By A Staff Reporter - MUSCAT — The Muscat Green Days Conference on ‘Education for a Sustainably Built Environment’ will be held under the auspices of Sayyid Salim bin Musallam al Busaidi, Under-Secretary for Administrative Development Affairs at the Ministry of Civil Services, on October 5 and 6 at the Grand Hyatt Muscat. The two-day event is co-organised with the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech), which is the academic partner of the conference.

“Sustainable Green Building strategies refer to technologies and applications achieving efficient levels of energy and water consumption, as well as a healthy living and working environment for today’s and future generations,” said Boris Ritter, General Manager of Sesam Consulting, a German-Emirati Consultancy and main organiser of the conference. The event is part of a series of regional conferences on green building and environment conserving strategies that are organised by the German-Emirati Consultancy, Sesam Business Consultants, in collaboration with local and international experts and authorities in previous years in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.

“We are keen on generating awareness and promoting sustainable building practices in Oman for the benefit of our future generations. During the conference the future GUtech campus in Halban will be presented, as well as a research project on sustainable urban development in Oman,” said Professor Dr Burkhard Rauhut, Rector at GUtech. During the conference, presentations on leadership in sustainable building strategies and initiatives will be held. The chair for the conference is taken by Dr Dieter Fuchs, General Manager of Fraunhofer in the Middle East and President of the World Association of Applied Research, WAITRO.

He stated: “I am looking forward to participating in this two-day conference in Muscat, which will link international and regional competencies in this important field of technology to the Oman science and business community.” Among the local and international speakers will be Ahmed al Jahdhami, General Manager Policy and Strategy, Public Authority for Electricity and Water, Dr Saif bin Rashid al Shaqsi, Director-General, Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Simon Buttery of Carillion Alawi, Mario Seneviratne, LEED Faculty Member and LEED Mentor, US Green Building Council and MD Green Technologies, Hamad al Gharibi, Head of the Planning Section at the Ministry of Housing in Oman and Mohammed al Salmi, General Manager of Hoehler and Partner LLC.

The Muscat Green Days Conference is complimented by a workshop that will include a USGBC LEED Training Course (US Green Building Council Course in Leadership, Energy and Environmental Design). The course includes an understanding of the Building Design and Construction LEED Rating System, a course on sustainable lighting strategies and a session on Sustainable Company Management Policies. The Muscat Green Conference targets decision-makers at the top and mid-level management of the local and international building and construction industry, as well as journalists, architects, urban planners, engineers, students and the environmental conscious general public.