Corporate social responsibility benefits are often understated outside of the business world.

The post What are the Key Benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael or in English, Jewish National Fund (KKL- JNF), is the Israel-based non-profit founded on principals of land reclamation and afforestation. This group has announced a new undertaking that will serve dual ambitions of stewardship over the environment, and its most vulnerable people. At a press event in Brussels recently, KKL-JNF World Chairman Danny […]

The post Israel’s biggest green group plants a project in support of Syrian refugees appeared first on Green Prophet.

Sderot’s dusty streets and woeful aspect come naturally after enduring years of rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. In this Western Negev town in Israel, all bus stops are small bomb shelters. A traffic roundabout represents the town center, with a pizzeria, a stationary store, and some tired-looking clothing shops around it. The young, […]

The post Sustainable student village from shipping containers! appeared first on Green Prophet.

Saudi Arabia has announced that the construction industry has five years to “green” up their business. Amid a massive construction boom, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) has decreed that all companies must reduce their air, water and noise pollution in keeping with regulations approved in 2008. While skeptics claim that the Kingdom lacks the regulatory […]

The post Green up or ship out – Saudi clamps down on construction industry appeared first on Green Prophet.

Can there be more Masdars? Can this experimental eco-city be replicated in other Middle Eastern or North African countries that don’t have Abu Dhabi’s immense oil wealth? Green Prophet put this question to Anthony Mallows, Director of Masdar City, and Chris Chi Lon Wan, City Design Manager, during a recent roundtable discussion. Masdar City is an experimental clean […]

The post Can there be more Masdar eco-cities in the Middle East? appeared first on Green Prophet.

An ambitious collaboration between Egypt and renewables giant Masdar may be coming back to life following a two year hibernation. Is this a bona fide resurrection of a visionary joint venture or just a soundbite to broadcast the commercial ambitions of Masdar? As part of a long-term strategy to advance alternative energy, Masdar had sought […]

The post Masdar Wind Project May Blow Back Into Egypt appeared first on Green Prophet.

Dubai International, soon to be the world’s largest airport, is focusing on sustainability with its newly proposed concourse D. The wing, which is the future home to 100 additional airlines, is scheduled to open in 2015. The Dubai Aviation Engineering Projects (DAEP) plans to utilize recycling programs (also during construction), renewable energy, and locally sourced […]

The post Dubai: World’s Largest Airport Greens Up its Act appeared first on Green Prophet.

Abu Dhabi has been a leader in harnessing the power of the sun, clean technology and alternative sources of energy in the past few years. A new report form the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) has shown that efforts are progressing quite positively for the Arab Gulf country.  Its annual report for 2012, released […]

The post Another Sustainable Development Report from Abu Dhabi appeared first on Green Prophet.

I interview Professor Al Jayoussi about Islamic notions of sustainability and whether they could ever be seen as universally applicable In a previous post, I raised concerns over what an Islamic worldview can realistically offer those looking for a new sustainability model. After reading Odeh Al Jayoussi’s book on the topic, I felt that there […]

The post The Big Ask – Is Islamic Sustainability The Answer To Our Green Prayers? appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you are among the 70 or more bloggers who submitted an entry to Masdar’s blogging competition, or simply want to know what it takes to impress the jury of one of the leading promoters of sustainable technology and renewable energy, then this post might appeal to you. Professor of public and environmental affairs at […]

The post Masdar’s Winning Blog: Demystifying the Water-Energy Nexus appeared first on Green Prophet.

The traditional Middle Eastern concept of Hima, which means a protected area, has been explored and modernised as a type of sustainable development system under a new Hima Initiative. “Compared to what you have experienced, the Hima concept we are promoting is different,” Walid Saleh who is part of the Hima Initiative told GreenProphet. And […]

The post HIMA – A Traditional Arabian Conservation Concept Modernised appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you’ve been to Dubai or neighboring emirate Abu Dhabi in the middle of summer, you’ve not only experienced a kind of heat that drains the life force from your pores, but you will also recall the bone-freezing experience of walking into any public building during these same months. Counteracting soaring outdoor temperatures with overactive […]

The post Masdar Aims to Stop Cooling From Gobbling up Gulf Energy appeared first on Green Prophet.

A giant revolving crystal ball provides a glimpse of Qatar’s 2022 world cup ambitions, which aren’t looking so sustainable after all. Apriori Communications commissioned Vedran Pedišić (SANGRAD) and Erick Velasco Farerra (AVP-arhitekti) to design a technologically-advanced spherical structure that will play host to a new FIFA soccer museum. The glowing orb’s design takes inspiration from Qatar’s pearl-fishing roots, according […]

The post Revolving Crystal Ball Predicts Qatar’s World Cup Ambitions appeared first on Green Prophet.

Usually new developments seeking LEED certification have to “prove themselves” – so to speak – before they can achieve any kind of certification. However, in order to recognize the division between owners and tenants of new developments, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) makes an exception for  core and shell buildings that are designed […]

The post Sowwah Square Receives First LEED-CS Gold Pre-Certification in Abu Dhabi appeared first on Green Prophet.

A free, week-long summer camp on climate change at the end of the summer, in Jordan. Apply now! The Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Foundation (HBS) in Ramallah, along with their Beirut and Tunis offices, hosts their Second Regional Summer School. This year they’re tackling two aspects of climate strategies specific to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) : the […]

The post Win a Climate Change Summer Camp in Jordan appeared first on Green Prophet.

We’ve featured some of the world’s most beautiful mosques on Green Prophet, but this is the first that resembles a cave. Slated for a prairie landscape in Buyuk Cekmece on the outskirts of Istanbul, the Sancaklar Mosque by Emre Arolat Architects is designed to offer genuine reprieve from the growing madness of urban life. This […]

The post Emre Arolat’s Underground Sancaklar Mosque in Turkey is Like a Cave appeared first on Green Prophet.

The mayor of Lebanon’s capital Beirut has launched “Beirut is Amazing,” an ambitious plan to finally green up the infamous concrete city. Following dedicated activism and scores of complaints from urban planners and designers, the city recruited the private sector to help regenerate existing green spaces and to create a few more. But Horsh Beirut, […]

The post Mayor Launches “Beirut is Amazing” City Greening Plan appeared first on Green Prophet.

Waterstudio.NL is world-renowned for its forward-thinking approach to architecture. While so many architects and developers (especially in our region) are still stuck on growing mammoth skyscrapers on land, this Dutch firm has carved a niche in floating architecture in preparation of climate change and rising seas. Their projects are numerous and range from small house […]

The post Maldives Floating Greenstar Hotel Sends the Wrong Message About Climate Change appeared first on Green Prophet.

Not to be outdone by Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, Dubai will soon begin construction on its own ‘sustainable city,’ where green transportation options include horses. Lest it seem that the new 743,000m2 development project entails a remarkable step backward, solar-powered vehicles are also planned, which is every bit as ambitious (and unlikely) as Masdar’s long-since-abandoned […]

The post Dubai’s ‘Sustainable City’ to Include Horse Transportation appeared first on Green Prophet.

Saudi Arabia will save an estimated 690,000 barrels of oil a day by investing in renewables. Wonder just why Saudi Arabia finally got serious about solar with a $109 billion plan to solar-power a third of the Kingdom? I did. After all, for a long time, while its greener neighbors have been adding thousands of […]

The post Why Did the Saudis Just Go Big in Solar? Oil Prices. appeared first on Green Prophet.

It may look like a castle, but this beautiful red-earth building is actually an 11-roomed hotel that receives 80% of its energy from the sun. And like the eco-lodge, Hassan and his wife Hélène of the Atlas Kasbah are no run-of-the-mill owners. He is Berber, she is French, and they both possess Masters Degrees in Sustainable […]

The post Morocco’s Atlas Kasbah Eco-Lodge is 80% Solar-Powered appeared first on Green Prophet.

We speak to Mohamed Abdel Raouf, a green researcher who will be attending the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) about what it could do for the Arab world According to the latest reporting, the preparatory talks ahead of the Rio+20 summit have been inconclusive and raised real concerns that the conference will be a […]

The post What Can Rio+20 Do For The Arab World? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Forest in central Israel, as seen from Ein Karem Some architects and economists are proposing Israel solve its affordable housing crisis by turning central Israel into a “megacity,” similar to Hong Kong, and moving the nation’s lush nature reserves and agricultural lands to the Negev and the Galilee. Supporters of this solution insist it would […]

The post Is Urbanizing the Solution to Israel’s Housing Crisis? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Does goes on a mission to find out what typifies an Egyptian environmentalist. A few months ago Egypt was named the greenest country in the Middle-East by a Yale group, even topping neighbouring Israel. It even turned out to be one of the best improving countries in the world. If you ever visited it, this might sound […]

The post What an Egyptian Environmentalist Looks Like appeared first on Green Prophet.

Twelve new UAE graduates have been employed to work with the Masdar Institute. In 2010, Emiratis made up only 13% of their own country’s population. The oil industry and Dubai’s construction boom attracted millions of foreigners, including Indian laborers that just two years ago comprised a whopping 50% of the population, resulting in a tragic […]

The post Masdar Puts Nearly Half of its Green Future in Emirati Control appeared first on Green Prophet.

As part of the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, the Sinai Peninsula was restored to Egyptian control – an event that the country celebrated with some fanfare on April 25th, 2012. On that same day, the Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri witnessed two separate development plans that were signed between the Social Development Fund (SFD) and governors […]

The post Sinai’s Ecological Future Hangs in the Balance appeared first on Green Prophet.

Doha-based architect Romi Sebastian questions the feasibility of Qatar’s urban planning ahead of the 2022 World Cup Qatar is moving rapidly towards its vision to host the world cup in 2022. Yet if scrutinised, current progress in urban infrastructure and architecture seems to be frail in terms of character and functional approach. Is the idea of […]

The post Local Architect Questions the Logic of Qatar’s 2022 World Cup Groundwork appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Stars of Science reality TV show would be so much more exciting if it spurred sustainable ideas. Perhaps we shouldn’t begrudge the Arab World’s first serious reality TV show, particularly since Stars of Science was designed to encourage more youth in the region to pursue science and technology. But it’s hard to turn a […]

The post Exciting “Stars of Science” Reality TV Show Completely Lacks Green Vision appeared first on Green Prophet.

It’s official: Zaha Hadid is going to design the new Central Bank of Iraq’s Headquarters; Tafline argues that it should be green. Zaha Hadid is widely celebrated for her incredible, untethered design, but less so for her environmental sensibilities. So when we learned that the deal to design a major project for her home country, […]

The post Why Zaha Hadid Should Green the Central Bank of Iraq Headquarters appeared first on Green Prophet.

The new Siemens Headquarters in Masdar City will be 65, 617 square feet when completed by the end of this year. We recently reported that Siemens has teamed up with Masdar to develop a new generation of sand-resistant solar panels that will make more sense for desert environments, and that building the firm’s Middle Eastern […]

The post First Pictures of the New Siemens Headquarters at Masdar City appeared first on Green Prophet.

Egypt is now close to awarding a contract to build a 1,000 megawatt wind farm, to be up and running in 2016, that it first announced last year.

A wind farm this size has few equals worldwide. Egypt has some of the best wind power potential in the world, and its government is beginning to tap into this source of free fuel in earnest, since passing its plan to get 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2020, in order to stave off climate change.

The post Egypt Now Contracting a Whopping 1,000 MW Wind Farm! appeared first on Green Prophet.

Lebanon boasts one of the world's most sophisticated hiking trail networks, which traverses 75 towns and villages. 

The post The Lebanon Mountain Trail is a World Class Hiking Destination appeared first on Green Prophet.

At least 19 people have died following the collapse of a 1940s apartment building in Beirut, Lebanon on Sunday. The owner of the 5 storey building that collapsed on Sunday  killing 19 people has been arrested. The Daily Star reports that Lebanon’s Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told local media that Michel Saadeh is being questioned […]

The post Professor Urges Regulations to Prevent Further Fatal Building Collapses in Beirut appeared first on Green Prophet.

A new eco-village in Upper Egypt raises hopes that the country may move in a more sustainable tourism direction, which we would really love, but most indicators show that won’t happen any time soon. Hoda Baraka from Almasry Alyoum was one of the first journalists to point out how unregulated development is impacting on the timeless […]

The post Is Troubled Egypt Ripe Enough For Eco-Tourism? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Netanya’s efficient new twisting tower will be powered by geothermal energy and transform this once-obscure Israeli city. We have a real soft spot for earth architecture, such as Nader Khalili’s gorgeous domes and arches fit for space, and these amazing Syrian beehive-shaped buildings that have lasted hundreds of years, but we also acknowledge the great […]

The post Yaniv Pardo’s Twisting Tower for Netanya in Israel appeared first on Green Prophet.

If you have lost faith in earth architecture, take note: Yemen's Manhattan of the desert, Shibam, boasts 400 habitable clay towers!

The post Yemen’s Shibam is 400 towers made from earth – like a Manhattan in the desert appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Haramain High Speed Rail Project (HHR) in Saudi Arabia recently broke ground, which bodes well for the future of the Kingdom’s environmental/energy footprint.  Phase II of Saudi Arabia’s 276 mile Haramain High Speed Rail Project (HHR) is now underway. The Kingdom is getting 35 swanky new trains and 4 stations designed by Foster + Partners […]

The post Swanky New Train Will Get Pax From Jeddah to Makkah in Under 30 Minutes appeared first on Green Prophet.

We’re so thrilled to announce that Geotectura has finally broken ground on Israel’s very first LEED Platinum Building. We’ve been waiting for this happy moment since November 2008 when Geotectura together with Axelrod-Grobman Architects and Chen Architects first won a prestigious international competition to design TAU’s Porter School of Environmental Studies. After years of information gathering and […]

The post Construction of Israel’s First LEED Platinum EcoBuilding by Geotectura Begins appeared first on Green Prophet.

The wonderful thing about living in the Middle East is that we have so many holidays each year. But we like to celebrate the earth-friendly way, so check out our suggestions for good places to buy sustainable gifts. We know most of our readers are unlikely to buy into the mad consumer rush that Christmas […]

The post Find Last-Minute Christmas Gifts at 6 Sustainable Stores in the Middle East appeared first on Green Prophet.

Don’t throw out your e-waste and other junk; in a few decades, you could be sitting on a gold mine.   Last year we posted a funky little video that detailed what goes into making just one cell phone. “Eric-Sun” – a personified cellular phone facing the end of its life – is comprised in […]

The post Peak Everything? Save Your Junk. appeared first on Green Prophet.

A fusion of traditional Islamic architecture and modern sustainable design, Gaza’s new green schools will cost the same to build as their less-sustainable counterparts.  We recently reported that Gaza is slated to receive not one but 20 zero-energy eco-schools, and now we have a better sense of what they will look like thanks to a […]

The post Gaza’s Green Schools Fuse Islamic Architecture and Sustainable Design appeared first on Green Prophet.

In time, students living in Gaza Strip will no longer be vulnerable to the politics du jour.  In an unprecedented move, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has unveiled plans to build as many as 20 zero-emissions schools throughout the Gaza Strip, which will rely entirely on renewables for their energy supply. The agency […]

The post Gaza’s Getting 20! Zero-Emissions Eco-Schools appeared first on Green Prophet.

Bluefin Tuna fishing stakes have risen with the adoption of a new electronic monitoring system that will make it harder for frausters to fudge their catch numbers. Although considered largely unsuccessful at preventing the nearly inevitable extinction of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna at last week’s International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) gathering in […]

The post New Electronic Monitoring Device Could Foil Bluefin Tuna Exploits appeared first on Green Prophet.

Gaziantep is the only city in Turkey with its own climate change action plan.  Everything from sustainable agriculture to waste-to-energy technology will be on the agenda  today, as dozens of mayors, academics, and NGO representatives assemble in Istanbul for the 2011 Sustainable Cities conference, a project of Turkey’s Regional Environment Center. Municipalities often accomplish environmental goals […]

The post Turkey’s Most Sustainable Cities Share A Spotlight appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel commissioned a very green addition to the Jerusalem Bird Observatory, and let’s just say the birds and the bees are making themselves at home! Many buildings tend to create hazardous environments for fauna and flora, or else wipe them out altogether, but the Gutman Visitor Center […]

The post Jerusalem’s Green-Roofed Gutman Center is a Home for the Birds and the Bees appeared first on Green Prophet.

Amidst economical concerns and heavy reliance on fossil fuels, Pakistan's first private wind turbine gains $169 mil in international investment through Turkish company Zorlu Enerji.

The post Landmark Wind Power Plant To Be Built In Pakistan appeared first on Green Prophet.

Edgelands are the spaces outside of towns and cities that play host to a rough element. Largely considered no-man’s-land, they too deserve attention, Marion Shoard argues. Two poets respond to the call. The term edgelands was coined in 2003 by Marion Shoard.  She wrote, “The expanses of no-man’s-land which have sprung up on the margins of […]

The post Book Review of Edgelands: Journeys into England’s True Wilderness appeared first on Green Prophet.

An architect in Beirut illustrates how a small splash of color can completely transform a concrete environment. But trust us, that is just the beginning of this city’s problems. I judge a country by its public transportation, and Sandra Rashini, an architect who held a magnifying glass over Lebanon’s colossal urban problem for Mashallah, will tell […]

The post Car Use in Lebanon Increased by 538% in 24 Years appeared first on Green Prophet.

Environmentalists have been telling us for years that we need to stop focusing on the economy and consider nature. Will a ‘Green GDP’ help us do just that in the Middle East? GDP is probably one of the very few widely recognised abbreviated economic terms in the world. It stands for Gross Domestic Product and […]

The post Could A ‘Green GDP’ Transform The Middle East? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Ken Finn is a passionate man. Sitting with him in his Brighton kitchen (which he built himself), our conversation ranges from his book, ‘My Journey With a Remarkable Tree’, to the current state of the economy: “We’ve got to decouple the juggernaut [of economic meltdown] that is hurtling towards us” is a memorable quote from […]

The post Book Review: ‘My Journey With a Remarkable Tree’ in Cambodia appeared first on Green Prophet.