Posted on July, 18 2017

Dubai, UAE, 9 July 2017: The Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF) recently announced the relocation of its offices to The Sustainable City (TSC) in Dubai, UAE. This latest development comes as part of EWS-WWF’s collaborative partnership with Diamond Developers, when the two joined forces last year in an effort to help reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions and promote greater uptake of renewable energy across the nation and wider region.
 
The Sustainable City (TSC) was designed by Diamond Developers with several low carbon and sustainable features - such as solar roof top panels, energy efficient appliances, water efficient fixtures, and urban farming. TSC aims to set a new benchmark for the development of a sustainable community in a desert environment. The strategic three-year partnership between EWS-WWF and Diamond Developers was established with three relevant components: to support EWS-WWF’s renewable energy project ‘UAE Renewable Energy – Targets and Beyond’; to conduct a GHG assessment of TSC’s overall carbon footprint; and to implement a transfer of EWS-WWF’s Dubai office to TSC.
 
Laila Mostafa Abdullatif, Director General of EWS-WWF, said: “Our new location is both symbolically important, as well as measurably beneficial as it will amount to a reduced carbon footprint of our operations in the long-run. This partnership will enable the two of us to identify best practices for sustainable living, and to demonstrate how a low-carbon business model can be a transformational element for real estate development in the UAE, both of which positively contribute to more diversified national economic growth.”
 
EWS-WWF is supporting Diamond Developers in assessing the GHG performance of TSC, as well as assisting with the monitoring and reporting of the GHG emissions. The first carbon footprint report will cover the operation of TSC for the calendar year 2017 and is expected to be published during the first quarter of 2018. EWS-WWF and TSC have also begun organising and hosting community events to raise awareness among residents on sustainable lifestyles, with the first event having recently been held on June 5th, 2017, on the occasion of World Environment Day.
Faris Saeed, CEO and Co-Founder of Diamond Developers commented, “We are delighted to welcome EWS - WWF in The Sustainable City and we look forward to continue working closely on the city’s GHG assessment and actively join hands to raise awareness towards climate change issues and implementing solutions to make a change”.
 
Abdullatif added: “Our collaboration with Diamond Developers has been an excellent reflection of EWS-WWF’s vision to work with public and private partners in order to help drive progress towards the UAE Energy Plan 2050.”
 
The project that Diamond Developers is supporting EWS-WWF on ‘UAE Renewable Energy – Targets and Beyond’ project, assesses what policies the UAE will need to put in place to achieve its 44% renewable energy target, and hence will support the country on its journey towards a low-carbon future. Throughout this project, EWS-WWF is looking to work closely with other entities; including energy authorities, utilities, the private sector and innovative leaders, to create relevant and robust solutions and policies for the nation.
 
EWS-WWF is looking for like-minded organizations to collaborate with, to learn about corporate membership programs, volunteer programs and other opportunities to get involved, please visit http://howyoucanhelp.uae.panda.org/