The 1st Panel Discussion of the Emirates Environmental Group for 2022, was held virtually on the historic day 22.2.22, under the title “Greening the Concrete Jungles - Towards Urban Afforestation and Vertical Farming”. It highlighted the importance of building hybrid cities, amalgamating natural environment into sustainable architecture and design with the incorporation of modern retrofit technologies.
The speakers in the panel discussion emphasised that urban afforestation and vertical farms can be considered as a link between existing green urban areas, counter-fragmentation, enhancing environmental cohesion, to cope with the changing climate, gradual environmental degradation and the associated loss of agricultural land. The speakers stressed that urban afforestation and vertical farms not only constitute a base for food production, they can also create a valuable new ecological, social and economic hub in contemporary cities that have been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the panel discussion, Ms. Habiba Al Mar’ashi, Co-founder and Chairperson of the Emirates Environmental Group, started her speech by thanking supporting entities of the Panel Discussion, the Arabia CSR Network, Emirates Green Building Council, the Clean Energy Business Council, and the Swiss Business Council.
In 2015, more than half of the world’s population and nearly three quarters of Europe’s population lived in cities or large agglomerations, and in 2050, the proportion of the population living in urban areas around the world, according to UN projections shall be more than 66%, and 82% in Europe. This new reality will cause more urban areas being occupied, increase in pollution, shrinking of forests, more erosion and further habitat fragmentation that will result in the overall decrease of biodiversity.
Ecological function of greenery largely depends on the size of nature hubs, resilience, ecological linkages, and on the resistance of plant habitats to changes in the natural environment. The human population, who are struggling with climate change, must create a new quality of space, which will not only maintain the environment’s sustainability, but will also improve its quality. In urban areas, where structures and spatial planning are dynamically transformed, there is a need to explore the possibility of introducing greenery in new spatial systems.
Accessible green space creates a spectrum of possibilities to do sport, increases children’s creative play, and improve social relationships between people of different religions and genders. Green space can encourage social interaction and can contribute to making higher density housing more attractive and safe. Widely accessible green spaces favour human interactions and, in this way, help in decreasing social exclusion and strengthening the link between urban and rural communities.
The urban vertical greenery provides new opportunities for educational use of the area, and ensures that the mosaic of habitats in the forest can be used for the full range of environmental educational needs of the surrounding schools. Building the urban vertical system will allow reparation of the ecosystem’s integrity and enhance sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity in the urban environment, which results in better provision of food, goods, and services to support human well-being.
Mrs. Habiba Al Mar’ashi in her opening speech said that “For far too long, we have followed the pattern of razing down habitats to construct our villages, cities, towns, farms, industries, mega structures and more. This singular thought of taking human comfort perspective only has led to reduction in habitats, extinction of countless species, loss of biodiversity, deterioration of human health and other species.” She further added that “It is high time to get onto the ground level, see other creatures as important part of biodiversity and essential to our survival. It is time to build hybrid communities where nature and humans can exist side by side with minimal conflict, make our agricultural practices more sustainable. To change the mind-set of the future generation to be holistic and inclusive with nature.”
The distinguished panellists who were invited to contribute to the discussions included:
- Olivia Nielsen - Associate Principal at Miyamoto International
- Henrique Pereira - Chief Executive Officer, Taka Solutions
- Moohammed Wasim Yahia - Assistant professor at Architecture Engineering Department - Faculty of Engineering, University of Sharjah.
The successful incorporation of urban afforestation and vertical farms into the cities will effectively contribute to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals: 3 – Good Health and Well Being, 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, 13 – Climate Action 14 – Life Below Water & 15 – Life on Land and 17 - Partnership for Goals. This panel is a prime example of the aims to achieve the goals by 2030.
Ms. Olivia Nielsen emphasised that the future of cities should look more alive with trees and vegetation. If green vegetation is not in our imagination, we cannot build it. Many scientific reports highlight the importance of urban afforestation. Studies show many affordable green construction solutions. In concluding her presentation, she urged the audience to give wings to their imagination so we can create a green urban future together!
Dr. Moohammed Wasim Yahia brought to the table the advantages of Urban Afforestation such as improve in air quality, mitigation of storm water, enhanced biodiversity. Permeable vegetated surfaces resulting in lower surface temperature and lower air temperatures. He explained the causes for urban heat island and concluded his discussion that the green cannot be implemented unless the blue infrastructure is executed. Green Blue infrastructure will maximise the benefits of Urban Afforestation.
Mr. Henrique Pereira addressed the audience with a detailed explanation of the correlation between urban afforestation and energy consumption. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun's heat more than natural landscapes. Natural landscapes besides purifying the air play an important role by acting as carbon sinks. He affirmed that policies and strategies are strongly taking shape and with collaborated efforts from all sectors, a world inclusive for not just humans but all inhabitants will be built.
The panel discussion concluded with interactive and detailed round of questions asked to the panellists by the moderator as well as with the questions from the attendees. Overall the session was very informative and the audience took away, in-depth valuable knowledge from the session with varying perspectives from different sectors of the society.
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About Emirates Environmental Group:
Emirates Environmental Group (EEG(, is a professional working group established in 1991. It is devoted to protecting the environment through the means of education, action programmes and community involvement. EEG is actively encouraged and supported by concerned local and federal government agencies. It is the first environmental NGO in the world to be ISO 14001 certified and the only organisation of its kind in the UAE with accredited status to the United Nations Convention to Combating Desertification (UNCCD) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). EEG is a member of the UN Global Compact, the Global Urban Development (GUD), and the One Planet Network under programme of Sustainable Food System (SFS) and its Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Committee (MAC) and Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML).
For more information, contact us: email: eeg@emirates.net.ae ; Fax: 04-3448677 and please visit our bi-lingual website: www.eeg-uae.org
Source: Zawya
Nestlé is contributing to the Food for Future Summit on February 23-24 at Expo 2020 Dubai, where it’s showcasing how it aims to support and advance regenerative food systems at scale to help protect, renew, and restore the environment; improve farmers’ livelihoods; and enhance the well-being of communities.
The event is presenting Nespresso sustainability efforts, including the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program, “which is a coffee sourcing program designed to ensure the continued supply of high-quality coffee while improving the livelihoods of farmers and their communities, and protecting the environment,” explained Francisco Nogueira, Business Executive Officer,Nespresso Middle East and Africa.
Nestlé is also promoting plant-based food by offering tastings of its Sweet Earth range which was recently launched in the region. “We want to encourage the inclusion of plant-based nutrition by launching training sessions for professional chefs at the Summit, highlighting its dietary value, and contribution to sustainability,” said, Joe Aouad, Business Executive Officer, Nestlé Professional Middle East and North Africa.
Also represented at the Summit is the Dubai-based Nestlé Quality Assurance Center, a hub for microbiological and nutritional analysis of food, water, and environment samples serving the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey.
Supporting coffee communities
Examples of how this is being applied in practice include Nestlé working closely with over 200,000 coffee farmers worldwide through global coffee sustainability programs such as the Nescafé Plan and Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality. The company enlists the expertise of over 600 agronomists around the world, to support coffee farmers for a more productive and sustainable harvest.
Nestlé this month announced the creation of the Nestlé Institute of Agricultural Sciences, which will assess and combine science-based solutions to improve the nutritional and sensorial qualities and the environmental impact of agricultural raw materials.
Transforming Products
Within its product portfolio, Nestlé is continuously expanding its offering of plant-based food and beverages and is reformulating products to lower environmental impact. It is increasing the number of 'carbon neutral' brands it offers to give consumers the opportunity to contribute to the fight against climate change.
Rethinking Manufacturing
Nestlé is also committed to achieving 100% renewable electricity at its 800 global sites by 2025. Actions towards that end include Nestlé’s Al Maha Factory in Dubai South housing 20,000 photovoltaic (PV) panels, generating 7.2GWh of electricity and eliminating 4.5 million kilograms of CO2 per year.
Nestlé is one of the first companies to share its detailed, time-bound plan (pdf, 10Mb), committing to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050. The world’s Good Food, Good Life company is striving to co-create a resilient future for the planet and its people, making a promise to advance regenerative food systems at scale – a term that encompasses every actor, activity, process, and product in growing, raising, making, delivering, and consuming food.
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For more information, please contact:
Layal Dalal, Nestlé Media Relations Manager, Middle East and North Africa
Email: layal.dalal@AE.nestle.com
About Nestlé in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Nestlé’s heritage in the Middle East and North Africa goes back over 100 years with the sale of the first Infant Cereals in Egypt. Today, Nestlé operates 25 Food & Beverage factories across the 19 countries of the MENA region; and provides direct employment to more than 15,000 people. Nestlé MENA also provides indirect employment to several thousand more across the region.
The Nestlé portfolio in the region currently exceeds 60 innovative product brands in a wide range of categories: Dairy, Infant Nutrition, Coffee and Creamers, Confectionery, Bottled Water, Breakfast Cereals, Culinary products, Health Science, and Pet Care, among others. Nestlé Nido, Nestlé Cerelac, Nestlé NAN, S-26, Progress, Nescafé, Nespresso, Bonjorno Café, Coffee-mate, KitKat, Maggi, Nestlé Fitness, Nestlé Pure Life, Optifast, and Purina Friskies are just some of the brands available in the Middle East and North Africa.
To know more, you can visit the following pages:
Website: www.nestle-mena.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NestleMiddleeastNorthafrica
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/NestleMe
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/nestlemena/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nestle-s-a-
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/nestlemena/
Source: Zawya
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.
Grundfos is a global water technology company committed to pioneering solutions to the world’s water and climate challenges and improving the quality of life for people. Our strategic journey represents our ambition to do whatever is in our power to help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular 6 and 13.
Grundfos water solutions today are among the most advanced on the market and we pride ourselves on the fact that every innovative solution is brought to life by thousands of dedicated employees. Grundfos pumps are manufactured in accordance with the ISO standards just as we are determined to exceed environmental standards. It is important to us that our innovative solutions do not only benefit the user but are also easy on the environment. And we achieve that by always thinking ahead before we develop and market a new product.
Virgin Mobile UAE, part of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), today announced that it is the first telecom brand in the UAE to introduce new biodegradable SIM cards. The move is in line with the UAE’s vision to create a vibrant new green economy that will offer the world a unique model for sustainable development.
The new Virgin Mobile biodegradable sim cards are the most sustainable option available in the UAE for customers whose devices cannot yet accept eSIMs, which require no plastic at all. Virgin Mobile UAE will progressively phase out single-use plastic SIM cards as part of the company’s commitment to being sustainable and towards its mission of being carbon negative.
The new biodegradable SIM is made from an oxo-biodegradable plastic that breaks down into tiny pieces and slowly degrades in the presence of oxygen and UV light. When placed in a landfill, the degradation process can take a little as just 4-6 months. This offers a significant improvement when compared to the estimated hundreds of years normal plastics can take to decompose.
Rob Beswick, Managing Director for Virgin Mobile UAE commented, “Our move to introducing the new sustainable biodegradable SIM cards is aligned with supporting the vision of UAE’s Green Agenda 2030 and UAE’s NetZero 2050 initiative. We can “do more and better with less”, breaking the traditional linkages between economic growth and environmental degradation. This is outlined in the UN’s 12th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG12) which calls for us “to ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). We all need to work together to ensure a collective effort towards building a better future. Virgin Mobile UAE has achieved net-zero carbon emissions for its operations last year, and we are on a mission to become carbon negative.”
It is estimated that at least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, impactingfragile ecosystems. Despite its tiny size, each SIM card needs to be punched out of a credit-card sized plastic sheet, which is then disposed of, contributing to plastic waste in the telecommunications industry. With consumers demand for SIM cards, this waste is increasing.
“While we are moving towards the use of biodegradable SIM cards that decompose without a trace and it is a key step in the right direction, the move to eSIMs, whereby there is no physical sim card, remains the most sustainable option,” added Beswick.
Tor Malmros, CEO for Workz added “We’re delighted to have achieved yet another market-first with Virgin Mobile UAE. We are currently seeing a sharp rise in interest from network operators worldwide for more sustainable alternatives such as biodegradable SIMs and eSIM – this can only be a good thing. What this project with Virgin Mobile demonstrates is, that with a dynamic, forward-thinking approach, just how quick and significant the impact can be.”
Currently, Virgin Mobile UAE allows its customers to change their physical SIM to an eSIM using their App right from the comfort of their home or office. eSIMs are also available via Virgin Mobile’s unique home delivery service whereby new customers who have an eSIM compatible device, can opt to have their Virgin Mobile eSIM activated by downloading the Virgin Mobile app via the Play store or App store, choosing their favourite number or transferring their current one from any network.
To find out more about Virgin Mobile’s biodegradable SIM and eSIM, visit www.virginmobile.ae
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About Virgin Mobile in the United Arab Emirates
Virgin Mobile believes in making mobile better across the industry with the best customer experience, innovative products and creating a great place to work. Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company has launched Virgin Mobile as the first fully digitalized mobile service in the UAE, providing an experience that has never been seen before in the region.
Virgin Mobile is the second mobile brand to operate under the EITC umbrella, adhering to the rights and obligations of EITC’s telecommunication license while bringing a distinctly different offering and brand promise to the market.
About Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (EITC)
The Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC) was founded in 2005 as the UAE’s second licensed telecommunications provider. EITC has two telecommunications brands under its umbrella; du was launched in 2007 and serves over 8 million customers throughout the UAE. EITC recently launched its second brand Virgin Mobile in the market.
EITC is 39.5 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 19.75 percent by Mubadala Development Company PJSC, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications and Technology LLC and the remaining by public shareholders. Listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the company trades under the name ‘du’.
About Workz
Workz is recognised as one of the global leaders in mobile subscriber solutions – enabling the secure deployment of smart devices and their data faster and easier than ever before. Since 1997, it has securely managed over 14 billion connections in more than 70 countries all without a single data breach. It is a European-owned company with headquarters in Dubai and offices across the world. As well as being certified by the ISO 14001 for Environmental Management, it is one of only five providers in the world to be accredited by the GSMA to manage the complete eSIM lifecycle across both the consumer and M2M markets. Workz is also the world’s largest manufacturer of telecom (SIM and prepaid) cards.
Source: Zawya
The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, EAD, in collaboration with The Center of Waste Management, Abu Dhabi, TADWEER, has published a guide entitled, "Sustainable Construction and Demolition Waste Management in Abu Dhabi".
The guide provides guidance on steps that should be taken by companies in the construction sector to reduce the amount of waste they produce on site. It also addresses how they can take responsibility for the collection, segregation, transfer and disposal of their waste.
According to Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi, SCAD, the total amount of the waste generated in Abu Dhabi has been rapidly growing in recent years. The official figure for 2016 was about 9.69 million tonnes of solid waste produced, more than 26,000/day. The vast majority of waste, about 47 percent, came from construction and demolition, C&D, sites concentrated in and around the vibrant Abu Dhabi City area.
The guide is one of a series issued by EAD that explores the key environmental sustainability challenges facing the Emirate of Abu Dhabi including waste management. This guide provides detailed guidance to organisations operating in the construction sector, including mechanisms for reducing waste production, assessing the quantities of waste disposed for reuse and recycling which will help to protect the environment and reduce the costs of waste disposal and treatment. The guide is available in Arabic and English and can be downloaded from EAD's website.
In addition to the guide, EAD organised a panel discussion at it’s headquarters in Al Mamoura building led by a number of waste management experts. The experts discussed the rewards of an integrated professional and efficient waste management system by taking measures to reduce the production of construction and demolition waste.
Aligning with the environmental objective of the Abu Dhabi Plan, which has been developed to fulfil the emirate’s long-term vision, Abu Dhabi aims to be a leader in waste management with a specific programme designed to achieve integrated waste management," Shaikha Ahmed Al Hosani, Acting Executive Director, Environment Quality Sector at EAD.
The target for this programme is that 60 percent of waste generated in Abu Dhabi is managed and treated in environmentally and economically sound manner by 2020, she added.
Ahmed Baharoon, Executive Director Environmental Information, Science and Outreach Management, said, "We are seeking to transform our approach to C&D waste management by encouraging construction companies and individuals to take more responsibility for their waste and to be accountable for its safe and legal disposal." According to the 2016 statistics, the greater Abu Dhabi region generated 2,524,436 tonnes of C&D waste, compared to 1,116,692 tonnes in Al Ain region and 891,251 tonnes in the Al Dhafra region.
Source: WAM/Zawya
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