Mother Nature on their minds

Sustainability could well take the prize for being the ultimate buzzword today. Everybody is talking about it, everyone wants a piece of it. But true commitment seems to be coming in the form of companies that are turning their respective industries upside down with innovative ideas that really stand for the principles of a circular economy. Instead of produce, use and discard, they're looking for ways to either prevent wastage in the first place or recycle trash - for good. Talk about working for planet positivity!
With World Environment Day on June 5, meet some of the city's own eco warriors who aren't just spouting 'green' ideals because it's 'hip' - their work is doing all the talking for them. And it may well do the rest of us good to take a chapter out of their environment-friendly books.

Marco Augugliaro & Shruti Jain, Founders, Kairen
When Dubai residents Marco Augugliaro and Shruti Jain visited an island in Tanzania to see baby turtles hatching, little did they know that the horrors of pollution they saw there would spawn the beginnings of a business with sustainability at its core. As Marco tells it, "We arrived on a beach completely covered in garbage, waste and debris. Appalled, we asked for an explanation from the people on the island, but they simply said that all the waste was what the sea was washing up ashore. When we looked, we saw little turtles hatching among the garbage. They can't see well at birth, so they head for the sea by instinct, attracted by the sparkle of light reflecting off it. These turtles, however, were being completely deviated by shiny objects in garbage. It was at that point that we decided we needed to step up."
The husband-wife duo, who hail from Italy and India respectively, are passionate scuba divers and wildlife photographers. Seeing the impact of human pollution reach even the remotest parts of the earth ("plastic bottles in the middle of the Serengeti!") made them want to be "a little angry" about what humans have been able to do to the earth. It took a while, but earlier this year, Kairen was born.
Meaning 'pure ocean' in Hawaiian, the brand recycles plastic bottles into fabric to create swimshorts for men. On average, Marco says, each pair of shorts correspond to "nearly 12 bottles, 383 straws or 30 cutlery and plate sets - the ones you receive when you order food home". Although not a novel idea, one cannot deny its complete effectiveness. "Plastic is eternal," says Marco. "It does not degrade. This technique, therefore, gives us a chance to take the waste out of the system, and keep it from going to the landfill."
The couple's goal is to stimulate the industry into becoming more sustainable. It's costlier to make the switch, however, due to difficulties that relate specifically to the manufacturing technology involved - which probably explains why the entire industry hasn't jumped on board yet. "Our purpose is to see a plastic-free world," says Marco. "That's why any product we make will already have the higher production costs worked into our base."
There are several reasons they'd attribute to the current apathy that ails our society as far as 'green' issues are concerned. Because, while everyone is aware there is a problem, the overwhelming majority prefer to write it off as somebody else's problem. "There's a problem of visibility," offers Shruti. "Only when we went to an island in Tanzania did we realise the intensity of our impact on the environment. So, while everyone is talking about it, many of us still haven't seen those effects firsthand - which is what leads to being passive."
There's also the culture of consumerism to blame, says Marco. "If you're born into a culture of consumption, not thinking or caring about the impact of it all, that's going to be the most difficult thing to change. That's where we need the intervention of governments and laws to work towards a more positive perspective."
The consumer, for its part, is ready, he notes. "They want sustainable products - but without the unaffordable price tags. They want to be given the chance to make the right  choice. It's critical to give them that."
The urgency is real because we're "tipping towards a point of no return", says Shruti. "Our kids will not find it unusual to see baby turtles born among plastic and debris. And we really don't want to see that world."

Ignacio Ramirez, managing director, Winnow Solutions, MENA
Did you know that, globally, one third of all food from farm to fork never gets eaten and, if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the USA and China? The question comes to us from Ignacio Ramirez, managing director, Winnow Solutions, MENA - and it's a pertinent one, considering recent UN reports that estimate roughly 3.27 million tonnes of food are going to waste in the UAE every year.
Those are figures that are pretty hard to swallow - which is what makes Winnow's work in the country all the more significant. Co-founded by Marc Zomes, the company uses AI technology to assist chefs in commercial kitchens in trying to achieve a zero food wastage goal. It is an ideal that doesn't just serve the environment, but also the company's bottom line. After all, as Ignacio notes, "money spent on wasted food is money that could have been invested elsewhere".
Although their work is in the field of hospitality, Ignacio says zero food waste is a goal that's more easily achievable for individuals. "Food waste is a problem that will define our generation," he states. "Until recently, we didn't know the full extent of the problem - but, today, we know that food is wasted on a colossal scale, harming both people and the planet. If we are serious about creating a more sustainable world, addressing the problem of food waste is not just desirable, it is essential."
Commenting on why a prevention principle works best, he explains, "Getting people to focus on food waste prevention as a first step to building a circular economy is challenging. When we waste food, we also waste all the resources that were needed to produce the food like labour, fuel and water. Preventing food waste is, therefore, the most energy efficient thing to do."
One of the ways to achieve this is for governments to take the lead, he observes. "Governments can enforce change and make all sectors operate to a minimum standard. This makes the war against food waste much easier to win.
"For example," he continues, "in 2016, France became the first country to ban supermarkets from throwing away unsold food. Large supermarkets are no longer allowed to throw away good quality food approaching its 'best-before' date. Instead, they are forced to donate surplus food to charities and food banks. When the government prioritises the issue of food waste, they set a precedent for the rest of the country to follow."
For its part, the UAE has committed to saving three million meals a year by 2020, and to halving food waste by 2030 in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3. It's stepping in the right direction, and it makes Ignacio hopeful. "If we all do our part, we can try to come as close as possible to achieving the zero food waste target," he says.

Elizabeth Kuruvilla, Founder, Green Shine
Elizabeth Kuruvilla jokes that she's become a very "boring person" over the last few years. That's because the Indian expat has become especially environmentally conscious, since founding her car spa company Green Shine that washes cars - without water. So much so that she's constantly talking to her family about water conservation and little habits like leaving the tap running.
It was during a different time in her career that the necessity of conserving resources cropped up on Elizabeth's radar. Six years ago, she started looking around for entrepreneurship ideas and came across the concept of washing and detailing cars without a single drop of water. "I loved it," she says, her passion for the subject clearly undiminished. People initially found it very difficult to understand how cars could be washed without water, she recalls. But the idea has now cottoned on.
Using a smart organic liquid and special microfibre towels, Elizabeth explains that, unlike water which leaves behind fine dust and affects body paint, this technique not only offers a better wax-like sheen when done, but also longer intervals between washes.
"When you look at 2.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water today, and then consider wasting water on making cars look good, that's just criminal to me," she says. "I am now looking at the very real possibility of my child facing water shortage in his lifetime - we're that close to this crisis."
Elizabeth is not being dramatic. The numbers are there to back her up. The UAE is the third highest per capita consumer of water, after the US and Canada. Recent reports from Federal Electricity and Water (FEWA) also noted that the average UAE resident uses 550 litres of water per day as compared to the international average of 170-300 litres of water per day.
"If we look at cleaning cars even once a week - though most of us wash them more often - that's at least 100 litres of water per car, which translates to a wastage of millions of gallons of water every year," she says. By contrast, she adds, the company has managed to save billions of gallons of water since they began operations in 2012.
Unfortunately, despite the numerous government initiatives being rolled out, for many, water conservation remains on the periphery of their vision. "There is a certain demographic that comes to us not for environmental reasons, but just because they love the way the car gleams after a service. So, a lack of awareness does persist," she affirms.
Till it affects us or our immediate family, it is human nature to turn a blind eye, she muses. "When we live in urban cities, where everything is available in plenty, we don't feel the pinch of scarcity. But knowing that the next generation is likely going to see water shortage in their lifetime should bring water conservation to the top of our consciousness. Whether it's washing dishes or watering your garden, there is a very real need to actively ensure that the coming generation gets to enjoy Mother Nature's resources as much as we do."
karen@khaleejtimes.com

Ignacio Ramirez