Abu Dhabi’s Aldar looks to set the standard on sustainability
Talal Al Dhiyebi on how sustainability is integral to all Aldar projects
Big Project ME speaks with Talal Al Dhiyebi, chief development officer of Aldar Properties, about how the Abu Dhabi-based developer is leading the sustainability charge in the UAE capital.
How does Aldar Properties view sustainability in terms of the construction and development of its projects in Abu Dhabi?
Aldar has always looked at sustainability as something integral to all of its developments. We’re one of the founding members of the Abu Dhabi sustainability board and work very closely with the Urban Planning Council in that regard.
Our approach to development is a very long-term approach. We look at the full product and asset life cycle, not only the development and handover. And that’s where you really reap all the benefits of programmes like Estidama – when you look at it in a holistic way.
We set high standards on some of our big developments, such as Yas Waterworld, which was extremely complex, designing a waterpark that was two pearl Estidama, or most recently as well, with the development of Yas Mall. We designed it quite efficiently to make sure that we achieved an Estidama 2 Pearl rating, it’s one of the first malls in the region to achieve that level of design and operational efficiency.
How does a developer work with contractors and consultants to ensure that their projects achieve their sustainability aims?
It starts with your design brief, which is quite extensive when it comes to our Estidama requirements, and obviously with regard to the guidelines issued by the Planning Council. We then go through detailed and rigorous technical reviews with the consultant. It’s very important that the consultant that comes and works for us has a clear understanding of what the Estidama requirements are for this region, and a clear understanding of what we want to achieve as a client. They need to have a clear track record of that, and give us a clear mission statement.
Similarly with the contractor, it’s not only about the building. It’s also about how they source the material, how they dispose of the construction waste, which is something that a lot of people don’t really focus on a lot. People just care about getting it off-site. We’re concerned about what’s being done with it, whether it will be recycled, how it’s being disposed of, and we set high criteria for that. Their experience 100% plays a part when it comes to appointing them.
What is your relationship like with government bodies like the Urban Planning Council and municipal authorities?
Aldar has an extremely positive and healthy relationship with the Urban Planning Council. They involve us in a lot of policy-making that they do. They take our feedback and even after the implementation, they come back to us to look at lessons learnt. That’s the benefit of having that great relationship, especially with us being the dominant player in Abu Dhabi.
For us, when they ask us, we’ve been promoting this because it helps to set a higher benchmark for Abu Dhabi. We start to get more mature in terms of how we develop and how we look at developments. We’ve been extremely supportive with that, with the government, with the UPC and the municipality authorities, to really push forward in that regard.
What are the main issues that need to be addressed to achieve sustainability ambitions?
One of the big things that we looked at, in addition to other points that we considered, was monitoring. One of the big points that wasn’t there was the monitoring of waste, of building materials or all of the energy consumption post-completion.
When we looked at it historically, maybe seven or eight years ago, that data wasn’t really always properly recorded, where you had years of statistical data looking at your energy consumption and all that. You were getting your utility bill at the end of the month and that was it.
The only way you can really benchmark yourself is if you start to measure key aspects. So when we looked at it with our facility managers, our contractors and our consultants, it was a paradigm shift. Everyone was like, “Why do you want to do that? Why do you care about what I’m doing with my waste? Why are you putting in all of these additional restrictions?”
There was always this phobia that if you want to do Estidama, it’s always going to cost more. We don’t see it that way. If you look at it in terms of your overall investment over a project’s lifecycle, then 70% to 80% of your costs cover a 30- or 40-year lifespan of a building. Not only the construction costs, but also your upfront costs. When you look at it that way, the paradigm shift in mentality was probably one of the biggest challenges, but the market is becoming a lot more mature.
