Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Young champions including schoolchildren around the UAE proved their commitment towards Mother Earth and engaged in a number of initiatives as part of the Emirates Environmental Group long-term plan and also won prizes to participate in the 22nd edition of the award.

Since the inception of EEG, until the end of 2018, the individuals, students, private companies and government departments have successfully diverted more than 17,000,000kg of paper, more than 300,000kg of aluminium cans, more than 50,000 of pieces of mobile phones, more than 1,000,000kg of plastic, more than 2,500,000kg of glass and more than 100,000 pieces of printer toner.

The recent award shows that the participants of the 22nd edition of the award have achieved the mitigation of 73,393 MT of CO2 emissions or in other words, preservation of 110,662 m3 of landfill space and most importantly conservation of 333,322 trees from being felled.

The award ceremony held at the Dubai Knowledge Park on the occasion of the World Environment Day under the patronage and in the presence of Eng. Sheikh Salem Bin Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi – Chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation – Ras Al Khaimah and Honorary member of EEG. The event was also attended by a galaxy of VIPs, CEOs of Companies, principals of schools, families, teachers and the Media.

Habiba Al Mar’ashi, Chairperson of EEG while talking to Gulf Today said that the world celebrations are being organised this year under the theme of ‘Beat Air Pollution’, which perfectly align with the vision and mission of EEG. EEG has tirelessly worked for 28 years to fight the perils of waste and to ensure that as little of it enters our landfills in the UAE.  “We have been engaged with stakeholders from all over the UAE to play their role and save the environment as today’s award reflects our efforts by our partners from young schoolchildren to the corporate sector.

Emirates Environmental Group actively engages nearly 2,000 schools and up to 500 companies through its various waste management and educational programmes on an annual basis. It celebrated and honoured the eco-champions who have voluntarily out of their own sense of social responsibility joined EEG’s waste management campaigns and worked hard to produce some wonderful results.

The winners of the six campaigns were divided into three categories: corporations, academic institutions and individuals/families.

For Paper the winners were American School of Dubai, Al Barsha (Academic), Nia Tony (Individual), UAE Exchange Mussafah (Corporate)

For Plastic, the winners were Our Own High School, Al Warqaa (Academic), Namaa Ismail Al Zarooni (Individual), Abela& Co. (Corporate)

For Cans, the winners were Our Own High School, Al Warqaa (Academic), Dhanvi Nikhil Kumar Sayani (Individual), Emirates Flight Catering (Corporate)

For Mobiles, the winners were Our Own High School, Al Warqaa (Academic), Justina Jibin (Individual), Dubai Public Prosecution (Corporate)

For Glass, the winners were American University of Sharjah (Academic), Mia Ghrayeb (Individual), Emirates Flight Catering (Glass)

For Toners, the winners were The Millennium School (Academic), Nityashri Sankaran (Individual), Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Corporate).

An earlier report said World Environment Day, on 5 June 2019, is organised this year under the theme Air Pollution. The theme reflects a global consensus to highlight the dangers of the issue that has become a global crisis with negative effects on everyone’s health. Global reports reveal that around 92 per cent of people worldwide don’t breathe fresh air and air pollution costs the global economy $5 trillion each year in social welfare costs. World Environment Day 2019 will be an opportunity to urge governments, industries, communities, and individuals to work together to explore renewable energy and green technologies, thereby improving air quality in cities and regions around the world,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

“To achieve the vision of the wise leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the UAE has taken early steps to conserve natural resources, increase the contribution of clean energy, and implement green development plans, consistent with our strategies at the federal and local levels, including UAE Centennial 2071, and UAE Vision 2021.”

“Dubai has been a pioneer in the implementation of programmes and initiatives that contribute to reducing the carbon footprint, launching the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.