Qatari Diar, a leading company in sustainable development projects in Qatar and the world, and BARWA Real Estate Company (BARWA), one of the premier organizations in the State of Qatar, have announced their joint partnership as Real Estate Sponsors for the Abu Dhabi Global City, the sustainable urban development forum attracting more than 1,000 city & political leaders from 43 countries taking place in Abu Dhabi on 7 and 8 April.

The Qatari real estate conglomerates, Qatari Diar & BARWA, will be represented at the Abu Dhabi Global City Forum by Dr. Yousef Al Horr, President of Strategy and Investment. Dr. Al-Horr will present the role of the public, governmental and private sector in developing a “Comprehensive Green Building Framework" named as Qatar Sustainability Assessment System (QSAS). The newly developed framework consists of Green Building Design Guidelines, Sustainability Rating System and Energy Standards. His presentation will tackle the approach and methodology used in developing the QSAS framework and its relationship with global standards and practices in the area of sustainability and green buildings.

“Developing new standards for sustainability, taking the local context into consideration, is a major objective of our organizations; derived from the global concern to further facilitate a futuristic approach towards saving our planet Earth” said Dr. Al-Horr.

Qatari Diar and BARWA’s commitment to corporate responsibility is being expressed by their concern to develop comprehensive means and methodologies for a regional sustainable construction sector.

“The real driver behind QSAS initiative is our strong belief in the necessity of establishing a sustainable construction industry which meets the future needs of Qatar and the GCC while observing environmental impacts. Qatar will set new standards for sustainability, ecological impact, and green building design in the region. Our strategies, as conglomerate real estate companies and responsible corporate citizens, will mark the beginning of a new era in the construction industry and this partnership with Abu Dhabi Global City Forum will be the platform towards achieving this goal,” added Dr. Yousef Al Horr.