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I 10 Sustainable Projects And Initiatives In MENA
Sustainability 10 Sustainable Projects And Initiatives In MENA
Al Ain Plant-Based Bottle
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Company: Agthia Group Country: U.A.E.
In February 2020, Abu Dhabi-based Agthia Group announced that it will be producing the region’s first plant-based water bottle for its Al Ain bottled water brand. The bottle, including the cap, is made of 100% environmentally friendly material from plant sources without using petroleum or its by-products, thereby lowering its CO2 footprint. The product will be biodegradable and compostable within 80 days. Agthia says that the manufacturing process consumes 60% less energy and achieves more than 50% savings on non-renewable energy.
Al Dhafra solar photovoltaic (PV) independent power producer (IPP)
Company: TAQA, Masdar, EDF Renewables, JinkoPower Country: U.A.E. With a capacity of two gigawatts and a cost of $1 billion, the Abu Dhabi-based Al Dhafra Solar PV IPP project will be one of the largest single-site solar power plants in the world once it is operational. It will use around four million solar panels to generate enough electricity for approximately 160,000 homes across the U.A.E., and it will supply power to the Emirates Water and Electricity Company. When fully operational, it is expected to reduce Abu Dhabi’s CO2 emissions by more than 2.4 million metric tons per year, which is equivalent to removing approximately 470,000 cars from the streets. TAQA will own 40% of the project, while Masdar, EDF Renewables, and JinkoPower will own 20% each.
Al Reyadah
Company: ADNOC Country: U.A.E. Al Reyadah is the first commercial-scale Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) facility in the region and the first fully commercial CO2 facility for the iron and steel industry worldwide. It was founded as a joint venture between Masdar and ADNOC in 2016, with the latter taking full ownership in 2018. Al Reyadah aims to eliminate CO2 emissions equivalent to the amount produced by 170,000 automobiles. It captures up to 800,000 tons of CO2 from the emirates steel industries annually to inject into the Rumaitha and Bab onshore oil fields to boost oil recovery. ADNOC’s 2030 Sustainability Strategy aims to expand its CCUS scale to the equivalent of a forest area twice the size of the U.A.E.
Converge
Company: Saudi Aramco Country: Saudi Arabia Aramco’s converge polyols technology captures greenhouse gas CO2 and other gases and converts them into industrial products and manufacturing feedstocks. It combines CO2 with hydrocarbon feedstocks to create high-performing polyols to be used in everyday applications, such as coatings for household appliances, consumer and industrial adhesives, automotive and medical applications, and food packaging. Aramco says that its converge polyols have a third of the carbon footprint found in other conventional polyether and polyester polyols, as it only contains up to 40% CO2 by mass.
HSBC tower
Company: HSBC Country: U.A.E. The HSBC tower, which houses the company’s U.A.E. headquarters, was inaugurated in 2019. It is considered to be one of the most sustainable buildings in the world. Built at a cost of $250 million, the building has secured a LEED Gold Standard from the Green Building Council, meaning it uses 25% less energy and 40% less water than a normal building. As well as space for 3,000 employees, the building includes a gym, restaurants and cafés, a reflection room, and an outdoor terrace.
DataXion’s data center
Company: Schneider Electric Country: Tunisia DataXion’s data center in Tunisia uses green technology and engineering solutions provided by Schneider Electric. It is one of the most energy-efficient and sustainable data centers in North Africa. The center is also one of the largest colocation facilities in the region. It provides services to banks, insurance firms, and public and financial institutions. Over the past four years, Schneider Electric’s technology has enabled the site to use 35% less energy, and lower its operational costs by 20%.
Company: Majid Al Futtaim Country: Across the Middle East In August 2021, MAF secured $1.5 billion in green financing via a five-year Sustainability-Linked Loan (SLL) to help it achieve its aim of becoming net positive in carbon and water across the company by 2040. This means it will produce more energy and water than it consumes. In 2020, its operational carbon emissions decreased by 9.2%, and water consumption by 17.5% compared to 2019. The SLL will finance the company’s operational and capital expenditures on ESG-related performance.
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park
Company: Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) Country: U.A.E. The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is expected to be the world’s largest single-site solar park based on the independent power producer model, with a planned production capacity of five gigawatts by 2030. With an investment of $13.6 billion, the project will save over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The park will have the first solar-powered green hydrogen plant in the region, covering 10,000 square meters, the world’s tallest solar tower at 260 meters, and the world’s largest thermal energy storage capacity of 15 hours.
Nestlé solar PV panels and Dorna initiative
Company: Nestlé Middle East; Nestlé Egypt Country: Across the Middle East; Egypt Nestlé Middle East has installed around 28,000 solar PV panels at its manufacturing sites across the region. This has helped reduce CO2 emissions by over six million kgs annually. This is equivalent to removing the annual carbon emissions of around 1,500 cars or the annual energy consumption of 800 houses. In Egypt, the company is also focusing on recycling plastic packaging material. It launched the “Dorna” initiative in October 2020, whereby informal waste recyclers are employed to collect 50% of Cairo’s municipal waste, of which 80% is recovered and recycled. As of March 2021, over 1,200 informal waste recyclers had collected more than 12,000 tons of plastic.
Queen Alia International Airport
Company: Airport International Group Country: Jordan In 2018, Queen Alia International Airport was awarded the highest level of the Airport Carbon Accreditation Program, Level 3+ Neutrality, making it the first carbonneutral airport in the Middle East. The airport was able to save $1.5 million by reducing power consumption between 2014 and 2017. It also reduced CO2 emissions by 7.8% per passenger, from 3.6kg in 20142016 to 3.4kg in 2017.
Hospitality’s Multifaceted Manager
Klaus Assmann, Cluster General Manager for Accor, explains what it’s like managing some of Dubai’s hospitality hotspots – and what it takes to succeed in a competitive market.
You have built an impressive career in the hospitality industry. What steps led you to where you are today? In the beginning I was attracted to the sense of adventure, unpredictability, and excitement that a job in hospitality can provide, which I think is common for many of us who enter the industry. With every role I took on, my responsibilities grew and evolved. I very quickly discovered that I have an appetite for new challenges and enjoy how these experiences can help broaden my knowledge.
My passion, combined with a drive to make things happen, has brought me to where I am today. I have learned to work in different countries and cultures with people from all over the world, and to face and overcome different kinds of challenges each day. I truly enjoy putting together teams and achieving difficult goals. I am a person who is driven by action and hospitality keeps me extremely active in this regard! To sum it all up, it was my appetite for continuous growth that led me to this point in my career and life.
As Cluster Manager for Accor, what does your role involve? I have the pleasure of managing a multifaceted portfolio of brands here in Dubai, including Fairmont the Palm, Movenpick JLT, RIVA Beach Club, and Th8 Palm, an all-suite luxury boutique hotel and resort that is due to open soon. My day involves a mix of meetings, discussions with management teams from each property, overseeing operations, and ensuring that we not only perform well financially, but that we always deliver the very best experiences to our guests. How has your experience influenced your management style? Living in different countries and handling teams of individuals who come from all over the world has certainly helped to shape the way I manage people and situations. There are several factors that you need to consider when managing people, such as culture, experience, and individual character traits. When you are dealing with people, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution. People have different ways of approaching different challenges; they have different motivations, depending on where they are on their professional journeys. What has not changed is who I am – transparent, straightforward, and a firm believer in teamwork. I believe that certain aspects of who you are as a person come across when you manage people.
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In the context of a challenging year, how did your hotels perform in 2020? Despite the challenges, we did well in 2020. Our teams have worked smartly and worked hard. We have put in place not only cost saving measures, but also innovative and appealing campaigns like our U.A.E. Residents Staycation offer at Fairmont the Palm, that allows guests to redeem their full room rate on food and beverages during their stay. Challenging situations like the pandemic force you to be creative and to think about what clients want and what kind of service they would like to receive. For us, creative thinking and the smart allocation of our resources and budgets helped us to emerge from the worst of the pandemic in a strong position and lay the foundations for a successful period ahead.
What are your thoughts on the current state of the Dubai hospitality market? Dubai is a destination that constantly evolves and challenges As an industry veteran, what do you think makes a great leader in hospitality? It is a combination of things. A great leader is one who leads by example. You cannot ask your team to work hard if you don’t put in the
the norms of the hospitality industry. The effective and immediate way Dubai responded to COVID-19 has made it one of the few destinations to have successfully and safely emerged from the pandemic. Leading by example, all of us in the hospitality industry need to follow suit and work hard to maintain our recent achievements. Competition in Dubai’s hospitality industry is fierce and there are a lot of great properties with great offerings, from rooms to restaurants to bars – all of which are very appealing to guests from the U.A.E. and abroad. What will set a great hotel apart is top notch customer service, top quality F&B, and great marketing.
hard work yourself. You cannot ask for honesty and transparency if you don’t display those qualities. People stand behind the person they believe in – the leader needs to be strong, have a clear vision and help his or her team to reach their goals. I am a firm believer in challenging the status quo, thinking out of the box, trying out new things, and not being afraid to fail. I believe in great teamwork and collaboration in a space where people feel safe to discuss openly without being judged. Hospitality is a people’s business – it’s people serving people. It is important for a leader to show that they understand and respect people and nurture talent.
With a multifaceted portfolio, how do you manage to organize your time and ensure you do justice to each brand or hotel under your umbrella? Trying to balance the focus and attention each business needs can be a challenging task. I try to keep a detailed list of all the things I need to be mindful of. I have daily briefings with all the teams, and I ensure that the executive team and I meet at least twice a week to discuss all the top-level items on our agenda. We have an amazing management team across all four properties made up of people who are driven to get the best results but who also foster a great team spirit.
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