Expo City Dubai: Advancing Sustainability
Committed to making a meaningful impact with a downward emissions trend across all activities, Expo City Dubai plans to achieve net zero by 2050 in support of global and national climate goals, including the UAE Net Zero 2050 strategic initiative.
Expo City has set a number of interim targets for its operational carbon footprint, including reductions of 45 per cent by 2030 and 80 per cent by 2040, ahead of achieving net zero by 2050.
As a growing community that recognises the impacts of carbon in city development, Expo City also aims to reduce embodied carbon in the built environment, such as in construction materials, targeting a 40 per cent reduction by 2030, and 100 per cent reduction and offset by 2050.
By setting such targets, it is going beyond the requirements defined by the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventories (GPC) for urban centres.
Expo City’s decarbonisation roadmap enhances existing policies and programmes launched under Expo 2020 Dubai’s event-focused Carbon Management Programme and will introduce new initiatives while aligning with internationally recognised standards and guidelines.
Under Expo 2020, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were minimised via sustainable mitigation strategies, which led to a reduction in emissions of almost 10 per cent compared to a ‘business as usual’ scenario, while an additional five per cent reduction was due to carbon offsets.
Sustainable architecture and built environment
Expo City Dubai retains 80% of Expo 2020-built infrastructure, including 123 buildings that achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification: seven Platinum; 105 Gold; nine Silver; and two Certified.
LEED, from the US Green Building Council, is the most widely used green building rating system globally, focusing on energy and water consumption, operational costs and carbon footprints, construction materials and impacts, indoor air quality, community, and a sustainable urban environment.
Eight infrastructure projects across Expo City Dubai have also achieved an ‘Excellent’ rating under BREEAM Infrastructure, the highest possible rating given by an internationally recognised sustainability assessment for civil engineering, and a first for a project in the Middle East.
Terra – The Sustainability Pavilion
Expo City Dubai’s Terra Pavilion offers an immersive, emotional journey through the wonders of the natural world, enabling visitors to understand and improve their environmental footprint to create a better, more sustainable future.
Designed to be net zero for both energy and water, Terra is LEED Platinum-certified – the highest available accreditation for sustainable architecture – setting an example for sustainable building design.
A healthier and more balanced way of life
Designed with holistic living in mind, Expo City is the first community in the region to have registered under the WELL Community Standard, which presents a framework for creating communities that prioritise the health and wellbeing of all inhabitants.
The city includes 45,000 sq mtrs of parks and gardens, running and cycling tracks, and children’s playgrounds.
Expo City prioritises native and adaptive species in its landscape plants, which consume less water, and more than 90% of landscape areas are managed without the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers.
Designed with 15-minute city planning principles, its residential developments prioritise environmental sustainability, health and wellbeing.
Minimising waste and driving circularity
Expo City builds on the model developed during Expo 2020 to understand its waste ecosystem, including types and sources of waste, which guided operational plans and waste processes.
The principles of circular economy are central to the sustainability practices of the city and its stakeholders, from using recycled, biodegradable and recyclable materials, designing for re-use, and identifying technological solutions for its processing.
Managing Waste Future: New benchmark set by Expo 2020 Dubai and Partners
