Arab corporate environmental responsibility to be discussed in Abu Dhabi

They will come together to share their views and experiences about corporate environmental policies.

The Arab Corporate Environmental Responsibility Summit will be held at the Emirates Palace under the Patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Honorary Chairman of Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi (EAD). It is being organized by Arab Forum for Environment & Development (AFED) in cooperation with EAD. The Summit is also supported by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

During the Summit, participants will discuss a declaration on Arab Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Cleaner Production. These discussions will pave the way towards developing adequate programmes to ensure sustainable business practices. Through the Summit, organizers aim to instil the culture of environmental responsibility in business leaders to enable them to face global and regional challenges and compete in markets with fast-evolving environmental standards.

Beyond discussing the concept, necessity and mechanism of Corporate Environmental Responsibility, participants at the Summit will be debating successful regional experiences. This will be followed by round table discussions, covering four topics: Energy efficiency and climate change, water issues, international standards, interaction among business, governments and society.

Prominent international and regional figures who will address the Summit include Shafqat Kakahhel, UN Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, Mostafa Tolba, AFED's President and UNEP's Former Executive Director, Juerg Gerber, WBCSD's Chief Operations Officer, along with CEOs of regional companies such as Saudi Aramco, Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Dolphin Energy, Etisalat and Lebanon's Solidere.

Mohammad Al Bowardi, Secretary General of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Managing Director of EAD and Board Member of AFED, welcomed the convening of the Summit in Abu Dhabi. "The UAE always strives to be a centre for serious environmental initiatives, leading to concerted efforts to place the Arab world on the right track to achieve sustainable development," said Al Bowardi.

"The Summit launches AFED's activities aiming at building a strong Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Cleaner Production programmes among corporations active in the Arab region, harmonizing environmental measures and promoting the creation of a common market for environmentally-friendly products," said Najib Saab, Secretary General of AFED.

The Summit comes at a critical time, less than two weeks after H.R.H. King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia announced an initiative at the OPEC Summit in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to create a fund to finance research on Energy, Environment and Climate Change. His initiative was immediately supported by the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. This represents yet another challenge before the Arab business community to join the global environmental drive.

AFED is a regional pan-Arab non-governmental, not-for-profit organization, founded by a group of leading personalities active in the fields of environment and sustainable development.