CSR Summit to debate reducing the carbon footprint

"With a city like Dubai having one of the world's highest per capita carbon footprints, reducing a company's impact on the environment and its energy costs should be a core element of any CSR programme for every business in the emirate," said Kosta Petrov, Conference Manager for the Summit that takes place at the JW Marriott Hotel, Dubai, from 14 to 19 June 2008.

Average individual electricity usage has been assessed by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority at 20,000 kilowatt hours per annum and 130 gallons of water daily, putting Dubai among the cities with the highest consumption per person in the world. New 'slab' measures are being introduced by the utility company aimed at encouraging energy consumers to use less by paying more.

A survey by Dubai facilities management company Farnek Avireal showed five-star hotels in Dubai use up to 225% more energy than their counterparts in Europe.

Since then two of the world's leading premium hotel chains - Mõvenpick and Swissôtel - have made a commitment to "go green" by trimming energy and water costs and reducing carbon dioxide emissions across their properties throughout the Middle East.

Abu Dhabi, which holds more than 8% of the world's oil reserves, is investing $15bn in developing alternative energy sources to reduce dependence on conventional hydrocarbons revenue. It plans to build a zero-waste, zero-carbon, car-less city, which is billed as the world's first carbon-neutral city, a community housing 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses.

"Organisations worldwide are now investing in solar and wind power as well as in geothermal energy, better bio-fuels and the technology to harness the energy of tides, currents and waves," said Petrov.

A recent international report revealed clean technologies now account for almost 4% of global power generation.

The Renewables 2007 Global Status Report from think tanks Renewable Energy Network and the Worldwatch Institute found that renewable electricity generation capacity last year reached 240 gigawatts worldwide, double that of 2004.

Mohamed El-Ashry, chair of the Renewable Energy Network and a headline speaker at the CSR Summit, says the sector has grown so fast that the perception among some politicians and energy sector analysts that it remains a niche area now "lag far behind the reality of where the renewables industry is today".

In a CSR Summit debate on minimising an organisation's environmental impact, Dr El-Ashry will be asking delegates if their companies are doing enough on the issue of global warming and climatic change, Petrov added. In addition, Serge de Gheldere, Director Futureproof/ed and the Belgian Climate Change Ambassador for former US Vice Presidential candidate turned environmental campaigner Al Gore, will be advising companies on how they can play their part in reversing the process.

Gheldere will also moderate an environmental leader's panel on the business case behind reducing an organisation's carbon footprint and introducing climate change strategy in a CSR programme. Contributors will include the Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF.

New this year the CSR Summit Awards programme will honour companies in the GCC for outstanding, innovative and world-class products, services, projects and programmes implemented in 2007/2008.

The projects must demonstrate a company's leadership, sincerity and on-going commitment to incorporating ethical values, compliance with legal requirements and respect for individuals, communities and the environment in the way they conduct business.

The CSR Summit is also leading by example. During a special gala dinner which will be attended by Madam Sia Koroma, the First Lady of Sierra Leone, organisers IIR Middle East hopes to raise over Dhs500,000 for orphans in the west African state.

Sponsors of the 5th CSR Summit are the Dow Chemical Company, Dubai Properties and Microsoft. Supporter of the Summit are CSR Middle East, Dubai Centre for Corporate Values, and the UN Development Programme.