“COP Meetings: Navigating the Road to Climate Resilience”
As nations convene at COP meetings, the discourse extends beyond mitigation strategies to navigating...
December 5, 2023
Global Sustainability Assessment System
Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) is the first performance-based system in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, developed for rating green buildings and infrastructures. The primary objective of GSAS is to create a sustainable built environment that minimizes ecological impacts and reduces the consumption of resources while addressing the local needs and environmental conditions specific to the region. GSAS adopts an integrated lifecycle approach for the assessment of the built environment including the design, construction and operational phases.
GSAS Goals
Goals define values to be achieved to lower urbanization impacts on the environment and improves human well-being
[UC] The building’s planning shall incorporate urban considerations
[S] The building’s development in relation to the existing site conditions shall be controlled.
[E] The building’s depletion of fossil energy over its service life shall be controlled.
[W] The building’s impact on the overall water resource shall be controlled.
[M] The impact of the building’s use of materials on the environment shall be controlled.
[IE] The building’s indoor environment shall be controlled.
[CE] The building’s cultural and economic value shall be maintained or enhanced.
[MO] The building’s management and operations plan shall be defined.
- Urban Connectivity
- Site
- Energy
- Water
- Materials
- Indoor Environment
- Cultural & Economic Value
- Management & Operations
GSAS - Credit Categories
GSAS - Urban Connectivity
[UC] Urban Connectivity
Consists of factors associated with the urban environment such as zoning, transportation networks and loadings. Loadings on the urban environment include traffic congestion and air, noise, and light pollution.
GSAS - Site
[S] Site
Consists of factors associated with land use such as land conservation or remediation and site selection, planning and development.
GSAS - Energy
[E] Energy
Consists of factors associated with the energy demand of buildings, the efficiency of energy delivery, and the use of fossil energy sources that result in harmful emissions and pollution.
GSAS - Water
[W] Water
Consists of factors associated with water consumption and its associated burden on municipal supply and treatment systems.
GSAS - Materials
[M] Materials
Consists of factors associated with materials extraction, processing, manufacturing, distribution, use/re-use, and disposal.
GSAS - Indoor Enviroment
[IE] Indoor Enviroment
Consists of factors associated with indoor environmental quality such as thermal comfort and air, acoustic, and light quality.
GSAS - Cultural & Economic Value
[CE] Cultural & Economic Value
Consists of factors associated with cultural conservation and support of the local economy.
GSAS - Management & operations
[MO] Management & operations
Consists of factors associated with building design management and operations, such as sub metering of energy usage, leak detection, and commissioning.
