Members of the Swiss Business Council in the UAE and the Swiss Business Hub GCC have launched a new environmental initiative aimed at teenagers and university students throughout the UAE.
Coinciding with World Environmental Day, the not-for-profit project was launched yesterday (Saturday 5 June), at the Kempinski Hotel, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, with the key objective of raising awareness of how resource-saving can help protect the environment.
Commenting on the initiative, guest of honour, Gerhard Brügger, Consul General, Consulate General of Switzerland said, "The initiative is a continuous educational programme, which aims to tackle environmental issues under the headline 'How can I be resource efficient?' Three topics will be addressed separately covering water, energy and materials."
"In Switzerland we went through a long process of creating commitment towards environmental conservation. With several decades of experience we now want to transfer this know-how of being resource-efficient to the UAE," he added.
Hard and soft copies of three booklets will be made available in Arabic and English and distributed to educational establishments throughout the UAE.
"Considering that the school term is about to finish for the summer break, the booklets will be ready for distribution after the new school term starts in September," said Dr. Till Stoll, Chairman of the Swiss Business Council's Environmental Committee.
The content of the booklets is being developed by students in Switzerland specifically for students in the UAE, which will identify the potential savings with regards to consumption, resource life-cycle and today's 'clean-tech' solutions for resource-saving. Interestingly, there will not be any behavioural change recommendations.
Dr. Stoll explained, "We tested the content of the water booklet on a focus group earlier this year. We found that behavioural change occurred once the participants realised how much water they use during their daily routine and the potential for saving water."
To provide a focus for the campaign and an ongoing point of reference, two pilot schools will be selected in Dubai, one English speaking school and one Arabic speaking school.
Markus Oberlin, General Manager of Farnek Avireal, a leading UAE-based sustainable facilities management company, said, "As a company committed to environmental conservation, we have decided to fully engage in this initiative. We will install the latest energy-saving equipment and regularly monitor the amount of electricity used to calculate savings made and the estimated reduction in carbon emissions. In addition we will install pool coverings to diminish water evaporation, as well as host of other hi-tech applications which can reduce resource-wastage."
The results will be posted on the project website to highlight the amount of savings attained and to provide factual feedback for everybody participating in the programme.
"We will also encourage schools to register and each month we will feature any innovative resource-saving projects undertaken," said Dr. Stoll. "Practical projects that get students actively involved will undoubtedly be successful driving the ecological message home," he added.
The initiative has currently attracted some key supporters such as, Switzerland Trade & Investment Promotion, Switzerland Tourism, Green Destinations, myclimate and Swiss International Air Lines.
