Today's Edition
HOSSAM ABDELNABY (ABU DHABI)
“In the UAE, everything is green,” remarked a participant at COP28, referring to the UAE’s remarkable leadership in adopting sustainability initiatives. Any resident or visitor can sense the enthusiasm of all companies and institutions operating in the country to offer green solutions, extending from green financing and loans to converting car fleets into environmentally friendly vehicles, and even achieving green luxury through emission-free luxury yachts.
Even the Green bank cards are made from more sustainable materials and printed with recyclable ink, with the added benefit of being recyclable up to eight times.
Notably, mobile phone networks, mobile SIM cards, and financial centres in the country have made rapid progress in the field of sustainability.
Green SIM Card
Environmentally friendly and recycled SIM cards are among the latest green initiatives recently introduced in the UAE, announced by &e. These new SIM cards are manufactured from recycled electronic devices and are more environmentally friendly compared to traditional cards, with a reduced impact on the carbon footprint.
During COP28, more than half a million green SIM cards were provided to meet the needs of visitors and arrivals to the UAE. Obaid Buksha, Chief Operating Officer at &e, stated that providing the green SIM card reflects the company’s commitment to supporting sustainability through innovative solutions.
“As a leading group in the field of technology, we contribute to global efforts to reach climate neutrality by implementing environmentally friendly solutions and cooperation with various partners. This helps provide environmental initiatives that stimulate various companies operating in the sector worldwide to invest in green technologies.
“The &e Group has taken many steps to reduce its carbon footprint and is working to reduce carbon emissions within scopes 1 and 2 by 2030 through its operations in the UAE. &e has deployed energy-saving wireless equipment in locations within its mobile network, reducing energy consumption by up to 52% compared to conventional equipment and reducing energy consumption by 7.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year per site,” Buksha said.
He emphasised that &e is focused on accelerating the pace of its environmental initiatives to contribute to reducing carbon emissions, minimising environmental impact, and enhancing efforts to achieve sustainability.
Zero-Emission Yachts
Gulf Craft, an Emirati company and one of the world’s leading companies in the yacht and boat industry, aims to reshape the future of luxury yachts by operating its fleet of superyachts using hydrogen technology.
The company announced its cooperation with H2-Enterprises to explore the possibility of developing emission-free Majesty Yachts, which can be operated by an innovative energy system based on liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHC).
The company has reached the development stage for operating superyachts. “Exploring the horizons of new technology and the potential partnership with H2-Enterprises, a leading force in the hydrogen and renewable energy sector, allows us to pioneer a new era of emission-free luxury, where luxury seamlessly aligns with sustainability.
“Launching a hydrogen-powered yacht that relies on liquid organic hydrogen carrier technology, if implemented, would open a new path towards removing carbon from the world of the yacht industry. This pioneering project heralds a qualitative shift in the yachting sector by focusing on clean energy technologies and sustainable design solutions,” said Mohammed Hussein Al-Shaali, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gulf Craft.
Sustainable Bank Cards
Banks and financial institutions operating in the UAE have issued environmentally friendly bank cards as a commitment to meeting the aspirations of their customers and contributing to creating a more sustainable society. MasterCard, the leading payment technology company, launched a sustainability guide for banks to introduce them to materials and vendors that use sustainable cards, and to link them with card producers.
This aims to instill sustainable practices at the core of the entire supply chain. To date, more than 519 card issuers in 97 countries around the world have agreed to switch to organic and recycled materials to make 388 million cards across the entire Mastercard network.
Starting in 2028, all newly produced plastic cards will be made from more sustainable materials and approved by an independent certification programme. HSBC Bank announced a new programme to provide sustainable payment cards in all its markets around the world.
Single-use PVC plastic cards will be eliminated and replaced with recycled rPVC plastic cards by the end of 2026. The bank explained that switching to recycled rPVC plastic cards will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 161 tonnes annually and reduce the volume of plastic waste by 73 tonnes annually, equivalent to the weight of more than 40 cars.
Within the same trend, Edenred Emirates, the largest provider of payroll management solutions in the country, launched the first environmentally friendly payroll cards. These cards can be recycled and reused up to eight times, confirming that the new sustainable payroll cards issued by Edenred Emirates are manufactured from 85.5% recycled plastic, printed with recyclable ink.
First Abu Dhabi Bank introduced the Masdar Platinum Credit Card, enabling customers to automatically contribute to the Green Fund of “Masdar” and First Abu Dhabi Bank. This supports green initiatives, where they can earn green points and exchange them for environmentally friendly products and services.
For every Dh100 spent via the card, Abu Dhabi Bank will automatically contribute 0.6% of the cash value on behalf of the cardholder to support various green initiatives, sustainable energy projects, and Go Green activities through the First Abu Dhabi Bank Masdar Platinum credit card.
Loans Serving Sustainability
Many local banks are expanding the provision of loans related to sustainability. By linking loan conditions to sustainability performance, banks aim to support a cause that will inspire other companies to include the goals of environmental, social, and governance practices in their operations. This will achieve tangible and influential progress on this level.
In conjunction with the UAE’s hosting of the Conference of the Parties (COP28), the UAE Banks Federation announced the initiative of the banking sector in the UAE to provide financing facilities worth one trillion dirhams to support sustainability by 2030.
For example, but not limited to, First Abu Dhabi Bank announced its intention to lend, invest, and provide facilities of more than 500 billion dirhams ($135 billion) in financing for sustainability and transitional financing projects by 2030.
Mashreq Bank also announced its commitment to sustainable financing, providing sustainable financing and loans worth $30 billion by 2030. His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federation of UAE banks, said that providing financing facilities worth one trillion dirhams by 2030 comes to deepen and accelerate the transition to sustainable practices in the banking and financial sector.
This will enhance sustainable financing ambitions in the UAE, consolidating sustainable transformation and enabling climate action. Environmentally Friendly CarsMany companies operating in the country plan to gradually replace their light vehicles with electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions.
Some companies have already included electric and hybrid cars in part of their fleets. &e Group announced the start of the first phase of the plan to gradually replace its light vehicles with electric vehicles, to be implemented in stages by 2030.
The first phase begins with the replacement of 100 vehicles. &e Group also confirmed its investment in building the infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations, providing them in its parking lots. The stations will be strategically distributed throughout the UAE to provide customers with an integrated electric charging system with high efficiency and at reasonable prices.
Green Financial Centres The Abu Dhabi Global Market concluded the sixth session of the “Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum” at COP28, held as part of the “Finance, Trade, and Gender Equality” Day within the activities of the “Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week”. The forum’s agenda focused on the topic of “Building green financial centres for the future”.
The dialogues at the forum addressed the evolving regulatory landscape for green finance and the role of the banking sector in financing climate change. Additionally, discussions covered topics related to improving the efficiency of the carbon market and preparing to finance the upcoming sixth wave of innovations in the field of climate action technologies.
