Sustainable property development in the UAE gains traction

Sustainable technology for real estate exists around the world. Yet property developers in the UAE have still not become comfortable with using smart designs, software, equipment and building materials in their projects. We speak with Fadi Nwilati to understand why that is and how we can bring sustainability to real estate in the UAE.

Technology has changed the face of practically every industry in the world, except one — property development. In spite of the existence of technology that can make the buildings more sustainable in its development, maintenance as well as usage, developers are yet to make use of these technologies, at least on a wider scale. But what is taking the industry so long to incorporate these technologies?

Fadi Nwilati, CEO and Founder of Kaizen, the leading asset management company in the region, gives insights into why sustainability is not yet as widely practised as we would like it to be, what is being done to change this, and the possible solutions that could help the sector employ such practices.

There are three forms of sustainability, all of which should be ideally incorporated in property development: economic, environmental and social sustainability. The Sustainable City in Dubai is a stellar example of a community development that has taken all these factors into account from the very beginning of its planning stages, right through the development and maintenance, which is precisely what many others should be doing considering climate change and other ecological issues we are facing on this planet.

Sustainability in property development is best when incorporated in all phases, broadly categorised as during development and post-development. The former incorporates the use of sustainable materials, ethical practices, smart designs, and tech that enables efficiency. The latter enables property managers, owners and residents to reduce operation costs, make energy usage more efficient and green, as well as promotes social interactions, through the former’s aspects.

“Unfortunately, there isn't much happening with developers on sustainability” says Fadi. He explains that for some property developers, their work is done when they hand over the keys – they aren't too concerned about what happens after, that’s the concern of property managers. Hence, most of them look for ways to cut costs. Social sustainability is about having community spaces where people could gather, engage and have fun; but that takes away from the sellable space developers could profit from. As for the use of sustainable technology, such as solar glass facade panels, they can cost three times more than traditional materials, which is difficult to justify economically to the buyer, especially considering the softening market.

Fadi gives another insight from personal experience. Regarding the use of solar facade panels, he says it’s a relatively new technology, which does not have solid evidence to support its use in this region. This has made many developers uncomfortable with taking the risk to using them. That’s not all, consultants in the UAE point to another risk: even if developers did use them, there are no service centres in the region that can help should something go wrong during the development or while the building is in use. It could then become an economically unsustainable move.

In addition to the financial aspect, there is also lack of education. Engineers on the building site are not aware or experienced with new sustainable technology measures, making them uncomfortable with its use. This adds a huge risk to the developer, because it is the health of the property and its future occupants that is at stake.

There are two solution to this: one, developers should get property managers on board in the early stages of project planning, so sustainable measures can be incorporated into the design, keeping in mind the maintenance aspects that the managers are experts in. Fadi mentions that they worked on a project with Aurora Developers, whereby they planned for the building to be smart without costing the developers anything extra, just by choosing a different set of equipment. Two, use of technology, especially Internet of Things (IoT) to make current and future properties more sustainable.

Technology is at the heart of sustainability in the property sector and the only way forward. Fadi explains that as property managers, their “main focus point when it comes to real estate technology is developing technology that can help with managing real estate.” He adds that technology in this sphere has two aspects, “First is to make the life of the owner/tenant easier. The second helps with reducing operating costs of buildings.”

He cites an example of their first-of-its-kind energy inspection software that helps with inspecting buildings, based on its floor plan, which traditionally has been done manually with checklists. Given that are “at least 2,000 repair issues in any medium sized building, which are difficult to keep track of,” the software provides multiple sustainability measures; such as by checking whether the lights are working, floors are clean, providing visual cues for location of these issues, and most of all, avoiding unnecessary double repairs that happen with disorganised manual records. “The system has generated about 12% savings in repair costs, and allowed us to keep track of issues at the rate of 67% more. The next phase of the system is it will allow us to do bulk procurement, further saving on costs.”

Speaking about sustainability in the sector, Fadi says it’s a chicken and egg situation. The softer market with lowering prices cannot sustain expenses incurred in sustainable developments. However, such developments have the potential to help developers stand out from the competition and be profitable. In time, we could see such developments become a norm. We’re already seeing more green community projects being announced since the success of The Sustainable City.

Given the environmental concern and increasing demand from people for such developments, the government could play a major role in this change. If the sustainable properties are “properly tested and the authorities are happy with it, they could possible make certain sustainable features, such as the solar glass facades, a requirement.” This would then signal a huge change in the industry.

Fadi concludes that it is important to have property managers at the heart of projects right from the planning stage, as they can provide invaluable advice to help make projects more sustainable. Having the understanding and experience of managing properties, knowing the issues that arise and sustainable measures to address them, the role of property managers could become one of the more important roles moving forward in the direction of a more sustainable property sector.