USAID supports Green Building codes and practices in Jordan

The workshop was opened by the secretary general of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, His Excellency Sami Halasah and witnessed the attendance of representatives from the public and private sector, USAID officials and high ranking public servants and Decision makers.

The workshop main objective was to involve all stakeholders in discussing and deciding on what best approach Jordan should adopt to support the Green Building Movement in Jordan.

It covered the current National Building Codes, Green Building Initiatives in Jordan, and the recommended approaches and actions to be taken on the national level.

With rising energy costs, projected climate change, proven facts that buildings consume over 70% of energy and are major contributors to global warming, the workshop highlighted that built environment constructed in accordance with codes that place an emphasis on energy, water and environmental conservation can play a significant role in conserving world's natural resources and that Jordan's approach to implement green building practices puts it in a leadership role in addressing local and global energy and climate issue. It is a major step forward for Jordan to provide a healthier and "greener" living and working environment for its people.

Consolidating and streamlining the efforts of all stakeholders in green building activities in Jordan and forming fruitful partnerships will enhance the move towards a greener country. Parties moving forward in these efforts, each in their own rights will be able to develop green solutions relevant to the local context in Jordan, which will hopefully result in effective green building policy at the national level.

"Increased green activities will support efforts to address water shortages and higher energy bills. It is especially important to replace outdated building codes with greener ones to reduce the impact on Jordan's scarce energy and water resources of the major construction projects,"

said Dr. Ruba Jaradat, Economic Growth Office, USAID Jordan in her remarks.

From his end, His Excellency Sami Halasah, secretary general of the Ministry of Public Works and Housing highlighted the importance of the role of the National Building Council on issuing the right codes that emphasize on economizing on energy. These codes will also be aligned with the Green Building Codes guide that will be beneficial to all stakeholders in Green Building initiatives.

The code will also include a technical committee that will take on the role of attracting investors in order to adopt green buildings during design and implementation by the end of 2010.

The USAID Jordan Economic Development Program (SABEQ) is a five-year broad economic development initiative implemented by Bearing Point, Inc. and a sizeable team of international and Jordanian partner firms.

By both supporting improvements in the business environment and providing assistance to expand innovation and productivity in Jordanian businesses, it supports the main objective of building up the private sector as a powerful engine of economic growth.