ENOC Group, announced today that it has banned single-use plastics across its operations as well as in its head office, to align with the UAE’s vision of promoting an inclusive green economy.

In March 2020, the Group announced that it will begin a phase-out of single-use plastics and today it has achieved a 100 percent single-use plastic free environment across its business units and corporate departments. Since 2020, ENOC has prevented approximately 14 tonnes of plastic waste from entering landfills and saved roughly AED 400,000 due to the elimination of single-use plastics.

In line with ENOC’s commitment to foster sustainability across its network, single-use plastics that have been banned include straws, cups, single-use water bottles, plastic shopping bags, plastic bottle caps, food wrappers, plastic lids, stirrers, and foam takeaway containers. Additionally, ENOC has also reduced its paper consumption.

Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, ENOC, said, "ENOC Group is proudly committed to supporting the vision of the nation to become a sustainable destination. As a leading energy player, we understand the importance of implementing sustainable best practices across our network, such as the elimination of single use plastics. Corporate social responsibility is at the heart of ENOC’s decision-making process, and we aim to be a model for organisations in positively impacting our communities."

As alternatives to single-use plastic items used in its operations, ENOC has switched over to more sustainable items such as paper bags, wooden straws, water dispensers with reusable bottles and recyclable lids.

Source: Zawya

Retrofits geared at improving energy efficiency can become a natural progression for the UAE’s real estate and facilities management (FM) sectors – if rolled out effectively.

Retrofitting in the built environment is primarily geared at improving the efficiency and sustainability of an existing structure by reducing energy and water consumption. This can be achieved in a number of ways, including lighting and HVAC upgrades, waste management strategies and investments in digital infrastructure.

Retrofitting can bring multiple benefits. For the building owner, the obvious benefit is energy savings. It can also provide a market edge and the chance to charge more premium.

For governments and regulators, it is a way to keep a critical carbon emitter in check.

Estimates from the United Nations (UN) show that the buildings and construction sector account for nearly 38 per cent of global energy-related carbon emissions. The operation of buildings makes up around 28 per cent of total global emissions.

These figures indicate significant scope for targeted abatement, especially as governments in the region seek to achieve net-zero status in the coming decades.

Efforts to make headway are visible in the UAE, as municipalities and building owners are faced with ageing stock and growing pressure from end-users to ‘greenify’.  

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) plans to retrofit more than 30,000 buildings at a cost of $8bn by 2030, while Abu Dhabi is aiming for 3,000 buildings in a similar period. Ras al-Khaimah is meanwhile aiming to retrofit 3,000 buildings by 2040.

Much more needs to be done. At present, there are no mandates that stipulate necessary upgrades of older buildings in the UAE.

Furthermore, progress is disjointed. In Abu Dhabi, several government entities have signed up with ‘Super Esco’ Abu Dhabi Energy Services (Ades) to retrofit their buildings. But no programme at such a scale is active in the private real estate space.

The public sector has typically been the trailblazer for innovation in the UAE, and perhaps this will be the case with retrofitting as well.

Financing such initiatives requires the adoption of more ‘unconventional models’ – such as energy-saving performance contracts, where an energy service company (Esco) designs, finances and implements the retrofit. Such an approach is still relatively nascent in the region, with a lack of awareness among building owners seen as a major impediment.

Ahead of the UAE hosting Cop 28, it is expected that there will be greater pressure on the industry to take concrete steps to tackle carbon emissions.

Building retrofitting can become a stepping-stone to net-zero built environments. A core part of net-zero structures is being able to accurately track and forecast emissions – a task that cannot be achieved without sensors and other digital monitoring mechanisms.

It is also about balancing energy demand with clean energy supplied through renewable sources.

Developers, designers and contractors have the onus to drive net-zero efforts in the stock that is due to be delivered in coming years.

For existing structures, it is the owners, operators and maintenance stakeholders that must take charge. At a recent event in Abu Dhabi, a government representative noted that retrofitting can be seen as ‘step one’ in the journey towards net-zero.

“Net-zero in the built environment is not a concept that emerged yesterday,” said Mohamed al-Hadhrami, Energy & Water Efficiency Accelerators Directorate, Abu Dhabi Department of Energy (DoE). “However, the challenge with reaching net-zero is not regulation, but technology and costs.”

The technical and commercial viability to retrofit large, commercial structures to become net-zero does not exist today, he said.

“There is still resistance from building owners to retrofit even to improve energy efficiency, let alone become net-zero. Activity is ramping up, but we still have some ways to go.”

For now, the retrofitting story in the UAE is in its early days, focused on building awareness, changing mindsets and piloting success stories. In the future, further efforts will be needed in the form of benchmarking criteria and mandating upgrades.

While much work remains to be done, next year's Cop 28 in Abu Dhabi could give the industry the nudge it needs to embrace the option of retrofitting buildings.

Author: Mehak Srivastava

Source: https://www.meed.com/retrofit-is-a-natural-progression-for-real-estate

Dubai, June 5^th, 2022: On the occasion of World Environment Day on June 5, Emirates Nature-WWF is honoured to announce the newest additions to the Leaders of Change programme. ITP Media Group, Visa, and Safran have joined the movement, pledging over 700 new members who will spend the coming year training, ideating, and acting in nature for people and planet. 

This follows Emirates Nature-WWF’s recent collaboration with Carrefour – which is owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim in the UAE – to create a new range of reusable bags to mitigate excessive plastic consumption and conserve natural resources.

Recognised around the world, World Environment Day is the largest international platform for environmental outreach, with millions of people, governments, businesses, schools, celebrities, cities, and communities engaging to protect the planet. The scale of the climate and nature loss crises demands that all members of society unite on a collective journey to overcome our shared environmental challenges. 
 

The Leaders of Change Programme

Emirates Nature-WWF’s Leaders of Change is a pioneering programme that empowers government and corporate entities, individuals and students in the UAE to maximise their impact and transform the world. 

Members master the issues through on-ground training and development delivered by experts. They co-create solutions with like-minded peers and realise worthy ideas with the support of incubation programmes and the Leaders of Change network. Members also volunteer for nature in nature, through a series of exciting and exclusive conservation activities. Their participation and annual membership fees contribute to on-ground projects that help achieve the UAE’s Net Zero and Nature Positive agenda.

To name a few other notable organisations that are part of the Leaders of Change programme include Mubadala, Seddiqi Holding and Boston Consulting Group who recently pledged over 1,000 members during Earth Hour 2022, as part of a wider commitment to ‘Go Beyond the Hour.’

“The cooperation, collaboration and co-creation that we have seen amongst the public and private sectors, local and national legislation and local communities as part of Leaders of Change has been inspiring and affirms the importance of digital innovation and inclusive conservation,” commented Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Director General, Emirates Nature-WWF. “2022 presents an unmissable opportunity to accelerate action and participation for the climate and the environment. We invite all organisations and individuals in the UAE to become Leaders of Change and ensure that nature and people can thrive.”

“As Visa continues our own global initiatives to operate sustainably and support the transition to a low-carbon economy, the Emirates Nature-WWF Leaders of Change programme provides us an important platform to increase our impact by engaging youth in the UAE to do something remarkable for the environment. We are proud to join the programme and work with partner organisations in the UAE to contribute to a sustainable future for everyone everywhere,” said Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Visa’s Group Country Manager and Senior Vice President for the GCC region.

“Purpose fuels performance and the way that we can truly make the greatest impact is through a purposeful collaboration to address an urgent and collective challenge that we face,” said Simon Birkebaek, Partner, BCG. “Our commitment as a global organization to tackle climate-related challenges and strive to build a sustainable future is one that we share with Emirates Nature-WWF, and we are proud to be a partner in the Leaders of Change programme”

“By becoming a Leader of Change with Emirates Nature-WWF, we pledge to work towards reducing the environmental impact of our business with a goal of meeting the UAE’s Net Zero and Nature Positive agenda. Also, as a media company, we hope that we can use our voice through our many brands and mediums to inform, educate and positively influence our audiences of the need to contribute towards a sustainable future. We believe that this partnership will expedite and enhance our journey” commented Ali Akawi, CEO at ITP Media Group

Exclusive Conservation Events 

New members to the programme were welcomed with two hands-on events organised to mark World Environment Day. 

An exclusive outdoor event called the “After Dark Edition” was held at Al Qudra Lake Dubai. Members learned about the ecological importance of desert biodiversity and embarked on a night-time hike to identify and record plants and animals living in the desert. 

Indoors, members united for a “Trash to Treasure” plastic recycling workshop at Ecyclex in Abu Dhabi. Members toured the e-waste recycling facility, learned about the environmental impact of plastic, and participated in a hands-on workshop to transform plastic waste into new products.

Local Conservation Projects 

In the lead up to World Environment Day, Emirates Nature-WWF welcomed Carrefour to the Green Giving partners family. To raise awareness about the negative impact of single-use plastic bags and support eco-friendly lifestyles, Carrefour has launched a range of limited-edition reusable bags. Every bag features an illustration of local threatened marine species. Customers can scan an attached QR code to learn more about each species and part of the proceeds will go towards conservation efforts in the UAE.

“Our collaboration with Emirates Nature-WWF represents another major milestone for us as we seek to eliminate plastic across our operations by 2025 and raise awareness about the environmental impact of single-use plastic. By purchasing our reusable bags, shoppers are actively contributing towards restoring and conserving the UAE’s natural habitats and protecting its most vulnerable species” commented Christophe Orcet, Head of Commercial and Operations of Carrefour UAE at Majid Al Futtaim Retail. 

Emirates Nature-WWF’s Green Giving Partners are steadfast supporters of local conservation work and instrumental in encouraging UAE consumers to move away from single use plastic – as an example, H&M’s ambitious ‘Rethink Plastic’ collaboration with Emirates Nature-WWF calls on UAE businesses to raise awareness around plastic waste and help reduce plastic pollution. 

Join the Movement 

Emirates Nature-WWF calls on more corporates and government entities across the UAE to uphold the nation’s sustainability goals and be part of the Leaders of Change programme. 

Contact Huma Qureshi – Associate Head of Strategic Partnerships at hqureshi@enwwf.ae and/or Hossam Nasef – Senior Manager, Business Development at hnasef@enwwf.ae to learn how you can become a Green Giving partner or a Leaders of Change Corporate/Government member.

To learn more about the Leaders of Change programme and exclusive conservation opportunities, visit https://www.leadersofchange.ae/

On the outskirts of Sharjah, bordering Dubai, an environmental leap is being taken with the construction of Sharjah Sustainable City, a 1,250-villa development that will be powered by the sun.

The city is a joint venture between the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, better known as Shurooq, and Diamond Developers, the company behind The Sustainable City in Dubai.

Each of the three, four and five-bedroom villas will be powered by its own rooftop solar panels, cutting energy and water bills by up to 50 per cent.

However, that is not the primary draw for the project, the first sustainable development in the emirate whose first phase is already sold out, said Karim El-Jisr, chief sustainability officer at Diamond Developers.

“The price is extremely competitive, ranging from Dh1.3 million to Dh2.8m,” Mr El-Jisr said.

“On top of that, you get five years of complimentary service fees, you get all the appliances fitted in the kitchen, having been selected based on energy requirements, and you get home automation and reduced utility bills.”

Every villa monitors its energy production and energy use, keeping the homeowner informed via a mobile app that allows them to set or alter its energy needs.

The futuristic tone for the development is set by the array of solar panels as you drive in. Yet its sustainability tag is not only in energy-saving provision, because this villa development has a green heart.

It recycles its water and waste and produces vegetables and greens to enhance sustainability. There are a series of bio-domes across the community with vertical farms growing fruit and vegetables.

With about 12 kilometres of rubber jogging tracks, 1.6km of cycle tracks and 8.4km of pedestrian pathways, it's possible to walk from one side of the seven-square-kilometre site to the other without crossing a road.

Charging points for electric vehicles are available in the communal parking areas, with rooftop solar photovoltaic cells offsetting 100 per cent of electricity consumption in communal areas.

The 280 villas in the first phase are now complete and ready to be handed over in July 2022. However, the developmentis so unique in Sharjah that its governance has still to catch up.

“Our partnership with Shurooq is pivotal because we are helping to deploy the first net-metering system here in Sharjah,” Mr El-Jisr said, which will allow unused energy produced by the solar panels to be credited back to owners.

“Working in collaboration with [the] Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority, we look forward to the approvals coming to the development so that we can deploy the photovoltaic modules and achieve net-zero energy,” he said.

Source: The National News

UAE-based Think Upcycle collaborated with Living Business to promote local artists – while diverting furniture from landfill and giving back to society and the environment in the process

A unique piece of art that also reduces your carbon footprint? That’s the proposition that Think Upcycle, a UAE-based marketplace for pre-loved quality household goods, offers UAE consumers. In the process, local designers and artisans are given a platform to showcase their work and reach new buyers.

“Eighty-eight per cent of the people who live in the UAE are from somewhere else,” says CEO Nadeem Khan. This high percentage of expatriates results in a high turnover of furniture waste as new people set up homes and others leave the country each year. “Eight-five per cent of the bulky waste that goes to the landfill is furniture,” Khan adds.

He says Think Upcycle was started in 2019 as a two-sided marketplace based on a circular economy to tackle this problem of wasted furniture and offer a high-quality, affordable alternative to buying new furniture through upcycling and restoration.

The brand caters to a rising appetite for sustainability. A BCG study last year found that a large share of consumers across the six GCC nations are adjusting their behaviour in light of environmental considerations: 56 per cent of respondents said they feel strongly about the need to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. Consumers say environmental sustainability among the most important socioeconomic challenges, and, depending on the country, about 80-95 per cent said they are willing to start or are already taking action in response to climate change, the study reported. Last year, Think Upcycle partnered with the Living Business programme to accelerate its circular economy goals. The Living Business programme, in collaboration with HSBC Bank, supports enterprises through one-on-one strategic guidance on transitioning to more sustainable operations.

Creating jobs in the circular economy

Following recommendations from the Global Living Business team, Think Upcycle launched CoCreate, a programme to attract top artisans from across the country and demonstrate the potential of upcycling.

In line with a commonly developed strategy, the Global Living team introduced Think Upcycle to four leading artists at World Art Dubai, the art and education fair. The artists are Guddi Bajan, Sana Merchant, Minal Srivastava and Sarah Shoushan.

“The plan was ambitious: many designs were selected and then eventually presented at the UK Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai as a grand finale,” Khan says. “After showcasing our upcycled furniture at Expo 2020, our CoCreate programme just took off.”

CoCreate programme empowers potential entrepreneurs and offers them easy ways to develop a side hustle and sell their products. “Think Upcycle takes care of everything, so upcyclers don't have to leave their house or workshop,” he says.

To date, Think Upcycle has attracted over 30 upcyclers, created 100 jobs, and delivered affordable art pieces to the world's most prestigious residences, including the Burj Khalifa.

Consumers benefit from a sustainable and usable art at accessible price points. An original Briggs and Jones bar cabinet, for example, can go for about AED15,000 without a custom job, Khan says. “We have an upcycled piece with crystals and resin work by a top artist for AED3499. Not only is this more cost-effective but it offers customers the choice of commissioning a piece that suits their own style on a fraction of the cost.”

Diverting waste from landfill

Most importantly, the project helped saved over 3,000 products from ending up in landfill – or the equivalent of about 200 shipping containers. That’s a recycling rate of 95 per cent, he says.

“We expect that we will be able to increase the percentage of reuse to 98 per cent in 2022,” Khan says. “We have started breaking particle wood and using it as a wood filler. Now we're moving towards making a Think Upcycle upcycled furniture range to further reduce waste.”

Think Upcycle also runs several other sustainability initiatives, Khan says. Its business model gives 20 per cent cashback to the original owner for not dumping unwanted furniture. The company has partnered with charities and social cause partners to encourage residents to give unwanted furniture, and it donates 20 per cent of sales to support worldwide initiatives.

The use of canvas bags has cut its plastic use by 50 per cent, and its staff returns plastic wrappers to industrial plastic collectors.

Finally, the company is taking the message to more people. “We teamed up with Domestika to develop artistic potential by offering upcycling courses. On Think Upcycle Courses, residents can learn, create, and be able to sell via our marketplace.”

Overall, recycling helps reduce the release of carbon into the atmosphere while increasing carbon sequestration in forest and soil, mitigating the threat of global climate change and offsetting the energy lost to entropy, according to John Ikerd, Professor Emeritus at the University of Missouri and author of Sustainable Capitalism.

As Khan says, “There are numerous advantages, the most significant of which is that purchasing second-hand products reduces one's carbon footprint by 82 per cent. Buying used is the most environmentally responsible option.”

Dubai Airports is marking the World Environment Day by kicking off a new waste management initiative that will play an integral role delivering on its commitment to keep 60 percent of all waste from Dubai International (DXB) from entering landfills by the middle of 2023.

As part of the new programme, the operator has implemented an innovative food waste treatment plan which is expected to capture and compost more than 2,000 tonnes of food waste annually from food and beverage outlets, lounges and hotels across DXB terminals and concourses.

Decomposing food waste in landfills results in the emission of methane gas which is 72 times more harmful to the environment than CO2.

The innovative new food waste plan was created in partnership with Dubai Airports’ waste management partner BEEAH Group, the Sharjah-based sustainability pioneer. It uses a special high-tech biodigester compost system installed in multiple locations across DXB that dramatically increases the speed at which food waste breaks down and becomes reusable compost and clean wastewater.

The DXB waste diversion strategy is designed to sustain a resilient waste management system that identifies the least economic, environmental, and social impact methods to capture, treat, reuse, or recycle all forms of waste. To date, the programme has already achieved greater than 40 percent reduction in waste, including a special initiative that captures 100 percent of all cooking oil used in airport F&B outlets and converts it to biodiesel fuel.

"Capturing and diverting all forms of waste from landfills is a strategically important component of our waste management programme. While airport operations contribute a very small percentage of the overall waste generated at DXB, we are working in close partnership with airlines, F&B facilities, and all other partners across the airport to make a unified commitment to achieving and surpassing our 60 percent waste reduction objective," said Jamal Zaal, Vice President of Safety and Sustainability at Dubai Airports.

"BEEAH Group is committed to being Dubai Airports’ partner to create a range of innovative new programmes to capture and find a useful purpose for all forms of waste in the most practical and impactful ways possible. Deploying Power Knot technology across all DXB terminals and concourses is a great example of that innovation and will put us on the path to achieve our goal of eliminating food waste and achieving our waste diversion targets," said Rafael Sanjurjo Lopez, CEO Bee’ah Tandeef.

World Environment Day is led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and is celebrated by millions of people across the world.

Held annually since 1974, it has grown into the largest global platform for environmental outreach. The campaign slogan for World Environment Day 2022, hosted by Sweden, is "Only One Earth" and is focused on living sustainably in harmony with nature.

Source: Zawya

JUNE 1, 2022: A ban on the single-use of plastic products in Abu Dhabi has come into effect from today, under the emirate’s integrated Single-Use Plastic Policy. The initiative will prevent the sale of single-use plastic bags across all retailers.

The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) launched the Single-Use Plastic Policy in March 2020, which, along with subsequent regulations, will help the emirate’s marine and land environment remain free from single-use plastic waste.

In 2018 there were 474 supermarket or hypermarket branches in the UAE, according to Statista, an online data aggregator. Adding on top of that hundreds more service stations, malls and convenience and department stores, it is clear that, from tourism to the domestic market, retail is a key part of the UAE’s diverse economy.

Its importance to the markets also means it plays a part in the country’s wider priorities. Sustainability is a key one. Today, shoppers will start seeing how retailers, in conjunction with the government and consumers, are doing their bit to help the environmental goals of the UAE.

From today, Abu Dhabi will be banning single-use plastic bags. Instead, the purchase of affordable multi-use bags will be encouraged. In a month’s time, Dubai will introduce a mandatory 25 fils ($0.07) charge for single-use bags, too.

There is strong evidence from across the globe that such measures work in protecting the environment and, crucially, that they are a minimal economic burden to shoppers, even poorer ones. Since 2008, Rwanda has had an extremely stringent ban on plastic bags, which even involves luggage being searched to stop them entering from abroad. In Kenya, a 2017 law has helped solve the issue of flooding due to blocked drains and waterways. Globally, more than 90 nations have introduced total or partial bans.

Cotton reusable mesh bags can be used for fruit and vegetables. Getty Images

Rather than being economically punitive, re-usable bags encourage consumers to become more conscious of how their actions can help the planet. A 2019 study found that California’s ban reduced plastic bag consumption by more than 70 per cent. Such cuts are needed. The UN estimates that almost 300 million tonnes of plastic pollution is created each year. From the energy required to produce them, to the lingering effects of unsustainable disposal, reducing their use is an important step in addressing the global environmental crisis.

Abu Dhabi’s decision is not about banning plastic altogether. The material has transformed industry and the world for the better. It is important to remember that it has its own positive effect on the environment, too. From preserving food and reducing waste to lightening cars and aeroplanes resulting in better fuel efficiency, plastic has a role to play in the journey to a more sustainable future. And as recycling technologies develop, the burden it sometimes places on the planet could soon become more manageable.

Today’s ban is about guaranteeing plastic’s most efficient use. Retail is a good place to start. Due to its scope and diversity, governments have often used the sector to draw consumer attention to environmental issues, whether it be the organic movement that began in the mid-20th century, country of origin labels to draw attention to fuel used to transport items or the newer emergence of refill-only shops. Introducing people to the importance of sustainability in their shopping can help them think of the same thing in their cars, homes and workplaces.

Today, not casually picking up a bag at the end of a shop might feel like a small sacrifice to the individual customer. But the wider implications and messaging of that happening en masse is a moment of great importance in the UAE’s efforts to preserve the environment.

Source: The National News UAE, Khaleej Times

His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, on Tuesday inaugurated the Sharjah Waste to Energy plant, the first-of-its-kind project in the Middle East.

The plant, announced in 2018, will divert up to 300,000 tonnes of waste from landfills annually, supporting the achievement of the UAE’s goals for waste diversion and management. It is the first project of Emirates Waste to Energy, a joint venture established by Bee’ah Energy and Masdar.

The project will contribute to avoiding the emission of up to 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which supports the country’s efforts to implement the strategic initiative to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. It will produce 30 megawatts of low-carbon electricity, enough to supply electricity to about 28,000 homes in the UAE, and provide 45 million cubic meters of natural gas each year.

Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, also attended the ceremony.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of Masdar; Salim bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of Bee’ah Group; Masdar chief executive officer (CEO) Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi; Bee’ah Group CEO Khaled Al Huraimel, and other industry and government leaders were also present on the occasion.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said the deployment of the first commercial scale waste to energy plant in the Middle East represents a landmark achievement in the UAE’s sustainable economic growth trajectory.

“By turning waste into energy, this new plant exemplifies the economic benefits of sustainable en-ergy production and a low carbon development pathway. The use of this technology reduces waste and landfill use, creates valuable low carbon energy and introduces a new sustainable industry to our region,” he said.

“Today’s event marks a key milestone in the UAE’s sustainable development and demonstrates the economic impact of the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative. This is the type of practical in-novation that the UAE is keen to promote along with domestic and international partners in sup-port of commercially viable climate solutions, in particular as the nation prepares to host COP 28 next year,” he said.

Khaled Al Huraimel delivered a speech in which he thanked the Ruler of Sharjah for his continuous support for Bee’ah and its continuous efforts in implementing the emirate’s vision, which contributed to the completion of the Sharjah waste-to-energy plant.

“By enabling 100 per cent landfill waste diversion in Sharjah and contributing to low-carbon electricity in the UAE, this partnership highlights the clean-energy opportunity in tackling the challenge of unrecyclable waste,” he said.

Mohammed Hassan Khalaf, director-general of the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority, gave a presentation on the achievements of Bee’ah, the Sharjah Waste to Energy plant.

Bee’ah Group has achieved a qualitative achievement in the Emirate of Sharjah by raising the diversion of waste away from landfills at a rate of 76 per cent, the highest in the Middle East, with the support of various recycling facilities that receive various types of waste.

“With the waste-to-energy plant entering the actual operation phase, we will be able to completely treat non-recyclable waste, thus raising the rate of waste diversion in the Emirate of Sharjah away from landfills to one hundred percent,” he added.

The Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikhs and attendees watched a presentation on the stages of establishing the Sharjah Waste to Energy plant, its most prominent objectives, facilities and expected operating results.

The plant works by processing unrecyclable waste at high temperatures and the resulting heat is recovered by a boiler. The boiler then produces steam, which drives a turbine to produce electricity. Bottom ash produced during the process is collected for recovery of metals and ash material, which can be used in construction and roadwork applications. Fly ash is also collected and treated separately.

The plant covers an 80,000 sqm area and is adjacent to the integrated waste management complex operated by Bee’ah Recycling, Bee’ah Group’s recycling and material recovery business. Unrecyclable waste from the waste management complex will be taken for processing at the Sharjah Waste to Energy plant.

Source: Zawya

Ritz-Carlton JBR grows its own herbs to tackle sustainability crisis and provide fresh ingredients

A Dubai hotel has taken a big step when it comes to sustainably sourcing ingredients at its in-house restaurants – by setting up a vertical hydroponic farm on-site.

Having produce grown on the premises reduces its carbon footprint and transport costs for the buyer.

“We are doing it for two reasons. A chef will always want the freshest and best possible ingredients, and the need to think of sustainability is immense,” said the property’s executive chef, Tobias Pfister.

“We all need to reduce our carbon footprints. The food is literally grown here and then served on the tables.

“There’s no transportation or logistics involved. I can actually go in the morning to the farm and cut the lettuce and have it in a salad bowl that lunchtime.”

In vertical farming, crops are grown in layers on top of one another, while hydroponics is the process of growing plants in nutrient-rich liquid instead of soil.

A sustainable strategy

The farm, which is about 40 square metres, is inside a sealed container on the property’s grounds in Dubai Marina.

Plants, including lettuce, kale, basil, rosemary and thyme will be grown year-round.

“Sustainability is becoming something that’s an important part of the conversation for every hospitality company,” said Mr Pfister.

“It’s becoming an important trend for every chef.”

He also said food security was thrown under the spotlight by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We all saw how supply chains were interrupted. All industries were impacted, not just hospitality, and it was important to learn lessons from that,” he said.

“Companies in this region import a lot of their products, so we saw the importance of coming up with alternatives to help localise these markets.”

The Ritz-Carlton’s vertical farm was created in collaboration with Green Container Advanced Farming, a hydroponics specialist.

The method is often said to be a solution to the long-standing problem of finding areas to farm in rapidly urbanising areas.

“It has been established in many cities across the world already; it’s nothing new,” said Mr Pfister.

“When cities keep growing it means space becomes limited and conventional farming methods become unrealistic. This is clearly a way forward.”

Vertical farming on the up

US vertical farm company AeroFarms broke ground on a research and development centre in the capital last summer.

The 8,200-square-metre facility is part of a $150 million plan by Abu Dhabi Investment Office to bring cutting-edge technology to the forefront of efforts to improve food security.

At about that time, Sokovo, an agricultural technology company, announced it was building a 92,000-square-metre vertical farm at Dubai Industrial City.

“The significance of this launch is twofold; we are firstly supporting the UAE on its journey to increasing sustainability, while also enabling our guests to eat locally grown produce, which of course, is more environmentally friendly, but also superior in quality, taste and freshness,” said Jeroen Elmendorp, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai.

“Looking forward, we aim to boost responsible operations, which involves placing sustainability at the heart of all that we do.

“I am confident the launch of our very own hydroponic facility will provide our guests with an incredible culinary experience.”

Source: The National News

Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, today announced a collaboration with the American University of Sharjah’s College of Engineering to research the economic and environmental benefits of re-using of food waste to enrich manufactured soils made from bauxite residue, and further applications in waste-to-energy.

The AED 1.6 million three-year research project is the second phase of EGA’s cooperation with the American University of Sharjah on the re-use of bauxite residue, a by-product stream from alumina refining.

The new research follows three years of work between the two organisations to establish technically how food waste as biochar - a type of charcoal based on indigenous agricultural knowledge from the Amazon basin – can be combined with treated bauxite residue to create a manufactured soil for greening and other purposes.

Other by-products from food waste in the potential treatment process – bio-oil and bio-gas - were also identified in the first phase of research, with potential waste-to-energy uses.

The new research aims to show that an integrated process would be environmentally and economically beneficial, and enable the UAE’s significant food waste generation to contribute not only to bauxite residue re-use but also waste-to-energy projects.

The recovery of food waste as a designer biochar and as bio-energy products would constitute a significant innovation at the global level. The work could contribute directly to the UAE’s aim of reducing waste-to-landfill by 75 per cent by 2030, lowering greenhouse gas emissions, optimising local resources, and through R&D, contribute to the overall development of the UAE knowledge economy.

EGA has also been conducting research in-house and with other institutions including The University of Queensland’s School of Agriculture and Food Sciences. Earlier this year, EGA announced the company is to build a pilot plant in Al Taweelah to convert bauxite residue into manufactured soil products. The pilot plant is thought to be the first of its kind in the world.

Abdalla Al Zarooni, Vice President – Technology Development and Transfer at EGA, said: “We are always looking at solutions to reduce the waste streams of our industrial activities, in addition to supporting the UAE’s net zero ambitions and landfill reduction goals. Following the technical breakthrough of EGA’s Turba process, which is the conversion of bauxite residue into a manufactured soil, we look forward to our researchers examining the further economic and environmental benefits of using food waste to generate the required biochar for this manufactured soil.”

Dr. Yassir Makkawi, Project lead investigator and Professor of Chemical Engineering at AUS, said: “Sustainable management of both industrial and food waste is one of the main challenges of governments as they seek to meet their targets for waste minimisation and reducing CO2 emissions. With environmental outcomes an increasing concern of the public and strict regulations in place governing waste disposal and landfill, finding novel solutions is becoming more and more important. This project will now contribute to the UAE’s ability to successfully manage industrial and food waste in a way that has less of a detrimental impact on the environment than has traditionally been the case.” 

Industry experts estimate that at least 150 million tonnes of bauxite residue are produced worldwide each year and less than two percent are currently put to productive use. Left untreated, bauxite residue is a caustic material that cannot support plant life. The UAE imports large quantities of soil products each year for greening and agricultural purposes.

The UAE produces approximately two million tonnes of food waste per year and initial research suggests that an estimated 20 to 40 per cent could be converted to biochar and a similar percentage to bio-energy products.

Bio-energy products are a renewable low carbon energy source, that can be used as a substitute for fuel oil or diesel in electricity generation.

EGA’s Bauxite Residue R&D Group has created a portfolio of additional novel applications that are at an advanced stage of development, with further pilot-scale trials expected.

EGA has already developed re-uses for other waste streams from its industrial activities. These include spent pot lining, a by-product of aluminium smelting, which is re-used as an alternative feedstock and fuel by the UAE cement industry; carbon dust, which is also used as a fuel in cement manufacturing; and dross which is processed to recover aluminium. EGA’s long-term aspiration is to send zero process waste to landfill.

Source: Zawya