Alpin Limited becomes first WELL-certified project in the Middle East

At Alpin Limited, a boutique sustainability consultancy located in Masdar City, we’ve been keeping at the forefront of our industry ever since we were founded in 2007. Thanks to our innovative approach, our inclusive work environment and a truly global workforce, we are one of the region’s top three advisory firms delivering integrated commissioning, sustainability and BIM solutions for the built environment. This spring, we also achieved a milestone: We became the first WELL-certified building in the Middle East. Here’s how we work for a more sustainable future. 
Who we are

Alpin is a multidisciplinary sustainable clean tech consultancy. Our work centres on sustainability consulting and advisory to help fight climate change. That’s why Masdar City was a natural choice for us. The ethos of Masdar City fits perfectly with our own work in the Middle East. Just like Masdar City, we put new ideas into practice and constantly work to find the best solutions for a more sustainable future.

More than anything, we recognise the importance of our workforce. That’s why we have set up programmes like Alpin Healthy, an employee wellness program (you can read more about it here), as well as Alpin Women, an initiative that helps women succeed in the often male-dominated construction industry. It’s also why we decided to get WELL certified.
We’re proud of our multinational and diverse workforce. Our employees come from all over the world including Lebanon, France, Jordan, Sudan, Canada, USA, and India to name but a few.

How we became the first WELL-certified project in the Middle East

Earlier this year, Alpin achieved the first WELL certification in the Middle East. As a small boutique firm, we’re proud of this accomplishment. WELL, the world’s foremost standard focusing on people’s wellness and health inside of buildings, is a prestigious, vanguard certification, and this achievement is another step in Alpin’s endless pursuit for the betterment of the lives of its employees and partners.

This performance-based certification was created by physicians, scientists and industry professionals, and employs best practices in design, construction and evidence-based scientific research. WELL focuses on well-being and, therefore, it improves employee productivity. Benefits include less employee churn, better recruitment opportunities and saving costs on things like employee absenteeism.

To get awarded with WELL, organisations must make changes in many different ways to the categories of air, water, light, nourishment, fitness, comfort, and mind. To become WELL certified, we made several investments, although our internal gap analysis showed that we scored 80% of WELL standards before we even applied for the certification. Our investments include an on-campus gym, noise level improvements, and a new air filtration system.

Our work in Abu Dhabi and the Middle East

We work globally, but our focus is on the Middle East. Thanks to our location in Masdar City, as well as our offices in Riyadh, Dubai, Kuwait and Doha, we are well positioned to support and guide some of the leading projects in the region.

We are involved in various sectors (airports, ports, transportation, healthcare, tourism, education, and more). Our portfolio includes projects such as the NYU Abu Dhabi campus, King Khalid International Airport, Abu Dhabi Airport, the Expo 2020 Dubai, and the main metro station in Riyadh. As our portfolio would testify, complex projects are at the core of what we do. 

Our innovative approach to sustainability 

The construction industry is often a slow-moving industry on many levels, not least in terms of sustainability. In fact, The Economist rates this industry as the least efficient in the world. 

At Alpin, we want to change that and we are taking a proactive role in doing so. That’s why we’re constantly testing and researching new industry solutions. For example, we use cutting-edge technology, like 3D BIM, to bring the best results to our clients. 

And at Alpin Innovation Labs, our R&D department, we work to develop new and exciting sustainable best practices and help the industry come to terms with the technological era. For example, some of the technologies we use include inspection drones, augmented reality for remote inspections, and developing streamlined software for repetitive work.

Our commitment to being a frontrunner in our industry shows in other ways, too. In addition to our WELL certification, Alpin is the first company at Masdar City to be awarded the LEED Gold Certification for Commercial Interiors.