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)
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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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