From extensive initiatives to help marine life, to collective community beach clean-ups along its shores: here’s how Qatar has geared up its efforts to help save the ocean.
Spanning a 71% surface area of planet earth, the oceans are home to nearly a million species, making them an important source of food and income for over 800 million people worldwide.
The ocean also regulates everything around us, from global weather patterns to food systems, making it our most valuable resource on the planet.
Despite its importance, humans have adopted practices throughout the years that threaten its resources, including pollution, overfishing and man-driven impact on climate change. Its health, as well as the well-being of everyone who relies on it, is on the verge of collapse.
For that reason, change is as essential as ever.
Every year, the world gathers to celebrate the United Nations World Oceans Day on 8 June to raise awareness about the importance of the ocean to the ecosystem and ways to help reverse the negative impact humans have inflicted upon it.
This year’s theme is celebrated under the theme Revitalisation: Collective Action for the Ocean, calling on every country to adopt new practices to sustain the ocean’s life for future generations.
“As the past years have shown us, we need to work together to create a new balance with the ocean that no longer depletes its bounty but instead restores its vibrancy and brings it new life,” the UN stated on its website.
But one question remains every year: what efforts have actually been made to save the ocean?
According to EcoMena, Qatar produces more than 2.5 million tons of municipal solid waste each year. The country also has one of the highest per capita waste generation rates worldwide of up to 1.8 kg per day, on which only 8% is recycled.
To commemorate the day, here are four efforts Qatar and its community have taken to fix the figures.
Beach clean-ups
Beach cleanups have become an essential task in achieving Qatar’s commitment to its National Vision 2030 plan and to the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.
Qatar Museums, along with several other small-community movements, have launched weekly beach clean-ups throughout the year to raise awareness about sustainable waste management practices.
Thousands of kilos of harmful waste, including hundreds of tonnes of single-use plastic, were collected from different locations across the country to protect the environment and improve coastal and marine life. The waste was then sorted and sent for recycling.
Save the turtles
Every year, experts and researchers step in to help the critically endangered hawksbill baby turtles by adopting programmes and plans to guarantee their protection, sustainability and growth.
Female turtles nest and lay their eggs across several spots in Qatar, including Fuwairit, Lehwaylah, Ras Laffan, Al Ghariyah, Al Maroona, Al Mafeer, Haloul, Sharaawah, Rukn islands and Umm Tees.
To protect the species and ensure their safe and well-protection, authorities close Fuwairi beach to the public during nesting season to closely monitor the turtles and protect them from any harm, given their importance to the region’s ecosystem.
In less than three years, the Gulf nation has assisted in the release of nearly 31,000 hawksbill baby turtles from a specifically designated region of Fuwairit Beach as part of the country’s efforts to protect endangered species.
Less plastic, better future
Single-use plastics are one of the major reasons for water pollution around the world. According to data from the National Geographic and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 91% of the world’s plastic is not recycled whilst 70% of it ends up in landfills or the environment. It is estimated that by 2050, the amount of plastic in the water will outnumber fish.
In a move towards adopting a greener alternative, Talabat has introduced its Sustainable Packaging Programme in Qatar, which seeks to minimise plastic waste and carbon emissions across the region.
Available for most restaurants, the packaging is 100% plant-based and contains no perfluoroalkoxy-alkanes, also commonly known as ‘forever chemicals’ that cannot be broken down by natural processes.
Marine protected areas
Last year, Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality and Environment announced plans to create marine protected areas that cover 30% of the country’s water in the next 10 years.
The project aims to ensure the protection of ecosystems and sensitive species for current and future generations, including whales, sharks and dugongs, all of which are crucial for marine environment preservation and eco-tourism.
In fact, the Arabian Gulf houses the second-largest population of dugongs on the planet, and the largest whale shark concentration in the world.
Written By Menatalla Ibrahim, Doha News.
What efforts has Qatar made to help save the ocean?
VERTECO, the region’s leading specialists in water conservation solutions, smart washroom technologies and smart water management, have been announced as the official distributors of the Smixin handwashing system, an innovative solution set to revolutionize the way we wash our hands in public places.
Smixin is the brainchild of Swiss inventor Elmar Mock, co-inventor of the Swatch watch. Recognising the considerable water-saving potential of something like handwashing, which we all do many times a day, the system was created to address not only global water shortage challenges, but to also address public hygiene concerns.
The mobile, fully automatic station makes hand washing accessible to everyone, wherever and whenever it is needed. From the counters in food courts and hotel buffets to school playgrounds and busy airport terminals, the free-standing system can be conveniently located in crowded places, promoting health and sustainability, and helping business achieve environmental and cost efficiencies at the same time.
VERTECO, regarded regionally as the pioneers of sustainability, already offer an award-winning portfolio of water saving technologies and smart washroom sensor-driven 3D IoT solutions. All of their products aim to promote responsible behaviours and lower the UAE’s collective water footprint, so the addition of the Smixin system was an obvious choice.
Hand washing is, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most important thing you can do to prevent the spread of viruses. Bacteria and germs live on our hands and are easily transferred to the inside of our mouths, leading to illnesses and infections. Hand sanitizing before eating isn’t ideal and visiting busy washrooms isn’t always desirable or possible. But while handwashing remains an absolute necessity in life, it doesn’t always align with a sustainable use of natural resources.
In line with VERTECO’s water-saving solutions, the Smixin system guarantees the most ecological usage of water, soap and paper of any hand washing. With pre-set parameters, consumption of water, soap and paper towels is regulated, meaning only 0.2 litres of water is used, a saving of 90% water compared to the average hand wash. It also reduces soap consumption and paper towel use by 60%, compared to conventional dispensers.
The system delivers impeccable hygiene standards too, with a unique touchless handwash solution. You simply place your hands in the system and a mix of water and soap are dispensed, followed by a paper towel, with the entire process taking under 15 seconds. The highest standards of hand sanitation are delivered, with a minimum of resources, and without compromising on user experience.
James Fortier, Business Development Ambassador – APAC & Middle East, Smixin commented, “In the Middle East, one of the most water scarce regions in the world, reducing water consumption is crucial. We applaud the strategies some governments have already adapted to address this concern, including the adoption of technologies that increase water efficiency. Our systems are designed to significantly contribute to this environmental aim. But as well as focusing on limiting the impact hand washing has on the environment, we are also committed to promoting the importance of hand hygiene and making hand washing – a basic necessity – accessible to as many people, in as many places as possible. We are thrilled to partner with VERTECO to distribute our products in the region and to help us achieve a company goal of saving 10 billion litres of water by the end of 2022.”
David King, Managing Director of VERTECO for the MENA Region said, “We are delighted to offer Smixin products to local businesses and to be a part of a handwashing revolution that has already had a profound effect on sustainability and improving hand hygiene within facilities around the world. Post-COVID we are more aware than ever of the importance of hand washing, and by offering such a simple, yet effective solution that aligns with our sustainably ethos, we hope to contribute to the health and wellbeing of the region’s people.”
With water saving a major challenge for countries around the world, the Smixin handwashing systems have won international acclaim and can be found schools, business offices and well known places such as Shake Shack, McDonalds, KFC, Carnival Cruise Lines, Virgin Cruises and Marriott Hotels
Source cbnme.com
Qatar Airways has launched a voluntary carbon offset programme for its corporate and trade clients.
The programme enables customers to offset their own carbon emissions via a dedicated web portal before or after a flight and uses the IATA industry best practice for calculating CO2 emissions, and has been designed to simplify the process for corporates.
Since 2020, the Qatar Airways’ voluntary carbon offsetting programme for passengers has been contributing with the Fatanpur Wind Farm project located in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, consisting of 54 wind turbines, which generate a combined output of 108 MW, and avoids 210,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. For more details of the project, see
Qatar Airways launches voluntary carbon offset programme for passengers
The support for the Fatanpur project not only reduces global carbon emissions, it also provides employment opportunities; delivers improved education through providing materials and expertise to nearby schools; and supports a mobile medical unit – enabling improved healthcare to the local community.
In November 2021, Qatar Airways Cargo, the freight division of Qatar Airways Group, also launched a new voluntary carbon offsetting programme for air cargo shipments, becoming the first cargo carrier to join the IATA CO2NNECT platform and the first airline in the world to make a carbon transaction through the IATA Aviation Carbon Exchange (ACE) via IATA Clearing House (ICH).
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Building a long-term sustainable aviation industry requires coordinated efforts, and businesses play an important role in building more environmentally friendly and more sustainable air travel. We are happy to provide an opportunity for our corporate clients to voluntarily offset the carbon footprint of corporate trips through recognised projects that help both communities and the environment, and encourage them to make carbon offsetting part of their carbon management plan. This further supports the Qatar Airways Group’s goal to strengthen our environmental sustainability efforts and enhances our leadership position in the aviation industry.”
Source: www.businesstraveller.com
To meet Hamad International Airport's (HIA) commitment to environmental preservation and its objective of achieving zero landfill, the airport is recycling organic compost from green waste generated during landscaping activities. As a result, organic compost is being used at the airport as fertiliser for landscaping, reducing the use of synthetic chemical fertilisers and its risks. This initiative intends to generate about 3,979 tons of organic compost on an annual basis, which will then be used for the airport’s landscaping activities and will also be provided to third parties for utilisation.
This initiative is in line with HIA’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Municipality, to modernize and enhance the airport’s waste management process and takes it a step closer to achieving Qatar’s National Vision 2030.
Working alongside the Municipality, HIA aims to achieve sustainable development of its waste treatment and recycling, which includes waste sorting from the source point, to ultimately eliminating any of its waste ending up in landfill in the near future. The MoU also focuses on developing an integrated system for waste separation by safely transporting, recycling and disposing waste, whilst promoting environmental awareness and a culture of sustainability at Qatar’s award-winning airport.
Michael McMillan, Vice President Facilities Management at HIA said: “Throughout our young history, we have continued to showcase our commitment to environmental sustainability – from improving carbon efficiency to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and managing wastewater – sustainability has proudly been at the forefront of what we do since our inception. As a strong contender for SKYTRAX World’s Best Airport 2022, this initiative is another milestone towards achieving our targets and cementing our place as leaders behind environmental sustainability in the aviation industry”.
Recently, HIA has invested in its green future through the introduction of sustainable measures at its Oryx Airport Hotel. The hotel has successfully replaced all its plastic water bottles with eco-friendly water containers, along with an extensive array of initiatives aimed at increasing the positive environmental impact of the airport. The Oryx Airport Hotel has also replaced all guestroom keycards with bamboo cards, adopted recycled paper for all hotel printing collaterals and operations, substituted plastics like bags and cups with biodegradable material.
Since 2014, HIA has demonstrated its commitment to environmental sustainability by pledging to improve carbon efficiency per traffic unit by 30% by 2030. The airport has since established a continual decrease in overall CO2 emissions and has been certified at Level 3 by the Airport Council International’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
Environmental sustainability has been adopted through HIA’s sustainable wastewater management strategy, which includes directing wastewater and sewage to HIA’s dedicated wastewater treatment plant, which returns the treated water for irrigating the airport’s landscape features. Since 2014, HIA’s wastewater treatment plant has been successful in treating 100% of the wastewater generated from the Airport for re-use with zero discharge to the sea. In addition, potable water consumption was reduced by 19.25% in 2020 in comparison to 2019.
Source: https://dohahamadairport.com/press-releases/news/hia-sets-standard-green-airports-it-achieves-another-milestone-environmental
Governments in the Middle East have implemented wide-ranging economic measures and incentive packages for their respective Real Estate markets in recent years in hopes of driving growth and boosting the sector.
Despite this effort, when compared to global markets using multiple indices, Middle East markets are working on enhancing certain market fundamentals, which are critical to achieving sustainability and growth in the long-term.Taking a closer look, within global indices such as the International Protection Rights Index, the Real Estate Transparency Index, and the UN E-Government Development index, Middle Eastern Real Estate markets are classified as being at a developing stage.
In response to the classification, PwC Middle East has conducted an analysis of top ranking markets within such indices to draw best practices for the region and to suggest six guiding principles for regulators to follow:
- Integrated legal framework
- Land/property register and cadastre system
- Effective governance
- Proficiency of service
- Sustainable financing
- Data management and transparency
These guiding principles were developed to help address specific issues present in markets in the region. Namely, market distortions, imperfect competition, asymmetric information, and other externalities. While the Real Estate markets in the region as a whole can benefit from the six guiding principles, each country has a varying degree of maturity within each category.
Commenting on the report Dr. Martin Berlin, Real Estate Leader at PwC Middle East said: “We see huge potential for growth in Middle Eastern Real Estate markets. Across the region, many regulators are already making strides in closing the regulatory gaps between the Middle East and high-ranking markets globally. We developed six principles to act as a guide based on an analysis of these high-ranking markets to support regulators in their quest to achieve long-term sustainable growth.”
He added “We believe the six suggested principles ,when followed, will have an impact on reducing volatility in the market and have a price correcting effect, reducing the cost of living for households and related costs for businesses and taking inflationary pressures off wages.”
To learn more about the analysis, the expected outcomes of the six guiding principles, or to read in depth case-studies of different markets, read the full report here.
Link: https://www.pwc.com/m1/en/publications/developing-sustainable-real-estate-markets.html
Source: Zawya
“Earthna is focused on developing tools, solutions, and policies to improve people’s lives within a thriving natural environment,” said Gonzalo Castro de la Mata, the Executive Director of Earthna Centre.
The Earthna Centre for a Sustainable Future was launched by Qatar Foundation at the annual Doha Forum summit.
Earthna is a play on words, combining both English and Arabic, which means ‘our earth.’
The announcement came during a high-level panel discussion in the 20th edition of Doha Forum, which explored ways of making cities the focus for sustainable global solutions for both nature and the climate.
The non-profit policy centre’s mission is to support sustainability through the advocation for evidence-based policy action on a global level. It also aims to encourage behavioural change within the community, as well as positioning Qatar as a leading voice for environmental issues in dry and water-scarce climates.
Earthna will convene a diverse community of experts, governments, policy and decision makers, businesses, multilateral institutions, and civil society, with the goal of creating a more sustainable future.
Topics like the circular economy, sustainable energy, resource security, and environmental protection will be at the heart of its work.
The establishment of the centre is in line with Qatar Foundation’s dedication to thought leadership in policymaking, whether its in its establishment or promotion. It will also be an extension of Qatar Foundation’s network of domestic and international collaborations.
The implementation of policy by government agencies requires them to have another party that helps them formulate and plan it. This is where Earthna’s role will come into play.
Qatar Foundation’s global campus, Education City, will be used as a test bed for any new technologies and sustainable implementations.
“Earthna is a centre specialised in sustainability, environmental preservation and studying the effects of climate change locally, regionally and globally, especially, in light of the major challenges countries all over the world are facing, which are reflected and exacerbated by climate change,” said Meshal Al-Shamari, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Stakeholder Engagement at Earthna.
This centre is a part of Qatar Foundation’s continuous support to the country in its journey to achieving the 2030 national vision.
Qatar being one of the largest LNG exporters in the world has a significant effect on the country’s carbon footprint. However, it is worth noting, that emissions from gas are between 20% to 50% less than those of other fossil fuels.
(Source: Doha News)
Perhaps you’ve noticed that a growing number of companies are innovating new products and capturing new markets by focusing on sustainable products and services.
Companies are finding that having a well-structured approached to sustainability is popular with buyers, who are shifting more business to them as a result.
And companies with a clear sustainability focus are attracting, retaining, and engaging the best employees. Or perhaps you are reading this because you are personally convinced that your business should be doing more to protect the planet simply because it’s the right thing to do.
Whatever the reason, if you’d like your business to take steps in becoming more sustainable, this Webinar is a must-watch event.
We will discuss three straightforward actions your business should take this year to achieve better business performance and to prepare itself for a rapidly changing world.
The new initiative aims to encourage the community to start recycling in an effort to help the country’s sustainability goals.
To mark Global Recycling Day, Qatar Foundation (QF) has announced its plans to build Qatar’s first-ever recycling hub to encourage sustainability within the community. Covering more than 8,000sqm in Education City, Green Island will feature six recycling streams, including paper, plastic, aluminium cans, e-waste, batteries, and organic waste.
The hub, built in partnership with Seashore Group, will be partially powered by solar panels as a renewable energy power option and will be easily accessible by public transport, including the EC Tram. “It is no secret that there is a gaping hole when it comes to recycling in Qatar,” said Nawal al-Sulaiti, sustainability manager, QF. “And the desperate need to fill that gap and do more to empower the community, particularly the younger generation, and arm them with the tools needed to become environmentally conscious citizens, is what led to the birth of Green Island.”
The first of its kind project in Doha is expected to open its doors for the public by October, if not sooner, QF has announced. Visitors will get to witness 95 end-of-life shipping containers turned into exhibitions, restaurants, and coffee shops as part of a huge recyclable initiative.
All containers are donated by Milaha, one of the largest maritime and logistics companies in the Middle East. There will be no fee attached to the container. However, all tenets will have to offer a value proposition to create a learning cycle. For example, those who are starting a vintage clothing upcycling business will in turn have to offer community workshops on how to upcycle. This way, the hub will cultivate a sustainability mindset in Qatar and hopefully build a significant milestone towards change.
“We are laying the groundwork, but Qatar’s community is what will drive this initiative,” Al-Sulaiti said. “We hope that green island will create a ripple effect that will mark the start of community recycling hubs in Qatar and that soon we will see others wanting to replicate it, with recycling hubs popping up in every neighbourhood, just like we have parks.
”The younger generation is the hub’s target, she stated, adding that they possess a great power to bring change.“It is easier to get youth to take up new habits when compared to adults, and these youth can then get their families to follow. Their power to bring about change is huge and is the driving force we need to cultivate a sustainability mindset in Qatar.”
Education and awareness are the primary objectives of QF’s latest major project. In order to achieve the best sustainability vision, the hub will be built in an interactive way to ensure an active learning experience. “Each container will have a large screen mounted on it which will allow community members to see the various steps that a certain type of waste goes through as it’s recycled,” said Ouassim M. Alami, strategic initiatives advisor, QF.
Source: Doha News
Energy efficiency as a contributor to success
Climate protection, efficient use of resources, rising energy costs, new supply models, and strict environmental regulations: For all these goals, energy is a decisive competitive factor, whatever the industry. There is therefore no alternative to increasing energy efficiency. A great challenge – but also a great opportunity. Because by making plants more energy-efficient, companies can also achieve considerable cost savings.
Energy efficiency in production – in reality
Energy-efficient production means more than simply reducing energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, or costs – it also involves linking energy and production data in order to analyze and optimize not only energy consumption but also the energy productivity of machines, plants, and processes. These measures provide the opportunity to achieve all-round improvements in process productivity and efficiency.
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