The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) and the Indian Embassy today co-hosted a landmark event marking World Environment Day 2018 at the Ministry’s headquarters in Dubai. On a global level, this year’s edition of the UN’s annual day of environmental awareness and action is hosted by India under the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.
High-level officials from leading businesses in the UAE, including LuLu Group International, Aster DM Healthcare, Apparel Group, BRS Ventures and others, attended the event and signed a pledge to reduce plastic pollution in their operations.
In his keynote speech, His Excellency Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “While plastic may be an essential component in many modern industries in the world and has proven economic value in securing our livelihoods, we now realize the dire need to strike a balance between its economic value and protecting the environment against its adverse effects through opting for greener choices when using and disposing of plastic.”
He added: “I call on each and every one of you gathered here today, and our world at large, to support and commit to reducing plastic pollution now through adopting smarter habits and more efficient practices to make planet earth green again. Only that will make this World Environment Day truly meaningful.”
In his address, His Excellency Navdeep Singh Suri, Indian Ambassador to the UAE, said: “We are delighted to join hands with the Minister of Climate Change and Environment to launch the Beat Plastic Pollution campaign in the UAE. It is truly heartening to see such a positive response from the Indian business community and to note their strong commitment to this cause. The fight against plastic pollution must begin now.”
Speaking on the signing of the pledge, Dr Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director at Aster DM Healthcare, said: “We are glad to partner with the Embassy of India and the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to contribute in the reduction of plastic pollution through the adoption of sustainable practices. At Aster DM Healthcare, our efforts are always directed towards adoption of innovative measures that not only preserve the health of our patients and customers but also enhance the environment in which they live. One such effort has been the launch of the UAE’s first green pharmacy by Aster Retail, an eco-friendly
store built with sustainable recyclable material. Through this pharmacy, we are setting new standards and practices in place – replacing plastic bags for customers with recyclable and eco-friendly paper bags. Our aim is to replace plastic bags with paper bags across all our pharmacies in UAE.
“We have also introduced another project in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Health & Prevention and Dubai Health Authority, to encourage good health and dental hygiene awareness among school children and support the use of eco-friendly Woobamboo toothbrushes as opposed to plastic ones. Till date, 12,000 children have benefitted from the program and our aim is to reach out to 30,000 children this year. We strongly believe that these small steps can go a long way in preserving the health of our community and we strive to build a sustainable environment for generations to come.”
Neeraj Teckchandani, CEO of Apparel Group, said: “Our goal, at the Apparel Group, is to significantly reduce plastic use. In 2010, we launched our loyalty program, which was plastic free. Today our scheme, which we call ‘No Cards, Only Rewards’, has over 2.2 million members. Another measure that we took was handing out reusable water bottles to our employees, as we consume about 2.5 million one-use water bottles in our offices every year.”
For his part, James Varghese, Regional Director of LuLu Group, said: “Lulu Group has always been a key promoter of sustainability and environment protection, and we have over the years initiated many projects in this direction. On World Environment Day, we have introduced high quality reusable shopping bags through our hypermarkets to spread awareness of this issue and developed incentive schemes to encourage regular use of these reusable shopping bags, which are lifetime free. Customers only pay for them once and we will replace their damaged bags for life.”
Varghese added: “Through these humble efforts and with the continued support of government authorities and the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment, we pledge that we will continue our efforts to reduce plastic pollution in the UAE, the wider region, and globally.”
Celebrated every year on June 5, World Environment Day aims to urge governments, businesses, communities and individuals to come together to reduce the production and excessive utilization of single-use plastic that is polluting oceans, damaging marine life and threatening human health, and explore sustainable alternatives.
Ministry Of Climate Change And Environment, Indian Embassy Co-host Event Marking World Environment Day
