Jotun partners with Emirates Green Building Council to host networking event on ‘Paints and Building

Leading paint company calls on Middle East region’s construction industry to adopt more ‘green’ building policies

Jotun Paints, one of the world’s leading producers and suppliers of paints and coatings, and the Emirates Green Building Council (Emirates GBC), an organisation aimed at conserving the environment by strengthening and promoting green building practices in the UAE, will jointly host a networking event on ‘Paints and Building Sustainibility’ on September 27, 2011, at the Novotel Hotel, Dubai. Jotun Paints is a key corporate member of Emirates GBC, and this joint initiative is part of the leading paint company’s continued call to the Middle East region’s construction segment to adopt more ‘green’ building policies. The networking event is expected to draw in the participation of key stakeholders in the construction industry like consultants, developers, architects, interior designers and contractors.
The event will feature a special panel discussion with resource speakers and senior officials from the Emirates GBC and Jotun including: Bent Haflan, Group Vice President R&D – Decorative, Jotun A/S; Malek El Husseini, Business Development Director, GE Healthcare; Tyrone Lawson, Sustainability Technical Director, WSP Group and Samuel Keehn, Environmental and Sustainability Manager, EMS. At the event, Haflan will make a presentation on ‘Paints contribution to Sustainability’, and Jotun’s latest line of eco-friendly paints, ‘Jotashield Extreme’. The new product line, which is the result of Jotun’s extensive research and development efforts, addresses the growing need for heat reflective and eco-friendly paints in the Middle East region. The panel discussions will touch on key topics like ‘Is being Green a trend or a response to a true awakening in the Middle East,’ ‘Are the terms ‘Green Building’ and ‘Green Construction’ misused?,’ ‘The growing concern towards Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect’ and ‘The challenges of building sustainability in the Middle East.’

"Our co-operation with the Emirates GBC will allow us to further our commitment towards calling for the adoption of more ‘green’ building policies in the Middle East region, in general and the UAE in particular,” said Bent Haflan. "In line with this, we are jointly organising the ‘Paints and Building Sustainability’ networking event to increase awareness on the significance of following green building policies for the major projects ongoing in the UAE. This also proves to be an opportune time to demonstrate our new ‘Jotashield Extreme’, which has unique heat reflective capabilities and can help cut energy consumption.”
Adnan Sharafi, Chairman, Emirates GBC, said: "The networking event on ‘Paints and Building Sustainability’ organised with Jotun Paints underlines our commitment to actively involve various stakeholders in the building supply chain and promote the importance of sustainable built environments. Every aspect of building development can be managed effectively to make it environmentally sustainable, and a concerted approach by all our partners will help us to achieve our vision of a greener city.”
Jotun is considered as one of the key members of Emirates GBC in the field of paint manufacturing. Over the last few years, the company has remained steadfast in its commitment to raise the benchmark of environment friendly production techniques and the creation of products that conform to international standards. In fact, Jotun’s long years of experience in the Middle East alone have resulted in the development of conventional and specialized paints and coatings that have made use of technological developments. With its continuous call for the production of more eco-friendly products and call for adoption of more ‘green’ building regulations, Jotun is aiming to set an example for other companies to follow suit.