BREEAM vs. Green Building Regulations & Specifications Report

This report examines building rating systems, specifically comparing the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and the Green Building Regulations & Specifications used in Dubai, UAE. The report highlights the importance of sustainability in the Middle East, addressing environmental challenges and the high energy consumption of buildings. It details BREEAM's international application and scoring system, contrasting it with the mandatory, region-specific Green Building Regulations & Specifications. The analysis includes a comparison of their approaches, focusing on the differences in their frameworks and the unique characteristics of Dubai's climate. The report suggests improvements to the Green Building Regulations, such as incorporating climate-specific elements, utilizing local resources, and increasing stakeholder awareness. It concludes by emphasizing the need for governmental support and incentives to promote the implementation of sustainable building practices.

Running Head: BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS
Building Rating Systems
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BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS 2
Building Rating Systems
Sustainability has become a top priority in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Middle
East as a whole. The region faces unique socio-economic and environmental challenges, such as
harsh climatic conditions, water scarcity, profusion of fossil fuels and ecological degradation
(Zafar, 2018). Energy consumption by buildings in the Middle East is also greater than in most
parts of the world mainly due to extremely hot weather, overdependence on air-conditioning and
extensive use of glass exteriors. Over the past few decades, several building rating systems have
been developed to promote sustainability of all types of buildings in the region. These efforts
have seen UAE being ranked the top nation for promoting green building across the Middle East
and among top ten worldwide (Ibrahim, 2017). The building rating systems aim at reducing
construction, operating and maintenance costs of buildings, improve comfort of occupants and
protect the environment. The building rating systems evaluated in this essay are Building
Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) and Green Building
Regulations & Specifications.
BREEAM is an international building rating system even though it was developed in the
UK. The system was developed in 1990s and it awards a score to various sections of the building
as follows: energy (19), health and wellbeing (15), materials and waste (12.5), building
management (12), land use and ecology (10), pollution (10), transport (8), waste (7.5) and water
(6). The total score is 100 and the rating is as follows: unclassified (<30%), pass (≥ 30 % ¿, good (
≥ 45 % ¿, very good (≥ 55 % ¿, excellent (≥ 70 %¿, and outstanding (≥ 85 % ¿ CITATION Bri172 \l
1033 (British Research Establishment (BRE) Global, 2017). BREEAM is a voluntary rating
system that was mainly created for developed countries. On the other hand, Green Building
Regulations & Specifications is not a rating system but a mandatory regulatory framework that

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must be adhered to by all buildings in the Emirates of Dubai. The guide was founded in 2011 by
Dubai Municipality and the Government of Dubai. It comprises of five categories: building
vitality, ecology and planning, resource effectiveness (water), resource effectiveness (energy),
and resource effectiveness (waste and materials) (Dubai Municipality, 2011). There are no points
or credits awarded to these elements. Before developers, engineers, consultants and other
industry stakeholders can obtain a building permit or completion certificate, they must follow the
guide. A certificate is also not issued because it is mandatory for buildings to be designed,
constructed and operated in accordance with the regulations specified in the guide.
Another major difference between these two systems is that BREEAM is a
comprehensive rating system that can be applied in any part of the world whereas Green
Building Regulations & Specifications takes into account the unique characteristics of Dubai and
UAE (Shareef & Altan, 2017).
One of the ways in which Green Building Regulations & Specifications can be improved
is by considering more specific elements of climate of Dubai and UAE as a whole. Since Dubai’s
climate is tropical desert, the guide should ensure that buildings are designed in a way to
capitalize the hot weather by using natural ventilation and air conditioning, use of daylighting,
harness the excess solar radiation to generate solar energy for the buildings, use materials that
reduce excess indoor heating and lighting (envelope efficiency and passive cooling systems),
install water efficient fixtures (smart water systems), use of large operable window and reflective
materials, and recycle and reuse water. In general, the guideline should focus on reducing
consumption of water and energy, and increase comfort of building occupants. Also, the guide
can be improved by ensuring that all proposed sustainable practices can be implemented using
easily/locally available and affordable technologies or methods. In other words, the sustainable

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practices in the guide should be implemented by capitalizing the resources and expertise
available in Dubai.
Last but not least, it is important to create awareness of the guide to the industry
stakeholders and the public so that they can own and benefit from it. Most importantly is for the
political class to support the guide and create policies and strategies to promote its
implementation, such as giving incentives such as financial resources like tax reliefs, grants, tax
credits and low or zero-interest financing.
References
British Research Establishment (BRE) Global. (2017, August 14). Scoring and Rating. Retrieved from BRE
Global:
http://www.breeam.com/communitiesmanual/content/00_introduction/05_scoring_and_rating
_proposals.htm
Dubai Municipality. (2011). Green Building Regulations & Specifications. Dubai: Dubai Municipality.
Ibrahim, I. (2017). Green Architecture Challenges in the Middle East Within Different Rating Systems.
Energy Procedia, 344-352.
Nguyen, B., & Altan, H. (2011). Comparative Review of Five Sustainable Rating Systems. Procedia
Engineering, 376-386.
Shareef, S., & Altan, H. (2017). Building sustainability rating systems in the Middle East . Proceedings of
the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, 283-293.
Zafar, S. (2018, January 21). Green Building Trends in the Middle East. Retrieved from EcoMENA:
https://www.ecomena.org/green-building-trends/