More than 120 permanent buildings across Expo 2020 Dubai have been certified by the US Green Building Council in a major sustainability milestone, not only for the mega-event itself, but for its legacy project District 2020, the human-centric sustainable smart city that will repurpose 80 per cent of the project site.

Seven buildings across the 4.38-sq-km location, including the UAE Pavilion, Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion and Enoc’s ‘Service Station of the Future’, have been certified ‘Platinum’, the highest possible rating under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the most widely used green building rating system globally, and a mark of excellence for highly-efficient, cost-saving sustainable architecture.

Of the 121 LEED-certified buildings, 103 are LEED Gold, nine are LEED Silver and two are ‘Certified’.

The LEED certification system certifies buildings that typically reduce energy and water consumption over their lifetimes; have lower operational costs and carbon footprints; are constructed from environmentally-sensitive materials; have fewer impacts during construction; have better indoor air quality; and are better connected to the community, contributing to a more sustainable urban environment.

Chief Development and Delivery Officer Ahmed Al Khatib said: “A result of the hard work and dedication of our sustainability and site-delivery teams, our LEED certifications are emblematic of our efforts not only to host one of the most sustainable World Expos in history but to ensure our physical legacy, District 2020, serves as a model for the sustainable smart cities of the future.”

After Expo ends on March 31, next year, its LEED-certified buildings will live on within District 2020, the sustainable human-centric smart city that will repurpose 80 per cent of the mega-event’s permanent built environment, he stated.

Gopalakrishnan Padmanabhan, Managing Director, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Green Business Certification (GBCI), said: “Achieving LEED certification is more than just implementing sustainable practices. It represents a commitment to making the world a better place and influencing others to do better.”

The LEED certifications build on the eight Ceequal ‘Excellent’ certificates, awarded to Expo earlier this year for numerous infrastructure projects, including Al Wasl Plaza and the steel and trellis work of the dome that encircles it, creating the largest 360-degree projection surface in the world.