The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, today hosted its annual event for the award-winning Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI), to celebrate the awarding of the participants in the Sustainable Campus Initiative for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year’s event was held virtually.
During the event, the winners of the Best Green Campus Audit, GCA, and Best Sustainability Action Project, SAP, were announced. The winners were the American University of Sharjah and Manipal Academy of Higher Education. Winners of the Best Green Campus Audit and the Sustainability Action Project were the Manipal Academy of Higher Education and American University of Ras Al Khaimah.
Since 2014, the Sustainable Campus Initiative has been organised by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Borouge, and supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Department of Energy, Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center, Tadweer, and the Department of Transport.
The initiative seeks to strengthen the leadership capacity amongst the UAE’s youth and to address issues of environmental sustainability. It also provides a platform to enhance communication between the youth, ignite competitiveness amongst them to help reduce their environmental footprint, and spearhead efforts towards building and shaping sustainable communities, which is reflected across the university campuses.
During the event, Ahmed Baharoon, Executive Director, EISOM at EAD noted, "It is such an honour to be here today and to reward all of the students who have continued to take part in the Sustainable Campus Initiative, despite the pandemic. This is a true reflection of their commitment towards sustainability and environmental work, and it proves that there is a heightened awareness among the upcoming generation regarding the importance of the environment, which is in line with our goals at EAD. Nothing can stop them, and with every passing year, SCI keeps growing and the number of participants keeps increasing."
Today, SCI includes 22 colleges and universities, with a total of 588 students and faculty members who have attended workshops and worked on GCA and SAP projects since 2014. Currently, there are 43 SAP projects and 42 Green Campus Audit Reports undertaken by the participating universities.
Earlier this year, SCI was awarded the Best Sustainability Communications Programme award by the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group.