Sustainability report is published by companies mostly on an annual basis and includes disclosures related to the company’s performance on the environmental, social and economic performance. Most of the companies to prepare an annual financial report however many of them do not measure, monitor or publish information on their environmental and social impact. 

In the modern world, the multinational companies have expanded across several countries and continents, they are manufacturing their products on one corner of the globe and selling them at the other. There are several issues that companies have started looking into, which include their direct impact of manufacturing and selling goods to community well-being, human rights and child abuse issues in their supply chain.  

Several companies have recognized that increasingly sustainability factors are taking center stage for consumers and sustainable operations and branding could definitely affect their growth plans positively. GE3S is a sustainability reporting consultant assisting its clients to prepare sustainability reports in accordance with the GRI standards.

The private sector has recognized that poor sustainability performance may result in slowing down a company’s growth as the consumers would opt for a greener product over others and are also willing to pay a premium for it. We have seen recently that major retailers, manufacturers, and top 100 companies have committed themselves to sustainability target whether it’s about energy efficiency or water optimization or GHG reductions, etc.

It is clearly established that environmental, social, economic and governance performance disclosure is highly important. Once the companies initiate reporting. These issues in public space they have an urge to perform better each year. This helps in increasing and setting corporate accountability as well as instilling responsible behavior incorporates functions.

The companies which report on such issues also benefit from it, for example, it paves a way for them to improve identify and manage non-financial risks which are often overlooked. This also helps in increasing goodwill for the company or the brand amongst users and therefore a company can retain loyal customers. As a sustainability reporting consultant, we help our clients measure their energy, waste and emissions intensity.

For investors and shareholders, sustainability reporting is also a means to ensure the stability and continued growth of the company’s performance on financial as well as social and environmental indicators.

GE3S has been providing sustainability services across the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent since 2010. Our experts have worked across several sectors on sustainability issues. Please reach out to us www.ge3s.org   for any query.

LEED is the most widely known and widely used green building certification system in the world. If a building is LEED certified through a LEED consultant, the building or the project gets instant recognition at national and international level. Apart from recognition through LEED certification, there are some additional advantages. A LEED certified building can get faster lease up rates and a higher than normal resale value in the market. Along with these commercial benefits, there are other advantages. The indoor environmental quality, which is a crucial aspect for the occupants of the building, is also affected by LEED certification. This includes various aspects like Tobacco smoke control, CO2 levels, temperature, relative humidity, etc., which are necessary for a healthy and productive work environment. A thermal comfort survey form is circulated among the occupants of the building, who fill up the form, and this form enables us to identify some parameters of the indoor environmental quality, which should be acceptable by LEED criteria to achieve certification. LEED certification also helps in lowering the use of energy, water, and other resources, thus saving the resources, and saving money for the client. And lastly, LEED certification also helps in enhancing the brand value of your building in the market and establishes you as a leader in green building.

A LEED project can be completed easily and smoothly with the help of an experience LEED consultant. The major aspects, which a LEED consultant takes care of are:

·         Sustainable Site – A LEED consultant is expected to guide the client and the project towards preserving the local ecology and environmentally sensitive development of the site.

·         Indoor environmental quality- The LEED consultant must help to contribute to the comfort and well-being of the occupants of the building by providing improved indoor environmental quality

·         Energy performance of the building- The building should be designed and detailed in such a manner that the energy consumption of the building is reduced drastically, which will be achieved through energy efficient strategies.

·         Daylight performance of the building- Through this aspect of the building, multiple aspects are received, including the reduction of energy consumption by reducing the use of electric lighting during the daytime. It also helps to connect the occupants with the outdoors, which eventually helps reinforce their circadian rhythm.

·         Waste generation and management- This aspect is crucial so as to reduce the harm to the environment through proper disposal of waste created by construction and by occupants.

·         Material and resource management- The LEED consultant must ensure through this aspect that the materials and resources used in the building during the construction and occupancy phase do not harm the environment through their purchase, use, and disposal.

·         Water Efficiency- The LEED consultant will help the project get credits through this aspect by guiding the stakeholders to decrease the indoor water consumption through low flow fixtures, and other measures.

GE3S is among the best LEED consultants available in UAE with a team of LEED Green Associates and LEED Accredited Professionals. We have ample experience with handling and working on LEED projects. GE3S provides a wide variety of services for providing LEED services including certification, consulting, energy star certification, energy audits, indoor air quality plans, etc. We as LEED consultants have experience on a wide variety of LEED projects, including LEED New Construction, ID+C, Existing Buildings, and others. GE3S has worked on a broad typology of projects for LEED certification, which has helped us gain unmatched experience in this field. We can help provide assistance, guidance, and also offer our services as LEED consultants for the LEED certification process from the start of the project till the end of it. GE3S also provides educational and professional training services for LEED Green Associate and LEED Accredited Professional exams. 

The concept of sustainability and putting sustainable growth on world development agenda was first discussed in the Earth summit way back in 1992. By Sustainable development, we mean growth that meets the requirements of the present generation without undermining the capacity of the future generations to tend to their requirements and needs. This definition has been adapted from the definition phrased in 1987 by the Brundtland Commission. GE3S a sustainability reporting consultant is helping its clients maneuver their business across these sustainability challenges.

In the year 2015, the United Nation and its member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to meet the 2030 Agenda. The goals help charter a transformation between the year 2016 to 2030 that will result in putting the world on a sustainable development path. The 17 sustainable development goals have been set with clear targets and both government and private sectors are expected to help achieve the targets. As a sustainability reporting consultant, we have assisted our clients in streamlining their business activities with the UNSDGs.

There has been progressing on social, economic and environmental issues and targets however a lot is desired to be done. Sustainability needs to be integrated into the policy-making by governments and into business practices by corporates and into the lifestyles by the common people. Being a sustainability reporting consultant we are assisting our clients from both the public and private sector to embrace sustainability.

Reporting on taxes paid to governments by companies is also being increasingly reported by several companies. GRI had set up a committee to develop a standard on reporting on taxes in early 2018. The draft was competed and put in pubic space for consultation. The consultation has been recently concluded. More than 85 reviewers were received for the document. The reviews were received from a wide variety of stakeholders including NGOs, Businesses, and Investors. The technical committee is in process of reviewing the comments and is expected to release the approved version by end of this year.

Reporting on sustainability performance is of greater importance today than it was a decade ago. Sustainability reporting is considering an industry best practices rather than a brand building exercise. Investors, clients, NGOs, and even governments are now seeking the sustainability performance report from its companies. The sustainability reporting process in short incudes, identifying material aspects through stakeholder consultation, collecting performance data on these material issues and then presenting them in a complete, trans[aren’t and understandable form to the stakeholders.

GE3S a sustainability advisory firm has been working in the Middle East and South Asia region since 2010 and has assisted more than 150 clients in achieving their sustainability objectives. We are now looked as dependable sustainability reporting consultant by the middle eastern as well as the Indian market.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is working on a white paper that further evaluated water and carbon emissions. The paper looks at these disclosures from the point of view of expectations and perceptions of the investor as well as the procedure and practice of reporting on water and GHGs. 

Global warming and climate change one of the greatest challenges that humanity is facing at the moment. Significant proportion of the GHG emissions come from the private sector companies, therefore it is essential that the private sector looks at low carbon development closely and implement measures to reduce the GHG intensity of their operations, services, and products. 

 In the recent past, several organizations have also aligned their reporting practices with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). UNSDGS are a set of seventeen goals that have been set to achieve sustainable development for the world, the goals range from water,  health, women empowerment, poverty hunger to energy and GHG etc. The UNGC is a voluntary and non-binding pact of the United Nation. It encourages organizations and corporates across the globe to subscribe to the sustainable and responsible way of doing business. The companies who sign up to UNGC are expected to report on the progress on an annual basis to UNGC. 

The UNGC has 10 principles covering human rights, anti-corruption, labor, and environmental issues. There are thousands of companies who have subscribed to UNGC and are reporting consistently. Many organizations seek the assistance of sustainability reporting consultant who guides them through implementing policies and procedure in line with UNSDG and UNGC requirements. 

 It has also been seen that investors consider the sustainability performance of companies an important element of their investment-related decision-making process. We as sustainability reporting consultants ensure that This has further accelerated the need by the private sector to report on environmental performance such as water and GHGs and show continual improvement in their performance. Therefore, the private sector is actively participating in reducing GHG emissions and energy intensity in order to combat climate change and position themselves as a sustainable brand. 

GRI’s paper looks into four types of information that an investor seeks into sustainability disclosures of an organization. GRI undertook interviews and identified that the reports failed to satisfactorily report on water and GHG emissions in the supply chain of the company which is also called as the scope 3 emissions. 

 As a sustainability reporting consultant and also as carbon advisor GE3S has assisted its clients in estimating GHG emissions from all three scopes of emissions including the scope three emissions. We have provided tools and undertaken capacity development of our clients so that they may undertake GHG assessments themselves and report on all 3 scopes of emissions. 

LEED consultant broadly refers to any LEED Professional who is responsible for guiding the overall process towards gaining the LEED certification for a building or campus. The LEED consultant may work for the Architect/contractor as a sub consultant, or for the Owner. As LEED processes go through rapid changes, a LEED consultant’s project experience helps the contractor understand the likelihood of success and save time. All team members and stakeholders benefit from the exposure to a good LEED consultant as a means of training for handling future LEED projects.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification rating system by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has become the standard for design, construction, & operation of green buildings and projects. LEED certified buildings help owners lower their operating costs, improve working environments for their tenants, and provide a competitive marketing advantage for their buildings.

GE3S understands that many building owners and operators are looking to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable operations through the LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M and other kinds of certifications. We at GE3S, can help in directing the requirements and impacts of achieving certification for a wide variety of buildings and projects.

The LEED for Existing Buildings: O&M rating system focuses on the ongoing operation and maintenance and the performance of an existing building, rather than a construction event which happens only once, as seen in some of the other LEED rating systems, like LEED for New Construction.

GE3S can also help in understanding the potential and the feasibility for achieving LEED certification for a building by assessing its performance and operations with respect to LEED requirements. Our preliminary study for the building and the project can also provide a sense cost effective approach to achieve LEED certification.

GE3S, as LEED consultant, can also assist the building owners, managers and other stakeholders in the planning and execution of the LEED certification process. With our step-by-step approach, we are able to assist our clients in the development of a certification plan that is specific to their building type and area. Our services as LEED consultant includes a thorough LEED certification project management which includes managing sub-consultants, coordinating the data collection process, reviewing purchase orders for green certified products, assisting in innovative solutions to problems that arise during the certification process, and/or performing third-party pre-certification reviews.

Commitment to quality is one of the topmost priorities that we have. GE3S consultants are known as the LEED consultants who hold good business and technical expertise, responsiveness, and best reporting, which are tailored to the client’s specific needs. Having deep knowledge and diverse experience, we are able to create customized solutions that make sense for the client’s building and project. We bring our wide-ranging suite of services and long experience with expertise to provide ongoing communication to help you navigate the nuances of each building and project. At GE3S, integrity isn't just about operating within the boundaries of the law; it's also about understanding and meeting the unique needs of the clients and the projects, solving problems, creating value for client’s business, and delivering intelligence that you can have the confidence in.

We provide the client with support from the pre-conceptual and pre-design stage until the post-occupancy stage, till the building is complete. In each step of your project, GE3S has got you covered. This includes:

·         Charrette

·         Project Pre-design & Design Strategies

·         Energy and Daylighting Modeling Services

·         Project Construction Assessment

·         Commissioning Services

·         Project Management & Administration

We at GE3S, are a team of highly experienced Architects, Engineers and Consultants working close with the client and the stakeholders to deliver LEED consulting solutions to the projects. We provide green and sustainable solutions for a global world that requires new solutions.

Through our smooth communication & project management system, locality to projects is not much needed. From design phase to the construction phase and post occupancy, we fully resource and supplement your project's team with our LEED Certification Consulting expertise.

We work hand-in-hand with the contractor’s team, delivering solutions effortlessly, that address the LEED project and team needs, through our holistic and integrated process. We serve every client and every stakeholder with impeccable service, solutions and results that are always on-time and are not compromised on quality.