ECG Vice President for public Relations & Sustainable Development Dr. Nevine Abdelkhalek, Communication Section Head Sayed Abdel-Aal and Senior Eng. Hoda Ibrahim took part in the “3rd Arab Sustainable Development Week” between 3-6 November 2019. The event was organized by the General Secretariat of the Arab League under the auspices of HE President of Egypt Mr. Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the Hilton Cairo Heliopolis hotel, in collaboration with the World Bank and the European Union, and was hosted by the Egyptian Ministry of Planning, Follow-up and Administrative Reform.
The event drew attention to the vital issue of creating more sustainable methods and approaches with respect to how we use the planet’s resources. The Egypt Green Building Council, member of the World Green Building Council, held two sessions on greening the construction sector. The first session under the banner “Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Cities in the Arab World” was held on November 4, and included a panel discussion attended by leading consulting and contracting firms, green buildings consultants, and a representative of the World Green Building Council, to discuss the challenges and opportunities involved in constructing ‘green’ buildings. In this panel, Engineering Consultants Group S.A. took part as one of the leading consultants in this field, as ECG has accomplished several green building projects in the MENA region.
Eng. Hoda Ibrahim illustrated ECG’s track record, which draws on substantial experience in the field of ‘Green Building’ in the MENA region since 2007. ECG offers consultancy services for different rating systems, such as LEED, Estidama, and GSAS. Green building awareness has been rising in recent years amongst developers and governmental authorities, which enables Egypt to contribute robustly to achieving sustainable development goals and Egypt’s Vision 2030.
Dr. Nevine Abdelkhalek was also a keynote speaker at the panel of Business Partnerships for Sustainable Development, which included other speakers, including Eng. Hoda Dahrouj Acting Chairman of the Central Board for Community Development and Regional Director of the Egyptian Fund for Information Technology, Dr. Yomna El-Shereidy Founder of the Arab Businesswomen Council, Ms. Amna Fazza, Delegate of the African Association, the National Committee of the African Union & President of the African Women Club, and Dr. Corinne Shenouda, Goodwill Ambassador and CEO of the Egyptian Stock Exchange Foundation for Sustainable Development.
During the session on effective partnerships between businesses to achieve sustainable development, ECG Vice president explained that “The management element is the most important element that exists in any organization, in addition to the importance of effective partnerships between the government, the private sector and the civil society in achieving SDGs.”
Dr. Abdelkhalek shed light on the programs and activities carried out by ECG to develop the community and contribute to achieving SDGs, as well as the Egypt 2030 vision. She also highlighted how ECG is keen on producing sustainable designs and implementation of buildings in a manner that heeds environmental dimensions, accessibility, and the digital transformation.
