GSO discusses unifying regional standards for green products

Representing Qatar General Organization for Standards and Metrology (QGOSM), the Gulf Organization for Research & Development (GORD) hosted the eighth meeting of the GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO) Technical Subcommittee for Green Building Standardization (TC06-SC1).The meeting discussed member states' plans to standardize regional standards in the field of standard specifications for green building materials and products.The meeting, which was attended by Yemen, along with the GCC states, reviewed 22 draft standards in the committee's work plan for 2022, the latest developments in the sector at the international level, including case studies in the regional context and discussed how they could be capitalised to extend their benefits in the field, in addition to visual presentations representing the experiences of Member States in the field of building sustainability, for the purpose of exchanging experiences and benefiting from the available Gulf competencies and resources.In a speech during the two-day meeting, Chairman of the Committee and Founding Chairman of GORD Dr Yousef Alhorr affirmed the importance of activating the role of technical committees among the GCC States, which contribute to upgrading the specifications of materials and devices for green buildings, and their performance standards in line with the region's environment and climate. He praised the achievements of the GCC countries, and acknowledged the co-operation of other GSO committees in advancing the Committee's work strategy.He also shared thoughts on the Committee's future strategy to involve aspects that were not taken into account previously, thereby offering more comprehensiveness to the Committee's activities. Dr Alhorr explained that these aspects include infrastructure, planning considerations, site design, as well as environmental management and product design to facilitate reuse. For his part, Director of Standard and Metrology at QGOSM Eng Jabr Mohamed al-Jabr al-Naimi stressed the efforts and role of all GSO technical committees, especially the Technical Subcommittee for Green Building Standardization (TC06-SC1), which is implementing the latest green building standards supporting environmental sustainability that work towards energy conservation, sustainable development, environmental protection and efficient investment in natural resources that will be reflective of the region's future.Eng al-Naimi affirmed on QGOSM's support for TC06-SC1 in its work for developing green buildings, enhancing the technical work for all GCC countries, and unifying the regional standards for environmental sustainability. Head of Technical Committees of GSO Eng Abdullah Ibrahim Alhadlaq valued the role of the State of Qatar in hosting the 8th meeting of TC06-SC1 in attendance, which was not possible for several years due to the Corona pandemic, and the efforts of the technical subcommittee in enhancing the joint work of the GCC countries, pointing out to some of the committee's achievements, such as the approval of 19 Gulf standards by the Technical Council on May 12, 2022, in addition to approving the plans of the technical committees for the year 2022, which included 22 projects for Gulf standards within the work program of the committee.He stated that the GSO, sensing the importance of the work of the technical committee and the need of member countries to achieve tangible outcomes, is planning to elevate the status of this subcommittee to the main committee, which will directly deal with the General Committee for Standardization.In his opening speech, the Director of Municipalities and Housing Department at the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council Eng.Abdullah bin Ali Al Rabai explained the importance of the Gulf Technical Subcommittee for Green Building Specifications in the current and future Gulf construction sectors and praised the role of the Gulf Organization at the regional level in the field of green building specifications and sustainability standards.Representing Gulf Standardization Organization (GSO), Eng Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Dablan affirmed the interest of the GSO in the outputs of the Committees meeting, which would improve building and construction practices across the Gulf countries.He expressed his pleasure with the joint cooperation between GSO, QGOSM, and GORD and their role in leading the green building industry.GORD concluded the first day of the meeting with a visual presentation on its most important experiences in the field of green buildings, including the topics of environmental labels of products, an evaluation system for the operations of existing buildings, and GORDs recent launch of the Energy Audit Program in collaboration with the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), in addition to the progress of Qatars construction sector towards the sustainable built environment, with 1,500+ projects covering 2.4 bn square feet registered under the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS).The Gulf delegations are scheduled to make field visits to several sustainable projects in the country on Thursday, including the World Cup projects, Al Thumama Stadium, and National Museum of Qatar to be informed of all aspects in which sustainability standards for green buildings have been applied during all operations, whether design, construction or operation.