Pearl Community Rating System

The aim of the Pearl Community Rating System (PCRS) is to promote the development of sustainable communities and improve quality of life. The PCRS encourages water, energy and waste minimization, local material use and aims to improve supply chains for sustainable and recycled materials and products.

An Executive Council Order of May 2010 states all new community developments must meet the 1 Pearl requirements starting in June 2010. Following this mandate, significant effort has been made to align the PCRS with the Abu Dhabi Development and Building Codes.

The PCRS is applicable to developments that are multiple plot subdivisions, with a vehicular network and community facilities or amenities. A fundamental part of the PCRS is the requirement for master plan teams to develop Pearl Rating targets and guidelines for all buildings within the community.

The PCRS could also be used for large scale projects that do not exactly meet the eligibility requirements of the PCRS but want to incorporate sustainability principles into the project. Examples of these types of projects would be beach developments, parks and recreational areas that do not have permanent residential populations. For these projects it is recommended to use the applicable portions of the PCRS in conjunction with international best practices and obtaining agreement on the approach with the UPC.

The Community Rating System is designed to be used for development projects, which will support a minimum permanent residential population of 1,000 people, this being the minimum population for which community facilities are required to be provided in accordance with the UPC community facility requirements.

At present, all Community projects eligible for a Pearl Rating are reviewed by UPC only.Project teams planning to submit an application for Pearl Rating should follow the process and instructions outlined here.

Pearl Community Rating System & Guides

• Pearl Community Rating System

  This document contains all credit intents, requirements, relevant calculations and methodological information, design and construction submittal requirements and any relevant reference standards.

• PCRS Submittal Guide

  This guide explains how to use the PCRS submittal template.

Pearl Community Rating System Calculators

• PCRS Water Calculator

  This spreadsheet based calculation tool is to be used as part of the submission for the required credit, PW-R1. It is also to be used for those projects pursuing PW-1.1, PW-1.2, PW-1.3 and PW-3 optional credits. The tool will automatically determine if the required credit is achieved and the number of credit points obtained for any optional credits the project has pursued.

• PCRS Waste Calculator

  This spreadsheet based calculation tool is to be used as part of the submission for the required credits SM-R2 and SM-R3. It is also to be used for those projects pursuing SM-5, SM-6, SM-7 and SM-8 optional credits. The tool will automatically determine if the required credits are achieved and the number of credit points obtained for any optional credits the project has pursued.

• PCRS Scorecard

  This spreadsheet tool lists all the PCRS credits and is to be used by project teams to track project implementation of the Pearl Rating System.

Pearl Community Rating System Templates

• PCRS Submittal Template

  This is a compressed folder archive and spreadsheet based submittal template system. Project teams must submit all the supporting documentation, calculations, drawings, specifications, etc. using this template for the Estidama team to review.