Dubai Municipality has announced plans to implement its new green building rating system, Al Saafat, (palm frond in Arabic) early next year, reported state news agency Wam.

The Al Saafat project aims to bring a 20 per cent reduction in electricity consumption, 15 per cent in water consumption, 20 per cent in carbon dioxide emissions and 50 per cent in waste reduction, it stated.

The initiative is designed to achieve high performance of buildings to promote human and environmental health, said the report citing  Layali Al Mulla, the director of Buildings Department. The municipality continues to move towards achieving its goals of being the world’s first sustainable city, she added.

The green building rating is split into four major classifications: Platinum, gold, silver and bronze, in descending order, and every building must adhere to the minimum bronze category requirements, it added.