UAE consumers increasingly aware of sustainability's pros

The use of plastic was magnified through the media's mass coverage on its ill-effects on the world's oceans.

Consumers in the UAE are increasingly scrutinising corporations and their sustainability practices, which has paved the way for the adoption of different technologies into existing systems to become more sustainable, experts have noted.
"2018 was the year that consumers made their voices heard and called on companies to step up and responded by looking at ways of reducing their environmental footprint. Most significantly was the increase in the awareness of the impact of the use of single-use plastic, following the global movement for green solutions due to mass media coverage on the impact of plastic on our oceans," said Peter Avram, director of Avani Middle East, adding that this trend is unlikely to change in 2019.
Avani is a manufacturer of sustainable disposable packaging solutions and compostable plastic alternatives products.
Avram said that there is a huge demand for such products from across the hospitality and catering industries, as a direct result of consumer demand driving change which has provided a catalyst to drive the conversation on establishing fully integrated and sustainable solutions for waste in the UAE.
"We believe that technology and innovation is key to the development of new products for tomorrow's future environment," Avram said, adding that its technology uses renewable resources made from plants. "We believe that companies will only continue to implement more sustainable solutions and that this will also extend a drive for companies to seek other sustainable products to reduce their impact on the environment," Avram noted.
Speaking on the impact of sustainable practices and technologies, Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO of Siemens in the Middle East, said: "We believe companies need to be sustainable while they conduct their business. Globally, the technologies of Siemens' Environmental Portfolio reduce carbon dioxide emissions at customers worldwide by 609 million tonnes per year. In the UAE, we have provided energy efficient solutions that have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 4.76 million metric tonnes during financial year 2018."
Siemens is also supporting Dubai Airports to save 20 per cent on their annual energy bill through data analytics and smart building technology.
"By focusing on air and water systems during this seven-year project, we expect to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 25,000 tonnes, with annual electricity savings of approximately 50 gigawatt hours and water savings of around 21 million gallons," said Siersdorfer.
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com

Rohma Sadaqat

rohma@khaleejtimes.com