Dubai, UAE, 3 February 2017:

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) annually celebrates the National Environment Day on 4 February, along with the public and private sectors and civil society organisations, to express their continuous interest and obligation to protect the environment and achieve the sustainable development. This adheres to the UAE Vision 2021, to create a sustainable environment in terms of air quality, conserving water resources, more reliance on clean energy, and implementing green development in Dubai, as well as Dubai Plan 2021 to establish Dubai as a smart and sustainable city, whose environmental elements are clean, healthy and sustainable. 

The UAE’s wise leadership, namely, HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, pay great attention to The National Environment Day. This reflects the high priority that the UAE’s wise leadership gives to the development of a sustainable future, and raising awareness among society members, while encouraging environmentally-friendly practices including cleaning up natural sanctuaries and protecting wildlife according to the best practices and highest standards. DEWA takes the responsibility to achieve this by launching green initiatives and programmes, which protect environment and reduce the irrational use of natural resources.

DEWA develops its strategic plan according to the wise vision of the wise leadership and adopts the state of the art environmentally-friendly technologies and innovative ideas, to reduce the Emirate’s carbon footprint. DEWA also works to enhance the efficiency of electricity grids and water networks, according to the highest international environmental standards.

On the occasion of the 20th National Environment Day, which is being held this year under the theme ‘Sustainable Production and Consumption,’ we renew our commitment to supporting national efforts to establish a green economy and support environmental stability in the UAE, by finding a balance between sustainable development and environmental preservation. This will ensure sustainable development goals are achieved, as sustainable consumption is currently a major point of discussion at a number of international forums, and also one of the main objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050. This ambitious strategy aims to transform Dubai into an international hub for clean energy and green economy by providing 7% of Dubai's total power output from clean resources by 2020, 25% by 2030, and 75% by 2050.

We will continue our efforts to achieve sustainable development, while launching initiatives aimed at rationalising electricity and water consumption, and reducing Dubai’s carbon footprint. DEWA also works to reduce the amount of solid waste, and protect marine and on-land ecosystems, to support our vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility.

DEWA is committed to promoting a culture of sustainability and environmental awareness among society members, and aims to measure the culture of sustainability in the community through the corporate sustainability culture index. The index allows us to achieve unprecedented results in this area. The index’s main pillars include leadership, strategic commitment to sustainability DEWA’s ability to innovate in the field of sustainability, the ability to make a difference, the effectiveness of training and increasing sustainable awareness.

DEWA’s efforts to preserve natural resources has resulted in the organisation winning many prestigious awards in the field of environmental excellence during 2016. These include the Five Star Environmental Audit from the British Safety Council, for five consecutive years between 2011 and 2016, and the Globe of Honour from the British Safety Council out of seven international organisations. DEWA was the first organisation in the Middle East and North Africa to receive this prestigious award five years in a row

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For more information, please contact: 
Ribal Dayekh or Noora Khoory    
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority   
+971 4 307 2006 or 515 1798     
ribal.dayekh@dewa.gov.ae   
noora.khoory@dewa.gov.ae        

Jessy Chami or Rawad Khattar
Orient Planet PR
+971 4 456 2888 or 055-8257576
jessy@orientplanet.com
rawad@orientplanet.com

© Press Release 2017