Jordanians launch group to promote green building

By Saleh Zaitoun in Amman
For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-04-01

[SALAH ZAITOON] Princess Sumaya (C) honours participants at the JGBC.

Jordan last month saw the launch of a new organisation that will promote green building and environmental awareness in the field of construction.

The new group, Jordan Green Building Council (JGBC), was introduced during a ceremony attended by representatives of green building councils in the US, Europe, Arab states, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and a host of officials and environmental experts.

Princess Sumaya bint Al Hassan hosted the ceremony in co-operation with the Ministries of the Environment, Energy, Works as well as the syndicates of engineers and contractors in Jordan.

The idea for a green building initiative came after environmentalists in Jordan realised the importance of constructing green buildings as one of the key solutions in confronting potential environmental hazards. After reviewing successful experiments in the US and EU states, supporters then called for establishment of a Jordanian council for green building.

These efforts resulted in the creation of a network of global contacts with similar councils to build upon previous experiences and secure financing for the council.

The JGBC was then established in May of 2009 and registered as a non-governmental organisation in November of that year.

"We seek to spread awareness about the economic and environmental gains that we stand to achieve from designing, implementing and maintaining green buildings," Mohammad Asfour, Chairman of the JGBC, told Al-Shorfa. "We also strive to enhance Jordan's position as a regional hub for excellence in that field."

"The main precept of green building is long-term thinking and sustainable planning to erect buildings that are both comfortable and economical in terms of natural resources and everyday expenses," Asfour added.

Asfour said green building "seeks to minimize the environmental damages through the use of solar energy, reclaimed water, natural local building materials and renewable sources of energy to improve the environment and reduce the negative impact on the eco-system."

Samar Ashkar, one of the council founders, told Al-Shorfa that the JGBC has been successful in promoting environment awareness among Jordanians.

"JGBC managed to achieve a lot in a relatively short period of time," Ashkar said. "The BOD members with the help of members of the four specialised committees and a large number of volunteers and experts managed to lay down a working strategy through which several events were organised, including training workshops on green building criteria, enlightening and educational lectures, as well as scientific studies."

Ashkar also noted that JGBC took part in a number of international seminars in the US, Singapore, France, Libya and other countries.

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