Building sustainability rating systems in the Middle East

Countries share common concerns, namely global warming, pollution, limited resources and greenhouse gas emissions, which are major elements affecting the future of people on this planet. Buildings play a considerable role in these environmental problems and the challenge of maintaining their well-being could be resolved through a unique solution called 'sustainability', which could be considered a method of life. Sustainability is a way of planning and managing the lives of the present and future generations. This study explores the definition of this widely used term and highlights the most used rating systems and practices that could be adopted to achieve sustainable developments. Green building rating systems became a mandatory requirement for each city in order to provide guidelines for green design and practice to reduce negative environmental impact on the one hand, and to evaluate buildings' sustainability on the other. This study conducts a comparison between international and Middle Eastern green building rating systems and concludes that the implementation of a regulatory framework and mandatory regulations for sustainable design will serve most effectively in developing performance towards sustainability. Furthermore, locally designed systems would serve much better for achieving targets than employing internationally leading systems.