DEWA Partners With Dubai Properties Group To Raise Awareness On Energy And Environment Conservation

Dubai Properties Group, a member of Dubai Holding, has partnered with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) as part of its ‘Responsible Living’ campaign to raise awareness on the importance of energy, water and environment conservation.

The initiative features a road show with a specially designed DEWA bus travelling through select DPG communities to share ideas on responsible living. The road show visited the Layan community on 14 July and the Al Khail Gate on 21 July.

During the stop overs, residents of the two communities were invited on-board the DEWA bus for a series of presentations on energy saving. DEWA staff also interacted and shared important conservation tips with children to help them contribute to the well-being of the community. Souvenirs were given away to the participants at the conclusion of the three-hour road show.

An invitation to participate in the annual DEWA ‘Best Consumer Award’ was extended to tenants at both the Layan and Al Khail Gate developments.
 

Dubai Marks World Environment Day In Style

Under the patronage and in the presence of H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, Minister of Environment and Water, and in commemoration of World Environment Day (WED), EPIC Dubai Sustainable Living Expo, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), will host a celebration to honour public and private organizations for their impactful contribution to the EPIC initiative and to a greener, more sustainable UAE.

John D. Wiebe, President and CEO of GLOBE Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to finding practical business-oriented solutions to the world’s environmental problems, will deliver the keynote address and will welcome H.E. Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad and guests of honour at the event, which will take place June 5, 2011 at The Address Dubai Mall.

“We are celebrating World Environment Day, the most notable global day for positive environmental action, in Dubai, to inspire eco-change and acknowledge the initiatives undertaken by public and private organizations that play a pivotal role in shaping the sustainable future of the UAE,” said John Weibe.

Weibe added, “We applaud the United Arab Emirates for its continuous commitment to sustainability, driven by the guidance of its leaders, and on behalf of the Globe Foundation, we express our utmost gratitude to our supporters and partners for their contribution to the EPIC Dubai Sustainable Living Expo.”

The evening will feature speeches by some of the most influential figures in the UAE as well as screenings of inspirational documentary films to celebrate the occasion.

“Our participation in the EPIC initiative reflects the commitment of Dubai’s government towards environmental sustainability. UAE was among the first countries in the world to adopt and integrate environmental initiatives in communities and hence our support for EPIC,” said Laila Suhai, CEO, Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment.

“As a family event, Dubai Summer surprises will feature events with relevant environmental messages for all, especially children,” she added.

UNEP Champion of the Earth, Louis Palmer, a global environmental adventurer and the first man to circumnavigate the planet on solar power, will be guest of honour at the event

"This announcement of a sustainable living expo on World Environment Day is a step forward for sustainability in the region. Creating environmentally alert and conscious consumers who will use the planet’s resources wisely and more efficiently helps us all build a low carbon global green economy," said Satinder Bindra, Director Communications UNEP.

EPIC Dubai Sustainable Living Expo is an initiative by Sustainable Media Group (SMG), a joint venture of GLOBE Events, a subsidiary of Globe Foundation and S.S. Lootah International, the global business and investment arm of S.S. Lootah Group. EPIC Dubai is supported by Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) through Summer Surprises 2011.
 

UAE On Track To Achieve Free Of Plastic Bags Goal By 2013, Says UAE Environment Minister At Arabplast Tekno/Tube 2011 Inauguration

HE Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, UAE Minister of Environment & Water, has said the UAE is on track to achieve the goal of becoming free of plastic bags by 2013.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the 10th edition of ArabPlast and Tekno/Tube 2011 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre today (Saturday, 8th January, 2011).

HE Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad said: “The success of ArabPlast and TeknoTube 2011 exhibitions demonstrates the robustness of the exhibitions industry in the UAE. The UAE and the entire GCC regions are on the forefront of countries preserving the environment when it comes to producing plastics. The UAE will be free of plastics bags in 2013. The national plastics and petrochemicals companies are adhering to the environment measures we have in place to enhance the environment friendly approach of the UAE as part of their corporate social responsibility towards the community. Their adherence to environment measures also enhances their global competitive edge.”

At present the UAE consumes 20 billion bags, out of the global figure of 500 billion bags according to organisers of ArabPlast show.

ArabPlast & Tekno/Tube are leading business and industrial platforms in a market with major investments and a great future for the plastics and petrochemicals in the GCC in general and the UAE in particular. ArabPlast 2011, the Middle East premier trade show for rubber, plastics and plastic processing is in its 10th edition with significant international participation.

Tekno/Tube Arabia, the international trade fair for industrial machinery, metalworking and machine tools, the only specialized and established event of its kind in the Middle East, has helped foster this growth in its 20th year which has proved that it is the ideal platform for companies to make inroads into the booming Middle East market.

Dr. Bin Fahed added: “The UAE and GCC plastics industry is committed to developing products and implementing practices that can contribute to a cleaner, safer and better world.”

“These two shows represent the successes of a partnership that has united Messe Düsseldorf and Al Fajer Information & Services in the organisation of trade fairs in the United Arab Emirates for over six years. The UAE has successfully emerged as the regional hub of the Middle East markets. International and regional industry players find this market lucrative for their operations,” said Satish Khanna General Manager, Al Fajer Information & Services.

Dr. Mohammed Yousef Al Mulla, Board Director and General Manager, QAPCO, the principle sponsor of the ArabPlast show said: “We are tied up with ArabPlast since its inception. We have been a major sponsor since that time. It is one of the best 5 plastics shows in the world. The GCC looks at the petrochemicals industry as a unified industry. The main four countries of producing petrochemicals are KSA, Qatar, UAE and Kuwait. The GCC is very close to India, China, Europe and East Asia. All of this puts us in an ideal position to be a global player of petrochemicals in the world. Qatar comes as number two after KSA in producing petrochemicals. Petrochemicals industry has encourages the establishment of lower derivatives of plastics which the plastics used for consumption, commodities and goods. “

The Gulf region dominates the world when it comes to petrochemicals production. The demand outweighs supply. This industry is always linked to the prices of oil. The petrochemicals prices in 2010 are very much like in 2006 and the beginning of 2007. The petrochemicals are a catalyst to enhance the local plastics industry. Plastics comprises 40 percent of materials we use in life thus creating a huge demand all over the world.”

Referring to the World Cup 2022, Dr. Al Mulla said that sports industry needs lots of plastics in the establishment of sports cities.

Hussain Sultan Lootah, Senior Vice President, Middle East, Borouge, added: “We at Borouge are focused on raising awareness of the importance of using environmentally friendly plastics products and we work with the public sector to achieve this. Petrochemicals are pillar of oil and gas industry in any economy. It is an industry that is very crucial to the economies of the Gulf countries. We support the Government’s approach to attract worldwide high quality plastics and packaging producers. By opening up a world class innovation centre with a cost of AED 300 Million by the end of 2011, we are supporting the plastics industry by attracting the best in class plastics factories and plants to the region.”

At ArabPlast and TeknoTube Arabia 2011, Messe Düsseldorf handles the acquisition and support of international exhibitors based outside the Gulf States. This is the fourth time that it organises the official German trade fair presence of over 50 companies at the request of the German Ministry for Economics and Technology. There will also be joint presentations from Austria, Italy and Portugal at ArabPlast, while Tekno/Tube Arabia will have joint presentations from China, Austria and Germany (Bayern International).

Khanna added: “The fact that Arabplast and Tekno/Tube Arabia 2011 have attracted 800 exhibitors representing 40 countries and the increase of 25 percent in the display area compared with last edition is clear evidence that the UAE is the ideal platform to target the Middle East market.”

ArabPlast show is sponsored by major GCC industrial companies, such as Qapco, Borouge, Abu Dhabi Polymers Park, Petro Rabigh, NATPET, MEP UK amongst others.

Tekno/Tube Arabia has become a major international trade fair for industrial machinery, metal working and machines tools. The show offers an ideal platform for companies to gain inroads into the booming Middle East markets. The show has attracted 200 exhibitors. Specialized pavilions from Bavaria, Taiwan, China and Germany are participating in the show.

The ArabPast Summit, to be run concurrently with the exhibition, will discuss key challenges facing the growth of the raw plastics and petrochemicals in the GCC region on 9th of January. All India Plastics Manufactures Association, the Indian partners for ArabPlast is also organizing a conference on the emerging opportunities in India in the plastics sector.
 

Field Visits To Dubai Schools To Promote Awareness On Health, Safety And Environment Issues

A group of experts specialized in key issues concerning health, safety and environment (HSE) began a series of visits to different schools in Dubai, encouraging students to participate in programs supporting the UAE environment and urging them to heighten their interest in HSE issues. The activity provides an opportunity to conduct discussions on various issues that are highly relevant to the society, including climate change, road safety, obesity and smoking among others.

The site visits were organized by Shell in coordination with the Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai to assess the progress of the different projects that are entered in "Shell Better Environment Award 2011" (BEA). Award supervisors expressed their commitment to help raise the awareness level in schools about the importance of achieving positive results in terms of environment protection and discovering new ways to face future challenges in the area of sustainable development. The visits also provided an opportunity to offer students an overview of what judges will be expecting from their projects and presentations.

"We are delighted to see such great progress of the Shell Better Environment Award. We are confident that these projects and the innovative ideas from the students will ultimately contribute in various ways to protect the environment and to enhance the health and safety standards of our society. Moreover, it is very important that we continue to generate greater awareness about these important issues and Shell believes that cultivating the proactive support of different schools will deliver great dividends in terms of discovering more innovative ways to address key challenges in the areas of environment, health and safety," said Omar Al Qurashi, Director of Communications, Shell in Dubai.

The Shell Better Environment Awards 2011 was launched in November 2010 in cooperation with the Knowledge & Human Development Authority with the aim of raising awareness and inspiring the younger generation to contribute in addressing key challenges concerning the environment, health and safety.
 

Emirates Group Celebrates UAE Environment Day 2011 With Tree Planting Ceremony At The Sevens

To demonstrate the Emirates Group’s ongoing commitment to the environment, a tree planting ceremony was conducted at The Sevens cricket pitches Thursday, 3rd February 2011. The ceremony coincided with UAE Environment Day on 4th February 2011, which this year was themed the Living Desert. The first tree was planted by Jim Fitzsimons, General Manager at The Sevens, and Paul Zissermann, Emirates’ Manager Environment Affairs. It will be followed by another 140 trees to be planted around the cricket pitches by Emirates staff on Earth Day, 22nd April 2011.

“This is the very first step in a much broader tree planting program,” said Fitzsimons. “The initial 140 trees to be planted at The Sevens will provide much-needed shade to spectators at the cricket pitches for many generations to come. The trees will also provide habitat and food to local insects and birds, and will play their role in reducing wind erosion at the site. Our plan is to follow up this initial planting every year with further plantings in other parts of the site – coinciding with UAE Environment Day each year,” he added.

The Emirates Group has a wide range of ongoing environmental initiatives, from billion dollar investments in modern, low emissions aircraft, to the region’s first carbon-neutral warehouse, large scale commercial recycling programmes, and the support of leading conservation projects – such as the establishment of the 225km2 Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, which takes up almost 5 percent of Dubai’s total land area.

“We are proud to support the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water on this important day, and the Living Desert 2011 programme,” said Zissermann. “The concept of eco-efficiency is a cornerstone of everything we do, and this ceremony demonstrates that commitment. Although there is still much work to be done, the Emirates Group aims to be an environmental leader in the aviation and travel industries.”

The tree planting projects at The Sevens are being funded by monies raised from the Group’s considerable recycling efforts, which saw over 3 million kilograms of paper, cardboard, plastic, wood, aluminium and steel recycled in the last financial year.
 

University Of Dubais Environment Club Organizes Scientific Expedition To Kerala, India

The Environment Club of the University of Dubai (UD), a prestigious university in the UAE established by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has organized a scientific expedition to Kerala, India. A group of 14 students accompanied by two UD professors will visit the state next month under the supervision of Dr. Hassan Hassoon Al-Delphi, Professor of Environmental Science and Mathematics.

The objective of the visit is to gain more insight into the nature of wildlife environments outside the boundaries of the UAE in the Indian subcontinent. The University has formerly organized a number of such environment trips for students within the UAE, where students visited several nature reserves in the UAE such as the island of Sir Bani Yas and the protected Saih Shuaib reserves. The present trip to Kerala is planned to coincide with the coming Eid Al-Adha holidays which falls on November 11 to 16, 2010.

Dr M. Omar Hefni, President of UD said: "The University of Dubai’s Environment Club, established a year ago, is intended to spread environmental awareness among students. It organizes such trips to enable students to experience such unique environments first hand. The club has formerly organized several such scientific trips within the UAE and now plans to make this trip to India’s state Kerala, which is characterized by a wealth of exclusive natural resources and vegetation, water and biological diversity.”

Dr Hassan Hassoun added that the focus of such environment trips is to help the students witness the identification and application of four principles of sustainable environment such as utilization of solar energy, biodiversity, recycling of wastes and control of reproduction. The trip will include a visit to Kerala’s scenically splendorous town of Munnar, located in the Western Ghats of South India, which is considered to be among the world’s best ecological areas. There they will visit its many beautiful waterfalls, lakes and the nearby Mattupetti dam and wildlife reserves including the rich plantations of rubber, spices, cardamom and tea. The conclusion of the trip will be a boat-house cruise on Kerala’s famous canals followed by return to the UAE.
 

Ministry of Health Announces New Initiative Friendly Environment Organisation

The UAE Ministry of Health launched a new initiative as part of its excellence program under the title ’Ministry of Health Friendly Environment Organisation’ in implementation of the adopted program of the UAE to maintain a healthy environment as one of the main goals of the federal government.

The Ministry issued a circular to the department directors, medical districts, hospitals and health centers to set up a mechanism for applying the initiative and form a team member to implement the assigned tasks and goals.

Dr. Salem Al Darmaki, Acting Director General, explained that the directors have been assigned to prepare a monthly report about the initiative’s implemented steps to be handed over to the institutional excellence department in the ministry for discussion and approval.

He said: "A regular evaluation for the ministry’s health facilities all over the UAE will be done to review their implementation to the initiative. An award carrying the name of ’Minister of Health Environment Award’ will be granted to the best health facility that implemented the initiative".

Al Darmaki mentioned that the initiative comes in implementation to the ministry’s vision in maintaining healthy individuals living in a supporting and sustaining healthy conscious and caring society.

Furthermore, he explained that the ministry’s launches this initiative taking in consideration a number of surrounding circumstances such as maintaining the natural resources such as water and energy as well as a healthy environment for the employees.

"The ministry will concentrate on the initiatives that can be currently implemented to achieve the requested goals pointing out that the ministry depends on reserving natural resources through the consumption of electricity and energy. The ministry coordinated with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) to check, measure and analyze the flow of energy and define the consumption through work performance", he elaborated Al Darmaki emphasized that several individual initiatives and procedures can be done through maintaining the usage of electricity and energy in the ministry’s locations such as decreasing the numbers of lights inside the office, depending on the solar system rather than electricity bulbs and replacing them with saving energy bulbs.

"The procedures also include raising the awareness of thermal scholarship and air pollution particularly cars exhaust in cooperation with the Department of Traffic to apply immediate violations for vehicles that have exhaust. Similarly, safety and security conditions must be followed up in buildings under construction reassuring that chemical products such as paints must include harmless materials for the individuals and the environment", he added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hessa Al Masood, Institutional Excellence Department at the Ministry of Health, explained that there is a current trend called green computerization which enables the information technology department at the ministry to promote the understandings and necessity of going green as well as reducing the consumption of energy from computers in addition and their usage in a healthy way as well as recycling computers correctly. The initiative also includes handling water correctly and the wise usage of water to create a healthy environment organization as well as providing green landscapes to plant different trees, recycling and disposal of materials in cooperation with specialized companies.

"Our main purpose of this initiative to create a human resources members who are supportive to the environment hoping that we achieve its goals through printing several educational brochures, organizing several training awareness programs and other materials to be distributed to all the members of the society", she concluded.

 

ENPARK Launches Disposal Unit For Electric Bulbs And Lamps At TECOM Investments To Mark World Environment Day 2010

The Energy and Environment Park (ENPARK), a sustainable community model for commercial and residential use and a member of TECOM Investments newly created Sciences Cluster, today announced it marked the United Nations’ World Environment Day (WED) 2010 with the launch of a light disposal unit to recycle the electric bulbs and lamps at TECOM business parks.

ENPARK also rolled out a month-long campaign encouraging companies and individuals to exchange conventional bulbs with energy efficient bulbs that are provided by Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) in association with WWF (EWS-WWF). The campaign that kicked off on 5 June runs from 09:00am to 05:00pm every Sunday at the ENPARK offices in Dubai Knowledge Village.

The light disposal unit launched by ENPARK can crush up to 5,000,000 bulbs dividing the mercury from the glass and the iron contained in common light bulbs. The glass and the iron are collected and recycled while the mercury is safely disposed without harming the environment.

Fluorescent lamp waste causes more mercury contamination of the environment than any other consumer product. A toxic metal, mercury is hazardous to both the environment and human health and currently one of the most-discussed topics across major environmental organizations. There are more than 500 million lamps that end up in the environment every year. For human beings, acute exposure to mercury can cause impairment of cognitive skills and pulmonary function, as well as cause insomnia, chest pain and cough.

Ali Bin Towaih, Executive Director, ENPARK, said: “We are committed to implementing community-wide measures for protecting and preserving the environment. By spearheading this initiative, we own up our responsibility to provide a healthy and secure work place to our employees as well as our business partners.

“This is part of ENPARK’s programme to raise awareness on environmental issues that are relevant to today’s communities, specifically on mercury disposal. It is also linked to TECOM’s ‘green building’ initiative and confirms its proactive and continuous commitment to sustainability and green buildings across the UAE.”

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Managing Director of EWS-WWF, said: “We are confident people in large numbers will continue to visit the ’Heroes of the UAE’ stand and receive energy-saving light bulbs for their homes and offices. It is just a simple gesture that we all can participate in to fight the effects of global climate change and impact a real difference."

Instituted in 1972, World Environment Day that is commemorated annually on 5 June is themed ‘Biodiversity — Ecosystems Management and the Green Economy” for 2010. It is one of the principal vehicles through which the UN seeks to raise awareness of the environment worldwide and encourage political action.

TECOM Investments and its entities adopt a proactive approach through various initiatives to inform and educate on green issues and reduce carbon footprint in the region. Recently TECOM Investments issued the ‘Sustainable Development Report’ – the first report of its kind to be released by a company based in the Middle East.
 

Chalhoub Group & DUCTAC Organise Art Exhibition For 2010 World Environment Day

Chalhoub IMPACT, the Chalhoub Group’s CSR programme, teamed up with DUCTAC to celebrate the United Nations ‘World Environment Day’ with its employees and community partners AUD, ESMOD, Organic Foods & Café and Ekotribe.

The 12 June exhibition will feature live art by local emerging artists, organic food tasting and introductions to environmentally conscious initiatives. The exhibition will be followed by a silent auction of exclusive pieces of art work created by Chalhoub Group employees, as well as T-shirts designed by ESMOD students for the occasion. All proceeds will be donated to Environment-focused charities acting across the Middle East .

“We are delighted to celebrate ‘World Environment Day’ with our teams and partners once again this year. The Group has consistently demonstrated its commitment towards supporting its community. Under the name of Chalhoub Impact, we have devised a thorough and comprehensive corporate program, by which responsibility is a reality, involving the commitment of each and every one of the members of the Group,” comments Anthony Chalhoub, Joint CEO of the Chalhoub Group.

“To give back to this community is not only our social duty, but also the most inspiring way to unite our teams on causes and values in which we all believe, as they bring about the improvement of our quality of life” said Patrick Chalhoub, Joint CEO of the Chalhoub Group.

Millie Tsai, General Manager of Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre said: “As one of DUCTAC’s founder patrons, the Chalhoub Group have provided invaluable support for the arts and share DUCTAC’s commitment to provide artistic opportunities for the community. We are immensely proud to be working with them on this project to raise awareness for World Environment Day.”

‘Chalhoub IMPACT’ aims to make a positive difference on Arts & Culture, Education and the Environment by developing and supporting projects, strategic partnerships as well as the promotion of community participation within its teams.
 

Dubai Silicon Oasis Marks World Environment Day 2010

Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the integrated free zone technology park, today announced the launch of ‘Go Green’ campaign to mark the United Nations World Environment Day 2010, in collaboration with Dubai Festival City. The campaign will be held from June 3 to June 5.

Planned as a 3-day event, the first day of the campaign will be hosted at Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority Headquarters, and will include environment-friendly initiatives such as planting of saplings within the DSO
community. The event will be open to all DSO customers and employees.

The second and third day will be hosted at the Dubai Festival City, where numerous initiatives will be implemented to educate Dubai shoppers on the need to become environmentally-conscious. These will include distribution of informative materials, displays on the virtues of green technology and giving out of information and advice to visitors of the center.

The entire range of activities organized by DSO aims to engage employees and companies operating at the technology park and the Dubai community in general.

Dr. Juma Al Matrooshi Executive Vice President of Corporate Excellence & Support, at DSOA, said: “Since its inception, Dubai Silicon Oasis has remained an active supporter of green initiatives in all its operations. As the region’s leading technology business park, it is our responsibility to participate effectively in such community-wide programmes. This comes as part of our commitment to our environmental initiatives that we believe will stand as an example for others to emulate.”

“As we continue to grow, we are keen to expand our scope of operations through integrating more innovative solutions. We have already established a reputation for being a pioneering regional technology park and aim to strengthen our status as an organization that believes in supporting the environment through social responsibility programmes.

Several public, government and private organizations will demonstrate their support to World Environment Day 2010 that is themed ‘Biodiversity — Ecosystems Management and the Green Economy’. The objective is to raise awareness on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, protecting flora and fauna, and saving planet earth.
Sponsors of the event include Dubai Municipality, Dubai Airport Free Zone, Emirates Post, Public Prosecution, Enoc, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, National Bonds, Western Digital, Fujitsu, Siemens, RIT Dubai, Enviroserve, Islamic Affairs & Charitable Activities Department, Environment Center for Arab Towns, International Association for Human Rights.

A wholly-owned entity of Dubai Government, Dubai Silicon Oasis operates as a free zone technology park for the semiconductor, microelectronic and other high technology-based companies looking to set up their regional headquarters and R&D facilities in the Middle East and Africa region.