Sustainability has become a priority in Dubai and throughout United Arab Emirates. Dedication to global sustainability may be seen through innovative efforts, such as Masdar, and the commitment of leadership to sustainable principles. Numerous alternatives exist for Green Building Design to advance and support this commitment. This includes the USGBC LEED and Sustainable Sites ( SITES) approaches, BREEAM, the Dubai Green Building Regulations and Abu Dhabi's Estidama Pearl System. While the specific philosophies and considerations may vary, each approach has a focus on the design in order to promote and ensure long-term energy sustainability. Green buildings should also be constructed using green construction techniques. Subsequently, efforts are underway under sponsorship of the Emirates Foundation to explore approaches for evaluating the sustainability of construction site operations. Each of the available sustainable design options are examined to evaluate construction-specific parameters. The adequacy of the collective information is examined and recommendations are made regarding construction implementation. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.