DEWA to save 8.5 million sheets of paper this year

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, announced on Tuesday that it will no longer purchase paper supplies, adding that it would refrain from using some 8.5 million sheets of paper for 2020.

The move comes as part of the Dubai Paperless Strategy, which aims to use advanced technology to build an integrated paperless government framework.

Commenting on the announcement, Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, DEWA Managing Director and CEO, said that the strategy is in line with the vision to make Dubai the city of the future and transform the Government of Dubai into a fully digital government and build an integrated, paperless government framework.

According to a statement issued by DEWA, the authority is deemed as "one of the leading organisations in implementing the Dubai Paperless Strategy".

It has cut its paper usage by 82 percent in the large entities category within Dubai Government, the statement added, noting DEWA's smart services have reached 96 percent at the end of May 2020.

DEWA also utilises smart technologies and solutions to carry out daily functions and procedures. One such technology, DEWA noted, is the Smart Office app which provides the authority's employees with 197 functions including, internal approvals processing, and enabling employees to draft, document, and follow up on official documents, among others.

Accessing the Smart Document through computers, tablets and smartphones, has avoided emissions of around 84 tonnes of carbon dioxide, DEWA noted. Over 4,000 employees are currently using Smart Documents for automation of forms and their communication needs, it concluded.