Big wins for Majid Al Futtaim at MENA Green Building Awards 2017

Majid Al Futtaim – developer of shopping malls and communities, and retail and leisure operator across the Middle East, Africa and Asia – celebrated two big wins at the fifth annual 2017 MENA Green Building Awards. Supported by the WorldGBC, and organised in partnership with the JordanGBC and LebanonGBC; the MENA Green Building Awards 2017 saw two accolades awarded to Majid Al Futtaim.

Majid Al Futtaim was recognised as ‘Developer of the Year’, underpinning the company’s achievements and ongoing commitment to sustainable development and green building practices. Earlier this year, Majid Al Futtaim launched the Net Positive strategy that aims to significantly reduce the company’s water consumption and carbon emissions to the extent that it puts more back into the environment than it takes out, resulting in a positive corporate footprint by 2040.

In addition, Majid Al Futtaim also took home the award for ‘Green Hotel of the Year’ for the Hilton Garden Inn Dubai, Mall of the Emirates, the second largest Hilton Garden Inn globally and the largest outside of America. The hotel, a LEED Gold project with the highest LEED certification points achieved for any hotel property in the UAE was designed, constructed and opened for business as planned in an impressive 18 months. All aspects of the project – from design to development and construction were underpinned by sustainability – from locally produced, recyclable building materials and use of solar thermal collectors for hot water; to best management practices in dust control, noise pollution to uphold quality and ensure the highest health, safety and sustainability standards.

“We are proud to receive two prestigious wins at the MENA Green Building Awards 2017. The awards are not only a testament to Majid Al Futtaim’s key achievements in sustainability, but also solidify the company’s positioning as a community leader working to support the government’s vision and development priorities. We will continue to invest in our existing assets and new developments to deliver world-class green buildings that set a new benchmark for sustainability standards in the region and worldwide,” says Robert Welanetz, CEO, Majid Al Futtaim – Properties.

Al Zahia, the first mixed-use development in the Middle East to be awarded the BREEAM Communities Interim Assessment certificate, was shortlisted for the ‘Green Residential of the Year’ award for work achieved in the second phase of the project. City Centre Barsha and City Centre Mirdif were among the shortlisted entries for the categories of ‘Green Commercial Building of the Year’ and ‘Best Operations & Maintenance, Existing Buildings’, respectively.

“Majid Al Futtaim believes in a sustainable future and consistently strives to deliver on this vision. This year we set down an ambitious target to become Net Positive in Carbon and water, which will help us address local and global challenges in the region and continue to establish best practices for sustainability within the region and globally. We have now passed the midway point of our five-year sustainability strategy and will continue to drive positive impact on the environment and surrounding communities,” adds Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi, head of sustainability at Majid Al Futtaim – Holding.

Majid Al Futtaim became one of the first companies in the MENA region to publicly commit to investing in renewable energy. In 2016, the company announced its plans to use solar photovoltaic technology to generate at least 5% of its total energy consumption at existing developments by 2018, and source a minimum of 7.5% of its energy consumption at all new developments from solar energy. In the last three years, Majid Al Futtaim has reduced energy consumption by 9% across the 12 hotels in its portfolio. It expects to save a further AED3 million by installing LED lighting at the 21 shopping malls that it manages across the region.