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At Greneа we believe that truly sustainable real estate has to go all the way to Zero. That means no CO₂ or any other greenhouse gas emissions, no waste going into landfills and no contaminants released into the water. We leverage our global experience to deliver innovative real estate projects that use smart solutions and creative business models.
Cities occupy just 2% of world’s landmass but currently are estimated to emit two thirds of the world’s CO2. Accelerating urbanization rate around the world is further exacerbating the problem. Less than 15% of the world’s population lived in cities a century ago. In 2008, for the first time, that figure exceeded 50%. By 2050, it will have reached 70% representing 6.4 billion people. Most of this growth will be in developing countries (with Asia to become 50% urban in next 15 years) while in developed countries, 86 percent of the population is expected to be urban by 2050.
Global emissions of carbon dioxide are estimated to grow by 43 per cent by 2035 if current patterns of energy usage continue. As slum dwellers reach a billion people, governments around the world are trying to cope with providing affordable dwellings while confronting rising energy, food, and water shortages.
Sustainable real estate offers a unique opportunity to help solve these major problems. In fact, many experts now recognize that there is no other way to decrease CO2 faster and more inexpensively. Beyond environmental benefits, all stakeholders could win: technology partners, citizens, communities, developers, landlords/asset owners, in addition to investors.
Although many challenges remain, with the business case still unclear to investors and consumer unsure about real savings, the scale of the problem requires urgent action. Building real estate in a business-as-usual manner is no longer acceptable.
Based on its unique and in-depth experience in planning Masdar City and executing the first phase, Grenea team is committed to providing a new business model to secure appropriate financial, social, and environmental incentives to the various stakeholders. Grenea will also partner with technology companies and the main pillars of the real estate supply chain to leverage the know-how and economies of scale in the various projects it integrates. By doing this, Grenea aims to become an international business reference for Eco-developments at conventional cost and a globally recognized green property investment entity and development integrator.
We leverage our global experience to deliver skillful planning and methodical execution across key elements necessary for a higher quality of urban life, enabling organic growth that feeds innovation and inspiration. Our involvement is distributed among several integrated work streams:
Mission and ApproachWe are driven by a mission to develop Zero-carbon Zero-waste real estate development communities around the world. This mission is led by the belief that unless we manage to have Zero as our target, we cannot claim to be truly sustainable. Reducing carbon emissions and waste to Zero is something we firmly believe is possible. This is not as difficult as it sounds. We are committed to making it happen at an affordable cost through using innovative real estate design, latest technology in sustainable construction, and through changing living habits. More specifically, our approach is focused on: ensuring that construction and operation costs of our projects are comparable or even more cost effective than conventional costs using to the maximum extent possible renewable energy sources while achieving the highest standards of energy efficiency ensuring waste and water are recycled and no harmful substances find their way to landfills or water streams engaging and creating value to all stakeholders including tenants, land owners, investors contributing to a higher quality of life to communities through cleaner air, cleaner water and a healthier lifestyle
Grenea was founded by two entrepreneurs, Ziad Tassabehji and Khaled Awad. In the late 1990’s, after successful careers in the corporate world, they separately launched various pioneering IT ventures and start-ups from Dubai, playing a key role in spreading the internet boom in the region. Mission and ApproachHowever, by 2000, they decided that the world was on the verge of a global transition in terms of its over reliance on fossil fuels and that something had to be done. Working with the Abu Dhabi government Masdar initiative, they launched the Masdar renewable energy project, which became a global iconic brand of how a city of the future should be built. During their time with Masdar, they were able to meet and network with some of the key global companies and governments that believe that the world is changeable, reconfirming their faith in a renewable energy future where the fabric of the natural world is connected. In 2010, both Khaled and Ziad decided to carry their mission for Zero-carbon Zero-waste real estate projects to mainstream communities, acting as development integrators and financial catalysts for eco-development projects. In an attempt to contribute to a new global resource management system, they decided that their new company Grenea will focus on rapidly urbanizing countries, where the need to prepare for the sustainable growth and expansion of cities is urgent. Their unique model is based on widening the definition of sustainable real estate projects to include social and economic health of communities, in addition to the delivering quantifiable environmental and economic return on investments. As the Grenea team expands its project base, it continues to believe that introducing environmental measures in transport, construction, or waste management in isolation is not sufficient to meet the challenges of urban expansion. A more holistic multi-faceted approach is required. Driven by the same entrepreneurship spirit that helped launch Masdar and IT incubators, the Grenea founders are now focusing on seizing untapped opportunities and technologies to deliver realizable and innovative solutions in mainstream real estate industry.
To deliver sustainable cities of the future, for each project, Grenea partners with key strategic global and local stakeholders. Starting from the design to the implementation and marketing, the Grenea team works together with local partners following strict sustainability guidelines while leveraging the company’s global network and industry expertise.
As a result of working with the local community, peers and industry leaders we are able to build a network of networks to tackle common shared interests while benefiting all key stakeholders.
Khaled was the founding director of Property Development at the Masdar Initiative in Abu Dhabi. He was overseeing the planning and development of Masdar City, the $22 billion mixed-use and technological project which was the world's first development aiming to become carbon neutral.
Prior to joining Masdar, Khaled worked in the construction industry in the Arabian Gulf for more than twenty five years. He is currently the Chairman of Advanced Construction Technology Services (ACTS). He was also the founder and CEO of various construction and real estate companies, dealing with the supply chain and IT side of the industry and working on concept development of large-scale projects.
He is a member of the Urbanization Council of the World Economic Forum. In 2011, he was elected as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Concrete Institute (ACI), of which he is a Fellow. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
He is also a Fellow of the UK Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT). He is an active member of several ACI committees, including the ACI Board Advisory Committee on Sustainability, and was the recipient of the Henry Kennedy Award from ACI in April 2007.
Ziad has more than twenty years of experience in global strategic business planning, business development and joint ventures & acquisitions, with expertise in sustainable development and launching large scale renewable energy projects.
Prior to Grenea, Ziad was the Director of Investments and Innovation at Masdar, Abu Dhabi's multi-billion dollar government sponsored initiative to promote domestic advanced energy and sustainability technologies. He was also Executive Director of Venture Capital Funds, Masdar Clean Tech Fund I and Masdar Clean Tech Fund II.
At Masdar, Ziad formed several joint ventures like Torresol, a leading developer and owner of concentrated solar thermal plants in Spain, London Array, the largest offshore wind project in the world, in addition to joint ventures with EON and Gong Energy
Previously, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Limited, an award winning Internet development and for-profit incubator where he raised venture capital for start-ups and formed them into commercially viable businesses.
