Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Headquarters, Dubai, UAE

LEED FACTS

77%47%$0

Savings in waterSavings in electricityExtra investments necessary to green premises

Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry HeadquarterLEED Existing Certification Awarded 17, November 2009 (4th outside of North America, 1st in Arab World)

*32 out of a possible 85 points were required for certification and 37 points were attempted.

Sustainable Sites

Water Efficiency

Energy & Atmosphere

Materials & Resources

Indoor Environmental Quality

Innovation & Design

Certified 36*

10/14

3/5

7/23

4/16

9/22

3/5

Project Profile

PROJECT BACKGROUNDDubai Chamber’s headquarter  is  located directly on  the Dubai Creek  in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is a multi-use 18 storey 20,000 m2 building used by some 500 individuals including the majority of Dubai Chamber staff,  the University of Dubai, Dubai Economic Council  and Dubai International Arbitration Centre. Officially opened in 1995, this glass, steel and cement building consists of one main tower connected to a 700 seater auditorium. Following more than a decade of energy and water saving initiatives initiated by the head engineer and his team, Dubai Chamber earned LEED certified Existing Building 2.0 from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2009 to highlight what it had achieved. Although it is commonly believed that existing buildings cannot be greened without significant investments, all water and energy saving initiatives were undertaken within the building’s regular operations and maintenance budget.  This demonstrates that an existing building in the Middle East can be operated sustainably even without a major retrofit through good operational practices and maintenance.

SAVING WATERDubai Chamber started water saving initiatives back in 1998. With intensive routine maintenance, unnoticed  or  accidental  water  leakages  from  toilets  were  eliminated. A plc-based control system, infrared detectors and faucet aerators helped save some 42,000 litres a day from flushing urinals and 1,000 litres a day from taps. Inserting 2x500 ml water filled bottles and reducing water filling levels in cisterns also saved hundreds of litres a day. Further, Dubai Chamber became one of the first in Dubai to pioneer condensate capture back in 2004 and saves approximately 850,000 litres a year using this method. Also, grey water is used for the drip irrigation system and desert vegetation is preferred.

SAVING ENERGYDubai Chamber started energy saving initiatives back in 1998. The building envelope and roof insulation already conformed with ASHRAE 2004 standards for thermal transmittance, solar heat reflectance and solar heat absorption properties, but much was done to optimize chiller operating loads and the Building Management System which led to the permanent shutdown of 5  from 8 chillers. Further,  the majority of cleaning and maintenance  is conducted during office hours so that lights and air-conditioning can be shut off after hours. CFL and LED lights have helped reduce lighting loads and a further saving of 100,000 kwH/year has been achieved by reducing chilled water circulation requirements (to 1 circulating pump instead of 4). In 2003 the lift weighting loads were optimized leading to a 20% reduction in energy consumption and temperatures are kept at a comfortable 24’C during working hours.

STRATEGIES AND RESULTSDubai Chamber saved approximately USD 1.93 million through energy and water saving initiatives between 1998 and 2008. Importantly, any upgrades were made within the regular operations and maintenance budget of the building with resource conservation in mind. These efficiencies qualified the building as energy star and earned it several LEED points. Other elements of the building were also beneficial for the LEED process, such as the white exterior reflective tiling and the double glazed windows which keep the heat out while allowing daylight to reach all building users. Only a few extra investments were required to achieve LEED aside from  consulting  and  submission  costs,  such  as  the  installation  of  bicycle  racks  and eco-parking signs, however these costs came out of the regular operations and maintenance budget  of  the  building  too.  Now Dubai Chamber  is  using  the  LEED  framework  to  guide  the building’s  renovation,  which  should  allow  it  to  further  enhance  the  building’s  environmental performance in the coming years and achieve a much higher green building rating in the future.

ABOUT DUBAI CHAMBEREstablished in 1965, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community in Dubai, by creating a favorable business environment; supporting the development of business; and by promoting Dubai as an international business hub. It serves  over  100,000 members  and  is  one  of  the  leading Chambers  of Commerce  in  the region.

“Achieving LEED EB certification proved that we had greened an older construction in the Middle East without major investments, which many thought was not possible. It also helped us take a good look at every aspect of our building’s operation, document procedures, and discover several areas for improvement as we renovate our offices going forward.”

Jagath Gunawardena, Head Engineer,Dubai Chamber

Proving Existing Buildings in the Middle East can be GreenedDubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry earns LEED EB2.0 for its 1995 headquarter

Since 2004, Dubai Chamber has been collecting condensate water from its air conditioners to use in its fountain. Such innovations have helped reduce water and energy consumption by around 77% and 47% respectively, saving approximately USD 1.93 million in one decade.