Emirates Environmental Group Holds Fourth Edition of ‘Clean up UAE’ Campaign

Following the success of the previous Clean-Up UAE cycles and keeping in line with the suggestions and requests of its stakeholders, Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) was delighted to expand its biggest and most popular campaign, by aiming to organise several Clean Up Campaigns throughout 2017. With a total of four major editions and three special independent campaigns under the Clean Up umbrella, Emirates Environmental Group along with the determined and enthusiastic volunteers collected the staggering 25 tonnes of waste in 2017. The event also expanded to include a slew of activities such as tree planting and competitions making it a much anticipated and widely participated environmental campaign unlike any other.

The first edition of the campaign in 2017 was held in Fujairah on January 31^st, in association with the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development of Fujairah, it saw participation of 150 determined students and teachers, who collected a total of 1 tonne of waste. Motivated by the success of the first edition, EEG in partnership with the Department of Economic Development in UAQ further rolled out the second Clean Up Campaign from the 5^th to the 10^th of February, in the Emirate of Umm al Quwain. The Campaign witnessed participation of more than 1000 enthusiastic workers and laborers, who collected a staggering 6,000 tonnes of waste. The month of March saw the third edition of the impactful campaign, hosted on the 16^th of March with EEG’s firm partner and supporter, Emirates Global Aluminium, in Jebel Ali. The team collected over 450 kgs of waste, of which 55 kgs were sent for recycling. The event was organised as a collaborative partnership between Emirates Global Aluminum and EEG.

Ending its successful year on a high note, Emirates Environmental Group held its fourth edition of “Clean Up UAE 2017” on the 16th of December, under the patronage of HE Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy. The EEG team was joined by 10,000 committed Clean Up volunteers at the expansive beautiful sites of Nad Al Sheba and the area near the Dubai Outlet Mall on Dubai - Al Ain Road. The atmosphere was charged with enthusiasm and motivation as volunteers, equipped with cotton re-usable gloves, caps and t-shirts, picked up trash one by one in a massive Clean Up drive, actively collecting an impactful 21,750 Kgs of waste.

The campaign was generously sponsored by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and McDonalds UAE. The supporting entities of the event included Almarai, Mai Dubai, Dubai Sustainable Tourism, Fujairah Plastic Factories, Byrne Equipment Rental, Al Jazeera International Catering and EEG’s media partner, Gulf News. EEG received further support from the Dubai Police, which ensured the smooth running of the transportation on the day and from Bee’ah, who provided EEG with big waste skips for the collected waste and sent it for Recycling. Sony Middle East & Africa FZE provided technical support for the campaign.

As said by HE Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy “In adherence to the UAE Vision 2021 objectives and targets, the Ministry of Economy is committed to supporting programmes that promote sustainable development and helps the country to balance economic growth and social development. So it was a great pleasure for me to be present at the Clean Up UAE Campaign organised by Emirates Environmental Group. It was a perfect display of combination of efforts of government, private sector, civil society and community. I was delighted to see the commitment and dedication of families, corporates and others towards keeping our environment clean, healthy and sustainable. It was especially humbling to see the driven student volunteers bring about real change by hands on collaborative action at the grass roots level. I congratulate EEG for the continuing success of this national campaign and for their efforts to advance a culture of environmental responsibility in the UAE.

As said by Mrs. Habiba Al Marashi, EEG Chairperson, the role of the organisation to protect and preserve the environment has been clear and effective for 26 long years. The last edition of the "Clean the UAE" Campaign for 2017 has officially marked the conclusion of EEG’s efforts in the Year of Giving as it brought together different sectors of the society together for a better environment and gave back to the valuable lands of the UAE.

Mrs. Al Mar’ashi added that the campaign became known, year after year, to the UAE society as a whole with participants asking to clean up selected sites in the respective Emirates as a token gesture of affection and a sense of responsibility towards the environment. The month of December further witnessed three special clean up campaigns carried out under the banner of Clean Up UAE 2017. The mini editions of the campaign allowed EEG to achieve its objective of spreading its message on responsible and sustainable living to a wider audience through committed corporate, academic and hospitality entities. Emirates Environmental Group provided the hosting entities with necessary support and materials to carry out the campaign independently in their chosen locations. Dubai Duty Free held the first of these campaigns on the 7^th of December with the collection of 63 Kg a decrease of 7.35 % from 2016 followed by Emirates Global Aluminium on the 12^th of December. The campaign will continue during the week with clean up activities being conducted by Our Own High School Al Warqaa and Bab Al Shams Desert Resort and Spa conducting it in Al Warqaa and Al Qudra respectively.

Clean Up UAE 2017 successfully achieved the aim of emphasising on the importance of coming together, as well as highlighting the responsibility and actions that the individuals should take towards protecting the environment. EEG’s vision to bring together all the different sectors of the community, with the shared ambition to be good stewards of the environment was accomplished as community pro-action to benefit the environment.