflection of the successful realisation of our sustainability goals.”

Leading academicians, sustainability researchers and green-building champions will be acknowledged for their contributions at the Sustainability Awards ceremony.  These are independent prizes that recognise research, innovation and achievement in tackling the sustainable development challenges facing the regional construction industry.

The three-day expo will build an association of local, regional and international partnerships spanning government, industry and professional stakeholders, in ensuring that sustainability in the built environment is the central pillar
of  Qatar’s long-term goals.

The event will bring together approximately more than 100 exhibitors and more than 500 delegates including government officials, opinion leaders, company presidents, CEOs and senior officers, civil engineers, architects, academia and construction industry practitioners from across the globe, with participation from governmental and semi-government institutions responsible for capital projects and organisations.

Dr. Yousef Al Horr added, “ Our centres of excellence, including GSAS Trust GSAS Academy, GSAS Institute and GORD Consult have been reaching industry stakeholders across the MENA region and in key markets across the world, furthering our mission to offer new knowledge in sustainability and its applications, to empower the construction industry to address environmental challenges, and value and implement the concepts and strategies of sustainability. Through this expo we aim to attract the world’s top minds to convene across several disciplines and to foster meaningful dialogue between them.”

Till date, GORD Academy has successfully accredited over a 1000 engineers through the GSAS-CGP workshops. GORD’s global outreach has seen several international editions of the CGP workshops, starting with Jordan and Kuwait, to be followed by Saudi Arabia. Offering engineers across the globe the flexibility to undertake the exams from any location, GORD has introduced, computer-based delivery of CGP exams.

Across the region, GSAS has been providing a blueprint for sustainable building development, with countries such as Kuwait adopting GSAS as the national code for green building developments. The new Municipal Headquarters in Kuwait City has been built as per GSAS standards. Besides offering memberships and certification programs designed to meet the educational needs of the professionals working in the construction industry, the GORD Academy has also signed memorandums of understanding with several universities including Aberdeen University, University College of London and Khartoum University to aid the development of a general framework for coordination to teach and integrate GSAS into the region’s universities’ education-curricula and to raise awareness about sustainable building practices. These agreements will see the entities jointly develop research projects, technical services, training and consultancy abilities. For example, GSAS has been adopted into the national environmental design curriculum at Qatar University and King Fahd University.

On an industrial level, the GORD Trust has been accrediting companies in providing third-party professional privileges for institutions, as licensed GSAS Authorised Service Providers. In addition to developing Qatar’s Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), GORD also launched locally-developed hybrid-car concept at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP18).