Nobel Peace Prize Winner addresses 4th DEWA Annual Best Practices Forum on Quality, Health, Safety & Environment

In line with its strategy to promote Quality, Health, Safety and the Environment and to share the best applied practices and policies, and as part of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA’s) commitment to corporate social responsibility and accountability, DEWA today conducted its fourth Annual Best Practices Forum on Quality, Health, Safety and the Environment (QHSE) at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai. This year’s Forum was characterized by the participation of prominent international experts who delivered lectures on best practices and findings in the field of QHSE. 

“At DEWA, we focus on the importance of sustainability as a goal; one that we seek to achieve through our vision to be a recognized world-class utility. This supports the initiative recently launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, under the theme “Green Economy for Sustainable Development.” This has always been DEWA’s priority and the reason why we have always maintained the highest QHSE standards, not only on paper but in practice as well. This is why we have continued this forum - to ensure that we exchange expertise and best practices with our partners,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA in his keynote speech. 

“As part of its Integrated Management System Policy, DEWA is also committed to the successful implementation of Quality, Health, Safety and Environment Management Systems within its business of electricity, production of water, and the transmission and distribution of energy and water. These activities are also grounded in our responsibility to society, which isn’t limited just to the provision of electricity and water but also includes our maintaining the highest levels of safety and security in supporting resources sustainability,” His Excellency added. 

“The achievements of DEWA to meet this responsibility are many. This year, DEWA was the only organization in the UAE to receive the British Safety Council's coveted Sword of Honour for excellence in safety, an award we also won from 2007 to 2009. This year, DEWA was awarded the 5-star Certificate in Safety from the British Safety Council and is the only UAE organization to receive the same certificate for Environment Management; something it has consistently won for the last five years. DEWA also received the Government Excellence Award in Gold Category in 2008 with special emphasis on our continuous efforts in reinforcing health and safety culture in workplace. We shall not rest on our laurels - DEWA ensures and maintains its compliance with the OSHAS 18001 Integrated Management System to retain and uphold our high international rankings,’ HE explained. 

‘Today, we have a group of world experts participating in our Forum. The first speaker is Mohan Munasinghe, a Nobel Prize winner and Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute for Development. He will tackle the topic of climate change, sustainable energy, water and waste reduction. The second speaker is Dr. Keith Whitehead, Senior Environmental Consultant, British Safety Council. He is going to present on the ‘A Changing Climate for Business’ and the available solutions. The third speaker is Dr. Abdulrahim Al Jallad, Managing Director of The Excellencors. His presentation is entitled, ‘Effectiveness of applying excellence model in Achieving Sustainable performance improvement.’ The fourth speaker is Dr. Tawfiq Omeish, Senior Manager for Safety, Occupational Health and Environment at DEWA. And his presentation is about ‘Protection against potential risks related to electrical systems’,” His Excellency concluded. 

“DEWA implements integrated administrative systems, adheres strictly to the best criteria and practices related to Quality, Health, Safety and Environment. At DEWA we also constantly highlight the importance of QHSE while closely monitoring its implementation. These efforts have enabled DEWA to attain the highest levels and to win several awards in recognition of its efforts," said Dr Yousef Al Akraf, EVP of Business Support at DEWA.

Dr. Al Akraf further stressed the importance of strict adherence to quality, health, safety and environment administrative systems, which focus mainly on the health and safety of human resources. This will result in efficiency of production and operations, excellence in services delivered, and an increase of production through a healthy and safe workplace.