Sustainability

The Government of Abu Dhabi Emirate is committed to protecting and conserving the environment, and to protecting and promoting health and safety for all inhabitants of the Abu Dhabi Emirate.

To demonstrate its commitment, the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi Emirate approved the Abu Dhabi Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Policy in December 2006. The objective of the policy is to achieve excellence in the management and protection of the environment, health and safety, through partnership between all government and private sectors to make sure activities within Abu Dhabi Emirate are undertaken in a responsible, safe and sustainable manner.

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The Al Ain Municipality engaged GHD, in association with Woods Bagot (architects and urban designers) and RSP/Jones Lang LaSalle (property consultants), in the planning and development of new residential communities at Shiab Al Ashkhar and Shiebat Al Watah in Al Ain City.

This project involves the master planning of two suburbs as part of a housing program for UAE nationals. One suburb (Shiab Al Ashkhar) is constrained within an existing pattern of subdivision. GHD suggested a number of mechanisms that could be applied in an effort to reduce the urban sprawl and provide a sense of community. This involved varying road carriageway alignments, re-designing community parks, integrating a community centre and encouraging pedestrian traffic.

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The Al Raha Beach development is a beachfront project being built along the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway, opposite Al Raha Gardens.

The USD$15 billion development sits on reclaimed land at Al Raha Beach, occupying an area of 6.8 million square metres, with a total built-up area of 12 million square metres. Developed by ALDAR, Al Raha Beach will be a new city district that will serve as the new gateway to Abu Dhabi City and accommodate 120,000 residents in an arrangement of high-rise towers and low-rise developments. It is being built in 11 residential and commercial precincts, each with its own distinct personality and appeal.

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GHD has provided utility coordination and relocation design services throughout the two-mile long Alaskan Way Viaduct corridor in Seattle, Washington.

GHD is responsible for data quality review for all utility mapping throughout the corridor, performing research of the City of Seattle’s GIS and other utility records dating back to 1900, resolving discrepancies, performing field checks, and integrating survey data.

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The ACEDP is a five-year AUD$25 million Australian Government, AusAID initiative, designed to improve environmental protection and natural resource management (in particular, water) to balance the needs of the environment and human development in China.

GHD was appointed managing contractor on 1 July 2007. The program promotes high-level government-to-government environmental policy dialogue and capacity building, and aims to deliver the following outcomes:

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GHD has been engaged by Ahmed Hassan Bilal Trading and Contracting Company to re-design and oversee the construction of a 20-storey residential tower on the Pearl Island development in Qatar.

The tower development consists of chalets; studios; one, two and three bedroom apartments and penthouses; and facilities including two swimming pools, and separate male and female gymnasiums.

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GHD provided civil engineering services for the renovation of an existing warehouse in Auburn, Washington. The warehouse was renovated so the Social Security Administration could provide a call centre to account for the upcoming increase of retirees in the national workforce.

Civil engineering services included grading, paving, storm drainage and utility design for the site.

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GHD collaborated with Dutch architects KCAP to provide master planning services for the Gemdale Shenyang Chang Qing 'Trinity' project in Shenyang, northern China. The project site covers
883,100sq m, including 210,000sq m of residential, commercial and community programs.

Following the master planning phase, GHD provided architectural design services.

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The chiller replacement for the airconditioning system at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University was implemented under the “Scheme for Wider Use of Fresh Water in Cooling Towers for Air-conditioning Systems” with a target saving of 25 percent electricity consumption per annum.

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The Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment engaged GHD to compare the effects of three different climate scenarios on River Red gum communities in northern Victoria.

The study focused on the likely changes to the frequency, duration, interval and extent of flooding of River Red Gum communities along the Murray.

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GHD’s design for the CSIRO Energy Centre sets a new benchmark in ecologically sustainable design.

The centre features a combination of energy-efficient building services, such as active and passive cooling systems and small-scale generation units capable of delivering most of its power needs.

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Interface Australia is Australia’s largest manufacturer of carpet tiles for residential, commercial and industrial use. The company engaged GHD to assist with a major upgrade of its manufacturing facility. 

It was important to the client that any upgrade was arranged so as to minimise disruption to ongoing plant operations.

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RoseWater GHD provided plans and design of drainage, grading, paving, utilities, and temporary erosion and sediment control (TESC); and construction observation and support for a new
193,000 square feet high school in Auburn, Washington.

The development on the 40-acre site consists of buildings, paved pedestrian areas, parking lots (providing a total of 650 spaces), a bus drop-off area, four ball fields, a soccer/football track and field, and seven tennis courts.

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GHD has a long-term contract to manage the entire traffic network for Auckland’s arterial and motorway networks.

This includes traffic signal optimisation, incident management, special events management and optimising traffic flows.

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GHD was commissioned to evaluate the benefits of route optimisation for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

GHD delivered a number of route optimisation reports detailing before and after evaluations using in-car groups to determine fuel, travel time and CO2 reductions of route optimisation.

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When Logan City Council purchased a former sand mine adjacent to council land at Browns Plains in 2003, it was run down and neglected. Although re-vegetated, the area was a haven for feral fauna and weeds, and was used as a dump for old cars and rubbish.

Today, the 120ha South West 1 (SW1) Enterprise Park and Berrinba Wetlands is an environmental and enterprise precinct showcase with recreational facilities, and natural bush and wetlands.

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BlueScope Steel is in the process of delivering a significant engineering project at the Port Kembla Steelworks, New South Wales.

The Steelworks Cogeneration Project aims to reduce the Steelwork’s greenhouse gas emissions by using the waste gas generated from steel making as an energy source for electricity and to provide a secure steam supply.

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The Darra to Springfield Transport Corridor is the first large-scale integrated road and rail project for South East Queensland.

The purpose of the AUD1.5 billion project is to improve road, rail and public transport links between Darra and Springfield to service the growing population centres along the corridor and will be built in two stages.

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The project site covers 93.4ha in a good location in Tianjin city. GHD was commissioned to undertake overall concept design, detailed planning and architectural design.

After investigation of the local markets and studies of the location and landform, GHD architects decided to adopt a western style community planning concept to create a sustainable European-style small town. The concept features a high-profile international villa and an ecological resort that can be developed in a wetland location.

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Greenhouse gas (GHG) management is an essential part of any organisation’s sustainability and corporate responsibility agenda. GHD partnered with CenSA on railways greenhouse gas emissions measurement in the United Kingdom.

In December 2008, the United Kingdom (UK) made a upgraded its commitment to reduce its national carbon dioxide emissions, by at least 34 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050, in comparison to 1990 levels. In anticipation of tough regulatory and other policy drivers, the rail sector sought to better understand its contribution to the national GHG footprint and the ways in which this can be reduced.

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