Gsas-Saudi

The Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) is the first of its kind performance-based sustainability rating system in the MENA region, developed by Gulf Organisation for R&D in collaboration with T.C. Chan Center at the University of Pennsylvania – USA, which aims at creating a sustainable urban environment to reduce the environmental impacts while satisfying local community needs. In addition to addressing all locally relevant aspects of sustainability, ecological impact, and green building design criteria, GSAS/QSAS developed a standalone building energy standard to support Qatar’s building energy ratings. Studying the local situation in Qatar led to the formulation of value statements that are at the core of GSAS/QSAS. Each value statement constitutes a major category in the rating system, subsequently populated by specific criteria with associated measurements that together quantify the category as a whole. Each criterion is then weighted according to their environmental impacts. The built environment has a direct impact on the Qatar's natural environment, the economy and human health. These aspects can be improved through the way buildings are designed, constructed and operated or in other word adapting to Green building practices. While designing GSAS/QSAS, Gulf Organisation for R&D researchers considered the relationship between environmental issues, green building practices, and the benefits of designing sustainably.