Renaissance Lighting to Host “Lighting the Way to a Green Dubai”

Environmental experts from UAE and abroad to discuss critical issues in sustainable energy

DUBAI, UAE, 13 November, 2008 – HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), will deliver the keynote address for “Lighting the Way to a Green Dubai,” a thought-provoking series of environmentally oriented presentations to address the pressing global need to develop and commercialize Green Technologies.  Al Tayer will outline the Dubai Government’s green initiatives at this special event, designed to focus attention on the Government’s environmentally driven vision by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

“Lighting the Way to a Green Dubai” takes place at Dubai Men’s College in Academic City on Sunday 16 November from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.  The event is organized by Renaissance Lighting, a USA-based pioneering innovator of solid-state LED architectural lighting, and it’s UAE Regional Distribution Partners, Victory Technologies International and Stellatek Solutions, in association with the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) Centre of Engineering Excellence.

“Our goal in partnering with the HCT Centre of Engineering Excellence is to bring together in one room the best environmental thinking,” said Renaissance Lighting CEO, Barry Weinbaum. “The future depends on our collective ability to shrink the global carbon footprint. By linking academia and industry, we believe that ‘Lighting the Way to a Green Dubai’ is the perfect forum for identifying innovative, environmentally friendly approaches and supporting the objectives of visionary government leaders,” Weinbaum said.

This special event is the first joint initiative under a recently established relationship between Renaissance Lighting and the HCT Centre of Engineering Excellence, supporting on-going green-technology knowledge transfer between Renaissance Lighting and the colleges’ students and faculty.

“The landscape of Dubai is changing forever and these changes must take place with global responsibility in mind,” said Dr. Bob Richards, Senior Director-Dubai Men’s College. “Sustainability is key to the future of Dubai and the UAE. New approaches to sustainability including solid-state lighting, offer great direction in the global demand for ecologically friendly technology.”

Featured speakers will include Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson of the Emirates Environmental Group; Dan Savage, Design Manager, Above Ground Stations, Dubai Metro, Atkins; Ali bin Towaih, Chairman of the Emirates Green Building Council, and executives from Renaissance Lighting.

A founding member of the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), Mrs. Marashi’s presentation will outline the EEG’s initiative to plant one million trees in the UAE. The EEG, founded in 1991 with a focus on the environment and education, is a voluntary, non-profit, private organization open to all nationalities and ages. Mrs. Al Marashi is also a founder member of Emirates Green Building Council and a Board Member of the UN Global Compact.

Mr. Savage will discuss how efficient lighting design and technologies can improve power consumption and reduce negative carbon dioxide emissions.  In particular he will highlight Dubai’s Lighthouse Project that has impressive plans of eliminating over 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Mr. Ali bin Towaih, Director of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Division (SEED) at TECOM Investments, will discuss green buildings based on his extensive experience in the energy field and vision for a sustainable and environmentally friendly development. Currently, he is working on several projects for the Government of Dubai on developing the renewable energy industry. He initiated the recently launched TECOM Investments Sustainable Development Policy which aims at the optimization of energy management and green building certification.
Both Renaissance Lighting and the HCT Centre of Engineering Excellence acknowledged that the subject matter of this special series of presentations is expected to be of extreme importance to members of the international architectural community, interior and lighting designers, electrical and lighting engineers, lighting specifiers, developers, green building experts, environmentalists, engineering academics and government officials.