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Common Questions

• What is Estidama?

  Estidama is an aspiration – the desire to achieve a sustainable way of living in the Arab world. It is not the rating system, but an overarching way of viewing all aspects of our life in the Middle East. Estidama is something we aspire to – a sustainable and regenerative condition.

  We envision that Estidama, when fully expressed across our society, will touch multiple facets of our daily life – the curriculum in our children’s schools, the way the sovereign wealth fund makes investment decisions, the way infrastructure is planned, calculated and constructed, the health of our land and marine ecosystems, and sustainable sourcing of food and water.

• Who is the responsible entity for Estidama?

  The Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council in association with the Environmental Agency and Abu Dhabi Municipality.

• What does Estidama mean?

  Estidama means "Sustainability" in Arabic.

• When was Estidama Developed?

  Estidama was launched on 28th May 2008 as a joint collaboration between the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, The Environmental Agency, Abu Dhabi Municipality, and Masdar.

• How was Estidama Developed?

  The Estidama sustainable buildings and communities guidelines were developed through rigorous environmental, social and economic research within Abu Dhabi.

• Are the Estidama Guidelines mandatory?

  No, they are voluntary within 2008.

• Will there be any Estidama regulations?

  The Urban Planning Council encourages developers to start abiding by the guidelines as by early 2009 some prerequisite regulations will be created.

• Are their incentives for developers and investors who are Estidama rated?

  Yes, the Urban Planning Council is currently finalizing the incentives.

• Is there any Estidama training for assessment?

  Currently, there is no Estidama training for assessment.

• Can my development be rated today?

  The Urban Planning Council is selecting projects to be pilot tested to assist with the development of the Estidama program. These pilot projects will be the first Estidama rated developments in Abu Dhabi.

• If a development is LEED/BREEAM certified, does it automatically direct to an Estidama certification?

  No, Estidama has a different assessment tool and rating system, the development will have to be assessed and accredited separately as Estidama. There is no solid equivalence to any other rating system since Estidama is tailored for the main factors of the region.

• When the regulations start in 2009, is there a minimum number of pearls to be scored?

  After the regulations are announced in 2009, all New Buildings should achieve a minimum of one pearl (no incentives are given to one pearls).

• When will the Existing Building Guidelines and Assessment tool be ready?

  The maintenance and operations guidelines for existing buildings are expected in April 2009.

• What other guidelines are being prepared?

  New Building Guidelines for:

  Single Family Housing (villas, townhomes, etc)
  Civic, Institutional and Educational Buildings (Schools, Universities, etc)
  Tourism Facilities (Resorts, Hotels, etc)

• Could other Emirates or Counties use the guidelines?

  The guidelines are adapted to serve Abu Dhabi's needs, however the rest of the UAE and other GCC countries are also encouraged to use these guidelines as they are more relevant to our environment and culture then other worldwide rating systems.

• The Estidama Integrative Design Process - why is this important?

  Current Sustainability Rating Systems around the world focus on the ‘what’ of sustainability – i.e., quantified performance goals. The Integrative Design Process refocuses the design and construction process on ‘how’ to achieve these objectives. IDP is the most effective way to realize environmentally effective and cost effective projects.

  In surveying recent green rating and building systems, the leadership in many programs have recognized the limitations of checklists. Developments that are achieving significant levels of sustainable design and practice have found that getting the design process right from the beginning will always result in more cost effective and more sustainable developments. This results from the effective use of an Integrative Design Process (IDP). IDP has been around the industry for years, but has not been as well advanced as the checklist approach to green building. By offering training, facilitation and case studies, UPC is training a wide array of developers and design teams to think differently about how they organize their design process, when to include various consultants in the process, and how to move from a multi-disciplinary process to an inter-disciplinary process.

• Is my existing knowledge of the LEED™, BREEAM™, and GreenStar™ rating systems applicable to the Pearl System?

  The Pearls Design System is exploring how we can correlate criteria with these other major rating systems. Our goal is to allow developers and their consultants to draw upon programs with which they are most familiar in the pursuit of a Pearls Rating.It is not envisioned that a BREEAM or LEED rating will equal a Pearl Rating, but much of the criteria and reference standards (estimated at 70-80%) could be aligned. The remaining criteria will be unique to Estidama and hence the Middle East, making a Pearls Rating a higher level of professional standard.

• How do we become involved in the development of Estidama?

  Given the significant body of work and integration required to make Estidama a reality, the Estidama Core Team is actively developing protocols for engaging a broad group of stakeholders and pilot projects to test early concepts. The avenues to become involved include the following:

  1.Industry Partners –We envision creating a working group of 5-7 industry partners who will be asked to advise, review and comment on emerging documents.

  2.Agency Partners – Given the broader aspirations of Estidama, key agencies will be invited to review and provide input to core criteria and prerequisites.

  3.Benchmark Projects – in our initial conversations with Industry Partners we have identified a number of buildings and developments that are already in construction. While it may be too late for these developments to pursue Pilot Project participation, they can provide a valuable array of data and information by creating ongoing research and monitoring partnerships – so real data and performance results can be garnered to better inform the evolution of Estidama.

  4.Pilot Projects – as the Pearl Rating System is refined in 2009, we will be seeking 2-3 projects in each category to work alongside the Pearls development. This will allow us to assess the critical factors, usability of the documents and market realities of our criteria.

• What is the relationship of Estidama to the Urban Planning Council?

  The mandate of the UPC is to set the direction for physical environment

  The Tools that we use to bring Estidama into our built environment include:

  • Plan Abu Dhabi 2030
  • The Development Approval Process
  • The Framework Development Regulations (FDR)
  • The Pearls Design System
    • New Communities, Urban Centers and Neighborhoods
    • New Buildings
  • Education and Outreach
    • The Estidama Integrative Design Primer