Eco-friendly business practices explored at CSR Summit

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Dubai has amongst the highest electricity and water consumption per person in the world, so perhaps it is fitting that this past weekend many residents and businesses took part in Earth Hour, switching off or turning down non-essential lights and electricity.

Earlier this year Masdar, dubbed the world's greenest city once built, was launched in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai government has pushed through stricter green rules around construction.

Still, according to figures released by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, residents in the emirate use on average 20,000 kilowatt hours a year and 130 gallons of water a day, although much of this is used watering gardens. It is also not clear whether that figure includes the huge amounts of water used by the municipality in watering parks, trees next to roads and so on.

Dubai has introduced new payment schemes for residents who go over a specified band in usage, although this is only for expatriates, not emiratis who waste water.

High usage is not just down to residents though - a survey by Dubai facilities management company Farnek Avireal revealed that five-star hotels in Dubai use up to 225% more energy than their counterparts in Europe. And Dubai has many five star hotels.

Two hotel chains with a presence in the UAE and wider Middle East, Mõvenpick and Swissôtel, have said they will adopt greener practices by reducing energy and water costs and cutting carbon dioxide emissions.

Dubai's high 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 fifth Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Summit, which takes place in Dubai this summer.

Despite having more than 8% of the world's oil reserves, Abu Dhabi is investing $15bn in developing alternative energy sources to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons. The previously mentioned Masdar City will be a zero-waste, carbon neutral, car-less city, housing 50,000 people and 1,500 businesses. Authorities claim it will save over $2bn in oil over the next 25 years.

Ron Heyselaar, Head of Infrastructure Projects for Masdar, said: 'Masdar wants to be the world leader in renewable energy and the technology therein, and create an environment that can nurture this growth.'

Clean energy

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

According to the Renewables 2007 Global Status Report from think tanks Renewable Energy Network and the Worldwatch Institute, 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 speaker at the CSR Summit, said it was no longer true that renewable energy is a niche sector. Perceptions, he said, 'lag far behind the reality of where the renewables industry is today.'