The Carbon Disclosure Project, winner of Zayed Future Energy Prize, aims to support the United Arab Emirates and Masdar's goals of becoming low-carbon

Abu Dhabi, UAE, June 9, 2012: In a bid to highlight carbon management opportunities and risks, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) held two events to raise awareness about its carbon reporting programmes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, in collaboration with Masdar, Abu Dhabi's multi-faceted renewable energy company, and PwC, the world's largest professional services firm, recently.

CDP is an independent, not-for-profit organization working to drive reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and encourage sustainable water use by businesses and cities.

Workshop attendees included guests from The Crown Prince Court (CPC), the Abu Dhabi Municipality, Etihad, Aldar, KEO International Consultants, Western Region Municipality, Emirates Wildlife Society, World Wildlife Fund, Department of Transport, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Health Authority - Abu Dhabi and the Urban Planning Council.

The two events, endorsed by the UAE Directorate of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi (EAD), were held in Abu Dhabi on 6th June at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MI) and in Dubai on 7th June at PwC. 

On January 16, 2012, CDP was awarded the Zayed Future Energy Prize in the SME & NGO category. The Zayed Future Energy Prize, managed by Masdar, recognizes innovation, leadership, long-term vision and impact in renewable energy and sustainability.

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Managing Director and CEO of Masdar and Director General of the Zayed Future Energy Prize, said: "Through its winners, the Zayed Future Energy Prize seeks to bring to the UAE best practices developed in the fields of renewable energy and clean technology. CDP's session at MI will help develop a concrete strategy and agenda for action regarding carbon reporting. Moreover, it is expected to go a long way in furthering Abu Dhabi's and the UAE's aim of building a greener future."

"This collaboration is only a glimpse of what can be achieved through strategic partnerships. We are proud that a winner of the Zayed Future Energy Prize has recognized the importance of actively engaging with the region," he added.

CDP is a unique global reporting system through which corporations, suppliers and cities disclose their GHG emissions and climate change management strategies. It gathers data through its annual information requests, issued on behalf of institutional investors, purchasing organisations and the C40 Cities' Climate Leadership Group.

"After CDP was awarded the Zayed Future Energy Prize, we realized that there was a huge interest and movement in the UAE to address the impacts of carbon emissions both in the public and private sector. We feel it's a natural progression for CDP to become more active in this region. The awareness events are aimed to allow interested parties to understand how we can help in carbon management and reduction planning," commented Tom Carnac, Director of Innovation at CDP.

With CDP providing insights into the business risks and opportunities associated with climate change, its activities in the UAE are expected to drive further initiatives towards sustainable development. International company experiences of reporting to CDP were shared, with a focus on how participation has developed over time, aided their learning and benefitted them in terms of identifying risks, opportunities and efficiencies. This is expected to encourage government bodies, corporations and entrepreneurs in the UAE to develop corporate sustainability strategies and to start reporting.

"PwC's global advisory relationship with the CDP has enabled us to work together to help organisations identify and act upon sustainability opportunities and risks. The CDP awareness raising sessions in the UAE have provided local public and private organisations with insights into addressing energy, water, and climate related concerns," says Mohammed Salem, Partner at PwC and Middle East Leader of Sustainability and Climate Change.

Organisations disclose information to CDP in order to increase transparency regarding carbon emissions and improve their organisational operations. They also aim to demonstrate increased awareness of GHG emission hot spots to help them to reduce emissions, show leadership in understanding and managing the risks from climate change and identify how their organisation is creating opportunities for innovation in this area. Information publicly reported to CDP is made available to the global marketplace via CDP's website and through other mechanisms such as Bloomberg and Google Finance.

"CDP's initiative of providing the resulting data to a wide range of stakeholders such as government bodies, corporations, policy-makers, institutional investors, academia and the public will encourage establishment of low-carbon economies," he added.

Since winning the Zayed Future Energy Prize, CDP has been witnessing greater interest in its programmes from organisations in the UAE. The intention of these workshops was to raise awareness in the UAE about the CDP and how it can drive greater action in carbon and water management. The sessions included case studies of companies that report to CDP, with a focus on how participation has aided their learning and benefitted them in terms of identifying risks, opportunities and efficiencies associated with climate change.

For 2013, the Zayed Future Energy Prize has expanded its categories to include separate awards for an NGO, SME, Lifetime Achievement and Large Corporation. On January 15, 2013, the Prize will also award the first Global High School Prize to five high schools from five different geographic regions including the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceana.

Submissions for the 2013 Zayed Future Energy Prize close on July 16, 2012.

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About Masdar
Masdar is Abu Dhabi's multi-faceted renewable energy company advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of renewable energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between today's fossil fuel economy and the energy economy of the future - developing the "greenprint" for how we will live and work tomorrow. Backed by the stability and reputation of the Mubadala Development Company, the strategic investment company of the government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the emirate's long-term vision for the future of energy.

For more information about Masdar, please visit: www.masdar.ae   

Stay connected: facebook.com/masdar.ae

twitter.com/masdar

About Zayed Future Energy Prize
The Zayed Future Energy Prize is awarded annually to large corporations, individuals and SMEs and NGOs that have made significant contributions to the future of energy, climate change and sustainability. The 2013 edition of the awards will feature the newly instituted Global High School Prize to inspire a new generation of leaders and innovators.

For more information about Zayed Future Energy Prize, please visit: www.zayedfutureenergyprize.com   

Stay connected: https://www.facebook.com/TZFEP

www.twitter.com/ZFEP

About CDP
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit organization providing a transformative global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage, and share climate change and water information. Over 3,700 companies across the world's largest economies now measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and assessment of climate change risk and opportunity through CDP, in order that they can set reduction targets and make performance improvements. This data is gathered on behalf of 655 institutional investors, holding US$78 trillion in assets. CDP now holds the largest collection globally of self-reported climate change data. For more information, visit www.cdproject.net.

About PwC
PwC firms help organisations and individuals create the value they're looking for.  We're a network of firms in 158 countries with close to 169,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services.  Tell us what matters to you and find out more by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

Established in the Middle East for 40 years, PwC has firms in Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with around 2,500 people. (www.pwc.com/middle-east).

"PwC" is the brand under which member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL) operate and provide services. Together, these firms form the PwC network. Each firm in the network is a separate legal entity and does not act as agent of PwCIL or any other member firm. PwCIL does not provide any services to clients. PwCIL is not responsible or liable for the acts or omissions of any of its member firms nor can it control the exercise of their professional judgment or bind them in any way.

PwC's Sustainability and Climate Change group is a global network of 700 people. We are a leading adviser on sustainability, climate change and green growth working with clients in both the public and private sectors internationally, helping them to embed sustainability in their strategies and throughout their organizations.

For more information contact:
Name: Serene Serhan
Email: sserhan@masdar.ae
Phone: +971 02653 6043

For more information contact:
Name: Taryam Al Subaihi
Email: press@masdar.ae
Phone: +971 2 653 6058

For more information contact:
Name: Dalia Adawieh
Email: dalia.adawieh@ae.pwc.com
Phone: +971 (0)56 6820653

© Press Release 2012