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Sharjah environmental expert blasts LEED standards

by Greg Whitaker on Jun 27, 2010

9 Comments

An expert thinks that recycling should apply to buildings as well as general rubbish.

The director of a Sharjah-based waste management group has blasted the use of the LEED accreditation system in the Gulf as an irrelevance.

Jeremy Byatt, Director of Environmental Responsibility at waste management group Bee’ah said of the ‘green’ ranking system: “I’m skeptical about LEED in this climate. It works fantastically well in Chicago where there are seasons.”

He added, “It’s not the answer here as you don’t have winter, it is still very hot.”

The system was devised in the US, and works by awarding points for having niceties such as extra insulation, efficient heating and even bicycle racks. However, points are awarded for accessories dubbed by experts as ‘eco-bling’, such as elaborate rainwater catch systems and novel methods of heat retention, neither of which are of any significant use in the Gulf.

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FEATURED COMMENT

Dubai government did the right thing in promoting green buildings. EHS-Trakhees has mandatory requirements in addition t

9 Comments

Readers' Comments

Benji George (Oct 6, 2010)
Sharjah
United Arab Emirates

LEED in Dubai
Dubai government did the right thing in promoting green buildings. EHS-Trakhees has mandatory requirements in addition to the LEED pre requisites. So this has been adapted to local requirements. Having set up a green building certification division and got over 25 projects in UAE under LEED certifications, I can confidently state that LEED is here to stay !

steve (Jul 14, 2010)
dubai
United Arab Emirates

LEED
For a country that had no standards in sustainability and a culture of abusing and not preserving natural resources the adoption of an internationally recognised standard is a step in the right direction. To all those professionals who adopt LEED, we all know the intention of adopting the USGBC rating system is to raise awareness and develop a culture of environmental responsibility. Yes, LEED is not the panacea of ailing building practices and standards that destroy the natural environment but it is heading in the right direction. More effort should be directed to adopting locally adapted architectural design concepts and making people responsible for how these buildings are managed.

Pushkar (Jul 12, 2010)

Expert blasts LEED standards
I am a LEED AP and have certified two buildings in Dubai with LEED rating standard. I believe that LEED is the best standard which can easily used in Gulf Region for the significant sustainable impact. Bicycle Parking and Storm water have only two credit points in LEED's rating system, so you still have options for another 67 credits which can be target from the design stage until the end of construction. If you think in sustainable way, energy consumption, water consumption and material & resources are the three major areas which we need to focus on more in the Gulf region. If you read and go through the LEED Reference Standard carefully then you can easily how find ways to approach and implement them in a sustainable way and how it will affect the environment. Also also agree with Mr. Abdul Azeem that if we were brought into the process early, can identify less-expensive ways to obtain LEED points.

The Other Donald (Jun 28, 2010)
Bangkok
Thailand

Trade the LEED points for Pearls!
Why not use the Estidama System as used in Abu Dhabi as the Gulf Region standard? It's already being used as the model for sustainable and energy efficient design and is set up to be a model for conditions conducive to the climatic conditions of the Middle East.

abdul azeem (Jun 27, 2010)
DOHA
Qatar

LEED
MR. Byatt, please read. LEED is very useful. Where ever you stay in any part of the world; India, China, Middle East, UK or USA. Value engineers, especially if brought into the process early, can identify less-expensive ways to obtain LEED points while optimising energy and water consumption. Worth noting is that value engineers were effectively green before it was called green. Value engineers have long been concerned with optimising MEP and streamlining construction methods. Value engineers have always optimised system designs to reduce energy consumption and waste. Thus value engineers have deep skill sets that can help developers reduce costs and resources, resulting in getting more 'green' for less 'green'. Optimising building systems is the basis of value engineering. The first step in doing that is clearly understanding the building needs, and using the latest codes, rules, standards and regulations to achieve them. Value engineers keep abreast of the latest methodologies and use them to fine-tune MEP building systems. 'Right-sized' equipment and systems reduce waste and result in buildings that are more efficient in cost and resource consumption, leading to additional LEED points.

ARVIND KRISHAN (Jun 27, 2010)
NEW DELHI
India

BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS
It is unfortunate that these rating systems have converted architecture into an accounting exercise. This has completely digressed from what could have been a healthy exercise in producing truly good architecture. It is unfortunate, that once again, as at the time of the industrial revolution (around 1930) we allowed machines to dominate our thinking, we are missing an opportunity to produce good architecture, by allowing these accounting procedures to dominate.

ROMI SEBASTIAN (Jun 27, 2010) Qatar

Organisations such as the USGBC have profited out of its much advertised LEED rating system. The word 'Green' is certainly abused and misunderstood by most of the engineering empire. These are just temporary trends set up for supportive marketing of related fields of construction activity. Architects now depend much on intelligent service systems to make up for their folly and neglect in basic building design. Inappropriate implementation of add-on techniques has lead to cumbersome compensation and disorder. Trying to invest in a rain-water harvesting system in the Middle East is another perfect example. While it may fetch you extra points in the LEED rating - the whole initiative if analysed, is a wasteful one.

Marc Hausstaetter (Jun 27, 2010)
Dubai
United Arab Emirates

LEED
I fully agree to Mr Byatt, that the LEED system is not 100% suitable to the Gulf region. It needs to be adjusted. Also to give more points for a bicycle rack than for a solar-power system, which is ridiculous. The German and Austrian rating for a green building is mainly based on how many kiloWatts are needed for one square metre, and energy saving and green thinking has a 30 year history in Germany. So perhaps we should look a bit on other possibilities than USA only, which started only recently with some environmental thinking.

Kishan Solanki (Jun 27, 2010)
Abu Dhabi
Bahrain

Sharjah environmental expert blasts LEED standards
Mr. Byatt, You are right in saying that LEED standards are made keeping in view the US & other cold climate countries where rainfall is heavy. The conditions in the GCC are different. It is hot here most of the time and hardly any rain falls. So it is required that standards relevant for GCC countries are developed - maybe ESTIDAMA is one answer for that.

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