VOX Cinemas has announced that its Mall of the Emirates location has been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v4.1 O+M (Operations + Maintenance) Existing Interiors. This comes close on the heels of its City Centre Mirdif location’s distinction as the world’s first cinema to be awarded the same certification. The only cinema in the MENA region to receive this coveted environmental achievement, VOX Cinemas earned a gold certification for both its Mall of the Emirates and City Centre Mirdif locations from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which aligns with Majid Al Futtaim’s company-wide sustainability strategy ‘Dare Today, Change Tomorrow’.
LEED, developed by USGBC, is the most widely used green-building rating system in the world and is a globally recognised symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. Deepthy K. B., Regional Director of Market Development at GBCI Middle East, presented the LEED v4.1 O+M Existing Interiors certificate to Francis Anthony Uy, Head of Technical & Sustainability and congratulated Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas for its consistent commitment towards the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, while simultaneously offering a hugely impactful cinema experience for its stakeholders through healthy and high-performing assets.
Peter Stubbs, director of HSE and Sustainability, Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas, “LEED is an international symbol of excellence, and we are incredibly honoured to become the only cinema in the world to earn this coveted accolade, given our common goal to build a healthy and sustainable future. At Majid Al Futtaim, we are continuously implementing environmentally sustainable practices in line with our ‘Dare Today, Change Tomorrow’ strategy and as part of our commitment to provide a healthy environment for our customers, employees, business partners and the local community. Achieving this important milestone demonstrates how the innovative work of our teams and continued investment in greener technology across our assets can create local solutions that contribute to making a global impact.”
Gopalakrishnan P., managing director, GBCI India, MENA and SEA markets, said: “The latest in LEED v4.1 personifies Sustainability, Health and Wellness, Resiliency and Social Equity. Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas has adopted the LEED v4.1 O+M Existing Interiors version for both VOX Cinemas Mall of the Emirates and City Centre Mirdif in deference to the evolving customer, who apart from enjoying the audio-visual content, also wants to be in a space that is focused on sustainability to add to their health and wellbeing.”
VOX Cinemas is an industry leader in sustainable cinema practices, focusing on water and energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and waste diversion and management. The achievement of the LEED gold certification represents the first step in Majid Al Futtaim Leisure, Entertainment & Cinemas’ journey towards transforming its portfolio into one of the healthiest, most environmentally friendly, and most effective leisure and entertainment providers.
Majid Al Futtaim is a pioneer of sustainability in the region and was the first Middle Eastern company to adopt a Net Positive strategy, which will result in a positive corporate footprint by 2040. In 2018, as a part of the company-wide sustainability strategy, Dare Today, Change Tomorrow, Majid Al Futtaim established three focus areas: Transforming Lives, Rethinking Resources, and Empowering Our People.
