Qatar Museums has received Carbon Neutrality Certification for the operations and services of four of its cultural and heritage sites—the National Museum of Qatar, the Museum of Islamic Art, Fire Station, and Al Zubarah Fort.

This certification was granted following the internationally recognized ISO 14068-1:2023 standard, valid from 2025 (1 January – 31 December 2025). This is the recognition of the use of carbon management practices at the four sites.

Following this certification, Al Zubarah Fort becomes the first World Heritage Site in the Middle East region to be certified with Carbon Neutrality Certification.

The certificates were awarded during an award ceremony held at the National Museum of Qatar by Dr. Yousef Alhorr, Founder of the Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GORD), to Mr. Mohammed Saad Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Museums, together with other members of the organization’s management team.

According to GORD, this was done using internationally accepted methods for greenhouse gas accounting, and the process included third-party independent verification.

The project was led by the Facilities Management and Sustainability Team at Qatar Museums, with GORD being the sustainability partner who undertook greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and certification.

As part of the assessment, data on significant sources of emissions such as energy usage, water usage, refrigerants, solid waste, wastewater, transportation of visitors and employees was gathered for preparing the inventories of the four sites. Facility-level greenhouse gas emission models were then developed for each site.

The greenhouse gas emission accounting and reporting were done according to the ISO 14064-1, ISO 14068, and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol which was prepared by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

A carbon management plan has been prepared for reducing the emissions till 2030. Some of the strategies included in the carbon management plan are the increased usage of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, efficient use of water, greenhouse gas accounting and carbon footprint assessments. 

To address emissions that could not be eliminated, a carbon offset strategy was developed using carbon credits from internationally recognised carbon crediting programmes.

The emissions data and supporting documentation were independently verified by Earthood Services Ltd., following which Carbon Neutrality Certification was issued for the operations of all four facilities.

Qatar Museums said it will continue implementing sustainability measures across its institutions as part of its long-term environmental management efforts while supporting the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030.