As the UAE steps up its efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050, private companies in the country are being urged to take a proactive approach to tackling their environmental impact to help the country achieve its goal.
“Measuring a company’s carbon footprint is an essential first step to realise their environmental impacts, and to set a baseline against which improvement will be measured. We want businesses to understand that by reducing emissions, they are saving on operating costs thereby improving the bottom-line,” said Dahlia Haleem, Partner at elementsix, a newly launched Dubai-based carbon management firm.
“As the UAE heads towards a net zero target, it is our shared responsibility, to do our part in understanding our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to move steadily towards becoming a net-zero economy by 2050.”
Greenhouse Gas accounting
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) accounting or inventorying is the process by which an organisation can quantify its carbon emissions either from a corporate level (the carbon emitted from the general operation of the company) or on a product level (the emissions produced from manufacturing a product).
The emissions, measured in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e), are calculated using emission factors to give a total carbon footprint. Some organisations end the process here, using this as a baseline upon which to measure improvement in the coming years. But for many, it is the starting point of a carbon neutral roadmap or strategy. Carbon, or GHG, accounting is the first necessary step in any carbon management plan (CMP).
A Carbon Management Plan is a key element of a company’s sustainability strategy and reporting. Since 2021, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) has mandated public joint stock companies listed in the UAE to publish a sustainability report as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting becomes increasingly important to investors and advisors globally.
Leveraging experience
“While private companies are under no such obligation to do so, it is key to note that when sustainability becomes part of a company’s culture, it becomes a point of differentiation, a core value, and it has a large impact on the way stakeholders perceive them,” added Amer Arafat, Partner at elementsix.
Leveraging two decades of experience of its partners in the region, elementsix is an advisory firm that offers turnkey solutions in the fields of sustainability and carbon abatement.
The firm develops greenhouse gas emission reduction projects and programmes under the strictest accreditation standards from around the world for both the voluntary and compliance markets. -- TradeArabia News Service
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