The planting of one million Ghaf trees forms the central pillar of the CAFU Sustainability Deal – the newly unveiled strategy by Dubai-born CAFU in its drive towards becoming carbon neutral.
The strategy is revealed by the technology start up as it approaches a major milestone in the Ghaf tree initiative and also as CAFU marks its second birthday since being founded by Rashid Al Ghurair to transform car services such as its innovative contactless on demand refuelling, SuperShine waterless car wash, and other car essentials.
"For us as a business, contributing to a sustainable world is essential. Everything we do at CAFU is geared towards making life better for our customers and our community. That means being a responsible business to our people, through our services, and to the environment by helping create a better world to live in" says Rashid Al Ghurair, Founder and CEO of CAFU.
He adds, "we are not only more mindful in our actions, but we also aim to use the might of our resources and cutting-edge technology for good – to make a real difference in the world.
In a raft of measures outlined as part of the CAFU Sustainability Deal, positive action towards combatting climate change is a key area of focus as CAFU strives to become carbon neutral and uses its technology for good to contribute towards a more sustainable future.
One Million Ghaf Trees Project.
As a responsible business, CAFU spearheaded the ambitious Ghaf tree project, approaching a key milestone as seed planting via CAFU’s bespoke drone technology made in the UAE is set to begin in the coming months.
Partnering with Merlin Eco-Green Technologies, CAFU undertook an extensive R&D phase that analysed the soil in the Mleiha Desert where planting will take place, priming of the seeds, optimal seed nutrients for rapid germination, and the testing of various depths for the seed to be planted successfully. The testing and insights during the project and subsequent development are helping to fill a knowledge gap in the region by creating solutions that can eventually be used to scale.
The seeds will be coated to form seedballs using the right mix of ingredients such as Biochar, a charcoal used as a soil amendment which helps remove CO2 from the atmosphere, Bentonite Clay, a type of clay that acts as a hydrogel, aiding in the retention of water and lastly Compost, giving plants the nutrients they require to grow.
Ghaf seeds usually take 21 days to germinate, due to CAFU’s priming method, the germination accelerated from 21 days to 14 in the first trial. CAFU’s machine learning and AI technologies are being used end-to-end from seed pod and land surveying, through to geotagging and using their custom-built drone technology for planting and monitoring progress.
The Ghaf tree survives on very little water, improves the quality of the soil, and helps battle climate change by taking in up to 34.65 kg of CO2 emissions per tree, per year. Over the next few years, one million trees could absorb up to 34,650 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. With a Ghaf tree able to live up to 120 years, this could result in over 4.1 million tonnes of CO2 being absorbed over their lifetime, which would make an immense positive contribution to the world.
The other measures contained within the CAFU Sustainability Deal include: Appointment of a Sustainability and Community Manager.
CAFU announced the appointment of Nabra Al Busaidi to the newly created role of Sustainability and Community Manager. Nabra Al Busaidi will play a big role in progressing CAFU’s ambition of becoming carbon neutral over the next coming years.
Nabra Al Busaidi, Sustainability and Community Manager at CAFU said "I’m incredibly excited to be leading CAFU’s journey towards becoming a carbon neutral brand. As Sustainability and Community Manager, I look forward to seeing CAFU as one of the Global leaders in technology to fight climate change and reduce carbon emissions in the coming years."
She added "Having worked on the Ghaf tree project and seen how far down the line we’ve come, each Ghaf tree seed successfully planted represents a small step in the right direction towards our commitment to the achievement of the sustainable development goals and our bid to fight climate change. We have put before us the clear opportunity and responsibility to build a more sustainable world for future generations to come."
Signing up to the UAE SDG Compact.
In a bid to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions, CAFU signed up to the SDG Ambition Accelerator programme. This Accelerator aims to join the dots between CAFU and the SDG Ambition objectives by setting ambitious sustainability goals in line with the benchmarks and developing a technology strategy to improve measurement and performance towards achieving those goals.
Aligning to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 committed to Climate Action.
CAFU has aligned itself with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and is focused on creating a better environment through innovation and transformation in a rapidly evolving world. As part of being a responsible business, CAFU is playing its role by committing to contribute to the achievement of SDG 13 on Climate Action.
Sustainability driving business decisions through CAFU’s waterless car wash
With sustainability being at the core of CAFU’s commitments, CAFU introduced a waterless process for car wash service and a commitment of going paperless in line with the UAE 2021 paperless agenda. Achieving another milestone, CAFU recycled plastic bottles of water used at their refuelling depot by transforming them into CAFU branded merchandise for all employees.
CAFU’s Sustainability Deal set out an ambition to align to the UAE’s vision of becoming the world’s leading, innovative and the most technologically advanced country in the world. CAFU’s Sustainability Deal focuses on making the change that the planet needs, by using technology to lower carbon emissions and combatting climate change.