Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi honours sustainable campus initiative youth for environmental work during covid-19

Abu Dhabi: The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, today hosted its virtual annual event for the award-winning Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI), to celebrate the awarding of the participants in the Sustainable Campus Initiative for their efforts during Covid-19.

During the remote event, the winners of the Best Green Campus Audit (GCA) and Best Sustainability Action Project (SAP) were announced. The winners were the American University of Sharjah and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, for the Best Green Campus Audit (GCA), and for the Sustainability Action Project, (SAP) Manipal Academy of Higher Education and American University of Ras Al Khaimah, both were commended.

Since 2014, the Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI) has been organised by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Borouge, and supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Department of Energy, Tadweer (Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center​) and the Department of Transport.

The initiative aims to strengthen leadership capacity amongst the UAE’s youth and to address issues of environmental sustainability. It also provides a platform to enhance communication between the youth, ignite competitiveness amongst them to help reduce their environmental footprint, and spearhead efforts towards building and shaping sustainable communities, which is reflected across the university campuses.

During the event, Ahmed Baharoon, Executive Director, EISOM at EAD said: “It is such an honour to be here today and to reward all of the students who have continued to take part in the SCI, despite the pandemic. This is a true reflection of their commitment towards sustainability and environmental work and it proves that there is a heightened awareness among the upcoming generation regarding the importance of the environment, which is in line with our goals at EAD. Nothing can stop them, and with every passing year, SCI keeps growing and the number of participants keeps increasing.”

He added: “I would like to congratulate the winners and thank our dedicated partners Borouge, who has supported the SCI journey from the start. I would also like to thank all the universities, which despite the pandemic, managed to work on their SCI reports.”

He stated: “This year for the first time, SCI launched new programmes highlighting remarkable research, encouraging point of views and opinions, and all of these programmes were managed, hosted, and executed by students. This year, SCI was also associated with government entities and international coalitions, including the United Nations, and collaborated with environmental groups from South Korea to influence and empower youth. Moreover, SCI facilitated initiatives between various humanitarian entities and hosted leaders, change-makers and other youth to elevate sustainability.”

Today, SCI includes 22 colleges and universities, with a total of 588 students and faculty members who have attended workshops and worked on GCA and SAP projects since 2014. Currently, there are 43 SAP projects and 42 Green Campus Audit Reports undertaken by the participating universities.

Since 2015, there are 164 Green Youth Majlis members and 14 roadshows have been conducted in nine different colleges and universities. This is in addition to three virtual roadshows, resulting in the overall initiative reaching out to 972 students and faculty members.

Abdulrahman Al Ateeq, SVP Corporate Affairs at Borouge added: “At Borouge, we believe that the youth of today can make a great difference to the world of tomorrow. Congratulations to the winners for their contribution to SCI – it is our honour to share our commitment towards sustainability with the young talent of UAE, inspiring them and working together to create impact, make change and drive sustainability with purpose.”

Also, two youth circles envirotalks were conducted, which were attended by 105 participants, with six virtual youth talks being held to encourage the youth to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. During the talks, students were introduced to various topics such as climate change, biodiversity, and policies. In total, 492 participants took part in the virtual talks.

Earlier this year, SCI was awarded the Best Sustainability Communications Programme award by the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group.

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About Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD)

Established in 1996, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is committed to protecting and enhancing air quality, groundwater as well as the biodiversity of our desert and marine ecosystem. By partnering with other government entities, the private sector, NGOs and global environmental agencies, we embrace international best practice, innovation and hard work to institute effective policy measures. We seek to raise environmental awareness, facilitate sustainable development and ensure environmental issues remain one of the top priorities of our national agenda.

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EAD Press Office:
Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi
Tel:           +9712   693-4637
Email:       pressoffice@ead.gov.ae
Website:   www.ead.gov.ae

© Press Release 2020