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- The educational-urban-afforestation program built on the success of the first two phases and will run until October 2020.
Dubai, UAE: – Today, on Arab Environment Day, Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) in collaboration with McDonald’s UAE, inaugurated the latest phase of their ‘Planting a Greener Future’ initiative.
The educational-urban-afforestation program will engage governmental schools across all seven Emirates and deliver a robust educational program designed to prepare students for the future and adopt a responsible and ethical approach to the environment.
Aligned with a number of national and international sustainability strategies, ‘Planting a Greener Future’ compliments several of the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDG)[1]. On a national level and it supports the “Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure” chapter included in UAE Vision 2021 national agenda.
Launched in line with Arab Environment Day, 350 indigenous trees will be planted over the next year as part of Phase 3. The move is aimed at increasing green spaces in schools, educating the students on issues pertaining to climate action, developing habitats within urban environments for local flora and fauna, to create nature based solution to combat issues such as air pollution, desertification and urban heat island effect.
A curriculum of interactive educational workshops under the theme of “Elements Define Us” inspired by Fire, Air, Water and Land, will each address a specific issue varying from food security, renewable energy, plastic pollution and climate change.
Commenting on the latest phase of ‘Planting a Greener Future’, Habiba Al Mar’ashi, Chairperson at Emirates Environmental Group highlighted the importance of Urban Afforestation by saying: “Planting indigenous trees in urban areas across the UAE is crucial to improving the environmental ecosystem and infrastructure. Our ambition is to not only make strides in meeting the targets of UAE Vision 2021’s Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure chapter but also to supporting the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals. We are proud to be working alongside our long-standing partner, McDonald’s UAE, to educate the future generation and play an active role in improving energy conservation, air pollution management, carbon sequestration and biodiversity enhancement.”
Rafic Fakih, Partner and Managing Director at McDonald’s UAE, added: “Over the past two decades, we have worked closely with EEG to identify meaningful ways to contribute to our local environment and take a more proactive approach to sustainability. With the latest phase of ‘Planting a Greener future’, we’re excited to take our partnership to the next level today to support the UAE’s sustainability goals by empowering the next generation.”
He added: “This initiative is part of a much larger effort that McDonald’s UAE is undertaking to give back to the local community. The environment and sustainability has always been important to us and since launching in the UAE 1994, we’ve been committed to improving things for our local community.”
The program, which will run until October 2020, comes off the back of the success of previous phases of the program. First launched in 2015, ‘Planting a Greener Future’ has so far reached 2,800 students across 14 government schools and delivered measurable impact to the environment. Through the planting of 760 indigenous trees, the program has so far restored 7,000m2 of land and, upon maturity, will help mitigate 4.5 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
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“Planting a Greener Future” aligns with several of the United Nations ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ including:
- SDG 4 – “Quality Education”
- SDG 13 – “Climate Action”
- SDG 15 – “Life on Land”
- SDG 17 – “Partnerships for the Goals”
“Planting a Greener Future” also aligns with the “Sustainable Environment and Infrastructure” chapter under the UAE Vision 2021 national ngenda, which aims to provide safe, resilient and sustainable community and infrastructure projects that will improve the quality of life, health and well- being.
About McDonald’s UAE:
Operating since 1994, McDonald's UAE today has more than 170 restaurants across the country. We are committed to the quality of the products we serve to our customers and maintain an active social responsibility agenda.
In an ongoing effort to improve communities and highlight the environmental benefits of our actions, we have significantly reduced our carbon footprint since the launch of our biodiesel initiative in July 2011. 100% of McDonald’s used vegetable oil is collected from our outlets across the UAE and converted into 100% biodiesel, which is used to fuel the company’s logistics fleet.
In addition, we pride ourselves on being a local member of the community. In 2018, we signed a Cooperation Agreement with Emirates Red Crescent, to consolidate efforts and support their charitable and humanitarian initiatives.
From 2015 until early 2018, we launched the ‘Planting a Greener Future’ campaign with Emirates Environmental Group. As part of the initiative, in 2 years’ time, students from 14 schools across the UAE planted 760 indigenous trees covering a total area of 7,000 sq-m. Since its launch, the ‘Planting a Greener Future’ campaign has reduced CO2 levels by 4.5 metric tons. The objective of the campaign was to raise awareness amongst the student community about the importance of the environment and to actively encourage them to take ownership of its preservation.
For further information about McDonald’s UAE please visit: www.mcdonalds.com or contact: Carine Arif or Sarah Skaf from Weber Shandwick on McDonaldsuae@webershandwick.com or +971 4 445 42 22
About Emirates Environmental Group (EEG):
EEG is a professional working group established in 1991 devoted to protecting the environment through the means of education, action programmes and community involvement. The organisation is open to all nationalities. The EEG is actively encouraged and supported by concerned local and federal government agencies. It is the first environmental NGO in the world to be ISO 14001 certified and the only organisation of its kind in the UAE with accredited status to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). EEG is the member of the UN Global Compact and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
For more information, contact us:
Email: eeg@emirates.net.ae Tel: 04-3448622; Fax: 04-3448677;
Please visit our bi-lingual website: www.eeg-uae.org
Follow us: Facebook: eegemirates; Twitter: eegemirates; Instagram: eegemirates
[1] See Notes to Editors
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