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Desert Group: Impacting lives through green

Desert Group is en route to create business models centred on food security, water conservation and regional flora

Michael Mascarenhas has been Group CEO at Desert Group since 2013. Look around, and you are amazed by the landscaping, plants and trees, turf and other natural green elements, then it's quite possible that Desert Group has a contribution in that evolution.
Since the year he joined the Group, it has seen a huge transformation and now leads the horticultural sector in the region charting a bold new course around sustainability and technology.
The range of sectors and customers covered by the Group is daunting, but Michael is unfazed giving credit to his team, he says, "My team is one of the best - we have self-belief and work with a greater overarching purpose - that of enhancing people's lives through what we do. We truly want to get close to our customers, innovate around customer-centric solutions and provide a reliable and second to none service," he says.
The range of sectors at this point are worth a mention- Retail (Garden Centres), Landscape Design Services, Landscape Construction (that includes Golf Courses, Turf Stadiums, Water Features, Swimming Pools), Turfcare and Landscape Maintenance, Soil Centric and Organic Fertiliser and Soil Formulations, Biological Plant Growth and Plant Nurseries. Clearly, without passion, adaptability, flexibility, resilience, perseverance and acute customer and market awareness, this range of service and capability would just not be possible.
Mascarenhas' next frontier is water conservation, soil protection, waste management and food security. "These are the four big pillars in Desert Group, and we must seize the opportunity and be courageous in our mission.
"We have read and been told that we humans were created in a garden and all that we see happening since that time of creation is attempts to try and destroy planet earth and that very garden in every possible way. Isn't that true," he questions. "We at Desert Group are excited about this new journey and to be part of a larger solution." It's in this new thrust that he sees value generation.
Michael, apart from being qualified, has a multi-country culture and work experience and believes in seizing and embracing challenges thrown at him. "I love all that comes with being at the deep end, leading and creating value," he notes. His experience indicates that he is equally comfortable in rolling-up-his-sleeves to get the job done, as he is in boardrooms.
What explains a career that spans audit and consultancy, investments, financial services, private equity, manufacturing and distribution, both in operational and leadership roles, other than characteristics that make him what he is today.
ENABLE
He says, "Our organisational purpose is to enhance lives, and hence we reached out to a section of society that tends to be neglected and brought in a new concept that could weave them into what we do as a business."
Desert Group converted its CSR programme to establish ENABLE, a unique social enterprise that empowers the Determined Ones to create and sell desktop succulent decorative pieces and make the initiative sustainable. "Some of our colleagues in ENABLE have cognitive disabilities, and hence, special care is taken to ensure they feel unique, as we all are. You will see the ENABLE outlets at Carrefour and Dubai Garden Centre," Michael adds,
Landscape inclusiveness
Landscaping, as it has been known, is understood to be a last mile addition to properties and an ornamental decorative piece. Rather than that, if you want sustainability and inclusiveness, then it is critical to integrate and homogenise landscape design very early on when designing a project.
Then some of the aspects such as water conservation through a natural process of greywater treatment, a plant pallet and planting recommendations that assist in water conservation and impacts temperature positively can be thought through.
Aspects around lighting and energy conservation, use of local materials and its impact on carbon footprint, stormwater capture and usage and a design that truly helps people connect can be implemented.
This exactly is the new thinking, change and a range of services and solutions that are beginning to transform this region and Desert Group is leading the charge.
"It's about the willingness to sit in the discomfort of uncertainty and embracing it that helps one grow. It's only then that you become a lifelong learner. At Desert Group, we practice this philosophy, and it's that what makes us different," Michael says.
Clearly, Desert Group has a vision and is working hard to bring it to reality.
- farhana@khaleejtimes.com