30 July - 5 August 2012 - orsam

Lebanese expertise of LGBC in partnership with the International Finance Corporation, (IFC), a
member of the World Bank group.
The dramatic continuous electricity shortages, energy prices, and unavailability of other resources
like water, prompted the development of the ARZ Building Rating System. Its aim is to maximize the
operational efficiency and minimize environmental impacts. It is a certification on the existing
building operational performance. Property owners and managers will drive their operational cost
down while increasing occupant productivity in an environmentally friendly manner.
Just before the launching of the Rating tool event in June 2011, the Lebanon Green Building Council
provided an extensive number of training hours, and candidates who completed the credentials were
certified. Assessors are experienced building industry practitioners who have demonstrated their
knowledge of the ARZ rating system certification process.
The Order of Engineers in Beirut was the first registrant requesting the ARZ BRS assessment of its
headquarters. Two other reputable building owners are now processing and preparing for the delivery
of the documentation requirements to initiate the assessment task. Building owners are convinced
that certified and rated buildings will attract higher occupancy rates, higher rents, and an increase in
buildings‘ values. Using this tool enables building teams to focus on sustainability, gives them
options when considering capital improvements or implementation of best practices, and allows them
to benchmark and rate the benefits of various building attributes and procedures.
The rating process will provide an automatically generated report that can help to evaluate
opportunities to benefit from energy savings, reduced environmental impacts, integrated corporate
goals and practices, and lower costs for maintenance.
Certified assessors are asked to sign the ARZ BRS Code of Ethics and are requested to adhere to its
contents with no allowance for any conflict of interest, whether apparent or not. Owners on the other
hand are entitled to file an appeal if certain credits are denied, and ARZ BRS will be responsible to
resolve such claims within a defined period.
A board of Trustees formed from key stakeholders in the Building industry in Lebanon will monitor
and supervise the operation and performance of the ARZ BRS unit.
Benefits expected from the certifications range from getting solid data that supports the productivity
assertions, energy cost and environmental footprint, and to establish baseline data on present energy
and water consumption in all buildings in Lebanon. Owners will have open windows for exploring
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