Al Ghurair Investment takes ‘green’ strides

ALKESH SHARMA / Emirates Business

The UAE is witnessing a huge influx of tourists, reaching for business as well as leisure purposes. Considering the extent of commercial activities in the country, pressure on the ecosystem is bound to surge manifold in the coming years, affirm industry experts.
Notably, the corporates in the Emirates have started making a sustainable contribution towards ensuring a better tomorrow. In one such commendable initiative, Al Ghurair Investment — one of the oldest business group in nation — is adopting innovative mechanisms ranging from setting up co-generation plants, replacing cooling systems and introducing unique concepts of skywalks to ease the mounting burden on ecology.
“We are working to ensure that we abide with the guidelines set by our government and leaders to achieve green goals,” said Adil Toubia, Al Ghurair Investment Group CEO.
“When Expo 2020 comes around, Dubai aims to become one of the top ten sustainable cities in the world, mainly though implementing the green building regulations. As one of the oldest and biggest business groups in the UAE and region, we are committed to help realise this objective for both our current and future generations,” pointed out Toubia.
Green energy experts believe that based on current energy prices, the UAE will achieve at least 10 percent use of renewable energy in its energy mix by 2030 and 25 percent in its power generation mix. One of the latest initiatives of Al Ghurair Investment includes the development of a new co-generation plant by Al Ghurair Resources.
“This co-generation plant is fully eco-friendly. Through its successful operations, we are looking forward to make a huge impact on the environment. This project is the testimony to the company’s strong commitment towards sustainability in business while remarkably decreasing the carbon footprint,” said Djamal Djouhri, CEO of Al Ghurair Resources.
Al Ghurair Investment is continuously working to develop and maintain the Group’s environment and sustainability projects through a number of activities carried out by the Group companies in order to achieve maximum sustainability and minimum carbon footprint across all its businesses.
Al Ghurair Properties is working on replacing all its cooling systems with energy efficient and eco-friendly devices to reduce the energy consumption in the Rayhaan Rotana Hotel, Al Ghurair Center, buildings and corporate offices, thus reducing the carbon footprint.
Al Ghurair Construction is also working on developing 98 skywalks in King Abdullah Financial District in Saudi Arabia. Inter connecting sky bridges provide the building occupants and pedestrians an alternative to using vehicles as a way of transport in the urban fabric. In extreme climate environments the added advantages of linked networks are immediately apparent.
The Group’s plans will also follow UAE Vision 2021 focussing on improving the quality of air, preserving water resources, increasing the contribution of clean energy and implementing green growth plans.