Sustainable City villas use less energy, water

Dubai: Monitoring has shown that villas at The Sustainable City, a sustainable community using efficient design for cleaner ecological operations, uses 42 per cent less electricity than a traditional villa in Dubai helping to dramatically slash greenhouse gases emitted in the country.

Villas used 31 per cent less water per capita than the average Dubai villa.

Thanks to developing its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory, the city, located on Al Qudra Road, can measure the community’s carbon emissions and its impact on the ecosystem, said officials in a statement on Tuesday.

“During 2017, 363 villas and 200 apartments were occupied, and the city had a resident population of approximately 1,900. The inventory results show that the GHG intensity of the villas at The Sustainable City is almost 50 per cent less than that of a conventional villa in the UAE,” said an official.

Major eco efficiencies were achieved at The Sustainable City through better design, rooftop solar, solar-charged electric buggies, organic waste composting and other low carbon initiatives.

“The per capita grid electricity and water consumption is 42 per cent and 30 per cent less than the Dubai average, respectively.”

The report was prepared in accordance with The Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories. The emission results were verified by Dubai Carbon, a private joint-stock company established to cater to building a low-carbon and green economy.

Faris Saeed, CEO of Diamond Developers — the company behind The Sustainable City — said in a statement: “The results of our GHG inventory confirm that The Sustainable City is continually working to fight climate change and proactively reducing our carbon emissions in alignment with the Paris agreement and the sustainable development goals. Moving forward, we will be taking steps to further reduce our emissions through the addition of 3.6mw of solar PVs, the use of biodiesel for construction activities, and various awareness campaigns for residents.”

Laila Mustafa Abdul Latif, director-general of EWS-WWF (Emirates Wildlife Society in association with World Wildlife Fund), said in a press release: “Climate change is a defining issue today, and cities and communities play a key role in addressing this global challenge. The Sustainable City is a prime example of how a mixed-use community can be developed and operated in line with sustainability principles and with consequently reduced emissions, even in the harsh climate of the Gulf.”

The Sustainable City and EWS-WWF are working together to address climate change, promote renewable energy, reduce GHG emissions and measure how the city performs against key performance indicators.