EWF-WWF moves to sustainable city to cut greenhouse emissions

DUBAI / WAM

The Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF), announced the relocation of its offices to The Sustainable City (TSC), in Dubai. This latest development comes as part of
EWS-WWF’s collaborative partnership with Diamond Developers, when the two joined forces last year in an effort to help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG), emissions and promote greater uptake of renewable energy across the nation and wider region.
The Sustainable City was designed by Diamond Developers with several low
carbon and sustainable features, including solar roof top panels, energy efficient appliances, water efficient fixtures, and urban farming. TSC aims to set a new benchmark for the development of a sustainable community in a desert environment. The strategic three-year partnership between EWS-WWF and Diamond Developers was established with three relevant components: to support EWS-WWF’s renewable energy project ‘UAE Renewable Energy – Targets and Beyond’, to conduct a GHG assessment of TSC’s overall carbon footprint, and to implement a transfer of EWS-WWF’s Dubai office to TSC.
Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Director-General of EWS-WWF, said, “Our new location is symbolically important as well as measurably beneficial as it will amount to a reduced carbon footprint of our operations in the long-run. This partnership will enable the two of us to identify best practices for sustainable living, and to demonstrate how a low-carbon business model can be a transformational element for real estate development in the UAE, both of which positively contribute to more diversified national economic growth.”
EWS-WWF is supporting Diamond Developers in assessing the GHG performance of TSC, as well as assisting with the monitoring and reporting of the GHG emissions. The first carbon footprint report will cover the operation of TSC for the calendar year 2017 and is expected to be published during the first quarter of 2018. EWS-WWF and TSC have also begun organising and hosting community events to raise awareness among residents on sustainable lifestyles, with the first event having recently been held on June 5, on World
Environment Day.
Abdullatif added, “Our collaboration with Diamond Developers has been an excellent reflection of EWS-WWF’s vision to work with public and private partners in order to help drive progress towards the UAE Energy Plan 2050.”
Faris Saeed, CEO and Co-Founder of Diamond Developers, said, “We are delighted to welcome EWS – WWF to The Sustainable City and we look forward to continuing to work closely on the city’s GHG assessment and actively join hands to raise awareness towards climate change issues and implementing solutions to make a change.”
The project on which
Diamond Developers is supporting EWS-WWF, ‘UAE Renewable Energy – Targets and Beyond’, assesses which policies the UAE will need to put in place to achieve its 44% renewable energy target, thus supporting the country on its journey towards a low-carbon future. Throughout this project, EWS-WWF will work closely with other entities, including energy authorities, utilities, the private sector and innovative leaders to create relevant and robust solutions and policies for the nation.