Alfa Sustainable Projects Ltd., Israel’s sustainable design and engineering firm, has become the first in the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) region to achieve Global Network for Zero (GNFZ) certification. Alfa Campus, the company’s headquarters, is now the second project globally to receive GNFZ’s net zero certification for existing buildings.
The certification, part of GNFZ’s mission to accelerate global decarbonisation, emphasises an incremental approach to net zero, ensuring no building or business is left behind. Alfa Campus achieved this milestone through the use of sustainable materials, solar panels, smart waste management, and real-time performance monitoring. These efforts demonstrate the viability of transforming existing buildings into net-zero carbon spaces.
Mahesh Ramanujam, President and CEO of GNFZ said, “Alfa Campus is an extraordinary blueprint for what businesses can do when they start by decarbonising their biggest footprint — their buildings — and use those incremental reduction and elimination practices to scale up and down their operation.”
He added, “I’ve known Chen Shalita and the fantastic team at Alfa for years, and this net zero campus not only proves they practice what they preach but that they are ready to pioneer the accelerated path to a cross-sector, zero carbon Israel. As we embark on this partnership, Alfa clients can look to the space as a tangible example that decarbonisation doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. This transformation can be done with existing buildings, existing resources, and within everyone’s means.”
Alfa Sustainable Projects has helped clients reduce more than 100,000 tons of CO2 through various sustainable initiatives, positioning itself as a leader in the Israeli market. The firm partners with multinational corporations to implement certifications such as LEED, WELL, and now GNFZ, which aligns with the Paris Agreement and targets the elimination of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
Chen Shalita, Alfa’s Founder and CEO, stressed the importance of GNFZ’s flexible certification process, which allows companies to decarbonise at their own pace while adding tangible value to their operations. He said, “The Global Network for Zero has proved to be an excellent tool and allowed us to complete our mission of Net Zero Carbon while facilitating tangible added value to our operation. Because GNFZ prides itself on eliminating emissions by eliminating barriers to entry, we are seeing firsthand the growing number of client opportunities for pursuing an affordable, versatile path to building certification. Teaming up with GNFZ empowers us to prove that a zero-carbon Israel, beginning with the accelerated decarbonization across the building sector, is finally within reach.”
Alfa now joins a growing list of GNFZ partners committed to reaching net-zero emissions using the GHG Protocol, a global framework for managing emissions. The GNFZ certification covers all types of emissions and is designed to be rating-system agnostic, offering a flexible and comprehensive path for companies to achieve their decarbonisation goals.
