EAD initiates official launch of its Sustainable Campus Initiative in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi (WAM): The Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, EAD, in collaboration with Borouge, yesterday launched the Sustainable Campus Initiative, SCI, as part of its ongoing efforts to educate university students across the U.A.E. on important environmental issues and encourage them to take part in reducing their environmental footprint. The launch event was attended by Dr. Saeed Al Hassani, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Abdullah Zamzam, Assistant Secretary-General of Operations at EAD, and Abdulaziz Alhajri, CEO, Abu Dhabi Polymers Company at Borouge. SCI is an expansion of the Sustainable Schools Initiative that EAD launched in 2009, which witnessed huge success in establishing environmental concepts and increased student and teacher awareness of various environmental issues facing the U.A.E., resulting in concrete and measurable actions in reducing schools’ environmental footprints. The initiative aims to encourage U.A.E. youth in identifying and addressing society’s environmental sustainability issues. The initiative provides students with a platform to network and share ideas with their international counterparts in order to address issues including water scarcity, waste, energy, climate change, and bio-diversity, to contribute to achieving a sustainable environmental in the U.A.E.. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary-General of EAD, said, "The SCI reflects EAD’s continuous efforts motivating youth and encourages them to play a vital role in environmental practices, supporting the prospect of a sustainable future. The initiative falls in line with Abu Dhabi’s Vision 2030 which recognises the importance of young Emiratis' contributions to building sustainable communities and protecting the country’s environment and natural heritage." "This initiative provides students with the opportunity to be more involved in assessing their universities’ environmental performance and enables them to share ideas and introduce them to the best practices and applications applied by their peers outside the U.A.E.. We hope that the next phase of the initiative will see more environmental awareness projects and programmes," Al Mubarak added. Dr. Saeed Al Hassani, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, praised the launch of the SCI, noting that it reflects EAD’s commitment to adopt the best international practices, encourages innovation, hard work, and promotes effective policies to raise environmental awareness and sustainable development, while also ensuring the integration of environmental issues within the national agenda in line with Abu Dhabi 2030 vision. Al Hassani said, "The U.A.E. ministries and governmental entities truly believe that sustainable development across the three aspects; economic, social, and environmental, will only be achieved by the efforts of our youth, and involving them across all stages and areas. The Sustainable Campus Initiative is dependent on partnerships in planning, execution and most importantly assessing progress." "Borouge is fully committed to the preservation of the environment and the well-being of the communities where we operate," explained Abdulaziz Alhajri, CEO, Abu Dhabi Polymers Company. "Our commitment to Environmental Stewardship and Social Responsibility is embedded within our company and is reflected in the way we manage our operations and innovate plastics solutions that enhance people’s lives. As such, we are pleased to actively engage the leaders of the future in the sustainability practices and management system of the Sustainable Campus Initiative so that they too can contribute to a better environment today within their campuses and tomorrow in their chosen fields." Earlier this year, EAD launched the initiative’s pilot phase with the participation of 100 students from Zayed University, Higher Colleges of Technology- Women’s College in Khalifa City, Higher Colleges of Technology – Men’s College in Madinat Zayed and Higher Colleges of Technology – Women’s College in Ruwais. The current phase of the initiative saw the universities pledging their continuous commitment to SCI and the introduction of five additional universities including the American University of Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates University, Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, the Petroleum Institute, and New York University Abu Dhabi. - Emirates News Agency, WAM – http://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395271890596.html