Loading ...About Carboun
Carboun is an advocacy initiative promoting sustainability and environmental conservation in the Middle East. It aims to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable design and development as a major component in reducing the impact of development on the environment, energy, and resources. It also advocates the importance of conserving and protecting natural resources and local ecologies throughout the Middle East.
Carboun focuses on the economic, environmental and developmental conditions predominant in the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa. The initiative’s name, Carboun, is a transliteration of the Arabic pronunciation of the element Carbon, the most elemental constituent of life, the source of our energy, and more recently, the main driving factor behind our planet’s climate change. Carboun is proud to be a partner of the Globe Alliance: Global Leadership in Our Built Environment.
Carboun.com provides an online platform for information relating to sustainability and the environment in the Middle East. It includes a wide spectrum of resources covering sustainable design and development; energy use, consumption, and conservation; material resources; and local ecologies and habitats. Carboun.com also includes an analysis section on its front page that features current developments in the region.
Carboun represents the efforts of a small dedicated team that strives to promote sustainability in the Middle East, and is now supported by the work of volunteers who share its commitment to sustainability and its interest in the region.
Karim Elgendy, Founder and General Coordinator
Karim is an architect and a sustainability consultant based in London. He combines industry experience with an academic research background and a passion for sustainability. His design work focuses on developing sustainable and energy efficient buildings, and benefits from his experience practicing in Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
Karim consulted for design firms, management consultancies, international corporations, and news organizations on the impact of policy, masterplanning, and building design on energy, resources, and the environment, while his current research work focuses on challenges to sustainable development in the Middle East. Karim is also a public advocate for sustainability and a regular writer and commentator. He received graduate degrees from the University of Kingston in London and the University of California at Berkeley. He can be reached at Karim [ a t ] Carboun [ d o t ] com.
Hadeel Etman, Founder and Initiative Administrator
Hadeel is an architect by training, with research interest in ecological preservation and permaculture. She is interested in developing green business models and corporate social responsibility initiatives in the Middle East. She is currently studying for a Green MBA in Berkeley, California and can be reached at Hadeel [ a t ] Carboun [ d o t ] com .
Abdeltif El Ouahrani, Morocco National Coordinator
Abdeltif El Ouahrani is a biologist based in Morocco. His research interest focuses in the impacts of climate change on the Mediterranean region with a special emphasis on the interplay of these impacts on Mediterranean forestry. He received his bachelors degree in Plant Biology and a Masters in Plant Biotechnology and Bio-industry from the University of Abdelmalek Essadi in Morocco. He also received a Masters degree in European forestry from the University of Eastern Finland and from SLU-Alnarp in Sweden. He is currently a PhD student at the University of Abdelmalek Essaadi.
Abdeltif is a member of the Erasmus Mundus Student and Alumni association since 2004, and acts both as its Morocco representative and as a board member of its Africa Chapter coordinating activities in the North Africa region. He can be reached at Abdeltif [ a t ] Carboun [ d o t ] com.
Rashed Al Nasa’a, Jordan National Coordinator
Rashed Al Nasa’a is an architect with a strong passion for sustainability. He received his bachelors degree in Architecture from the University of Jordan and a Masters degree in Environmental Design and Engineering from University College London’s Bartlett School of Graduate Studies. He currently heads the Green Building Unit at Consolidated Consultants and is involved in the design and coordination of various green buildings and LEED projects, including the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Amman.
Rashed is a regular speaker at local and regional events relating to sustainability and the built environment. He is actively involved in the A/E Business Council’s green building unit, where he is a team leader for its pilot projects initiative, and in the Jordan Green Building Council, where he is the deputy head of the technical development committee. Rashed is also a contributor to the sustainable design section of the Jordanian design magazine Shurofat. He can be reached at Rashed [ a t ] Carboun [ d o t ] com.
Wissam Yassine, UAE National Coordinator
Wissam Yassine is a sustainability engineer based in Dubai. He received his bachelor degree in electrical engineering from the American University of Beirut and is currently completing a Masters in sustainability at Harvard University’s Extension School. He currently oversees the green building certification process at Al Habtoor Leighton Group, and is responsible for developing its corporate sustainability program. Wissam is a Project Management Professional, a LEED Accredited Professional, and a Pearls Qualified Professional. He can be reached at Wissam [ a t ] Carboun [ d o t ] com.
Guy El khoury, Lebanon National Coordinator
Guy El Khoury is a management consultant based in Beirut with a focus on energy practice in the Middle East region. Guy received an engineering diploma from Ecole Centrale Paris and a master’s degree from Stanford University. In his graduate studies he focused on energy policy and the electricity sector with emphasis on renewables and nuclear energy. His current work covers several aspects of the energy sector including fossil fuels, utilities and energy-intensive industries. He can be reached at Guy [ a t ] Carboun [ d o t ] com.
Mounir Kabbara, Kuwait National Coordinator
Mounir Kabbara is a Chemical Engineer and recent graduate from a Master of Engineering Design program from McMaster University in which he specialized in Sustainable Infrastructures. His studies included the design of sustainable community infrastructures and sustainable energy while his final project focused on the design of green roofs. Mounir is a LEED Green Associate, and is actively involved in the Arab Development Initiative, a youth-driven initiative that focuses on development in the Arab world. Mounir can be reached at Mounir [ a t ] Carboun [ d o t ] com.
