UAE-based total facilities management service provider Emrill has announced that it is making significant progress towards its sustainability targets for 2024. The organisation is on course to meet its goals in critical areas of environmental impact reduction, demonstrating Emrill’s commitment to sustainability in complete alignment with the UAE’s vision for a greener future.
Emrill’s sustainability strategy includes ambitious targets over a 10-year period. The organisation aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 15 percent, reduce waste generation at its head office and stores by 20 percent, reduce water usage by 15 percent, and divert 15% of waste from its head office and stores from landfills. Emrill has set quarterly targets of 0.5 percent to ensure it achieves these goals and has established a points system to monitor and encourage continuous improvement.
Central to Emrill’s sustainability strategy is the launch of ‘United for Sustainability’, which builds on the success of ‘Together for Sustainability’. These programmes comprise several targeted sustainability initiatives that aim to reduce the environmental impact of Emrill’s operations and improve efficiencies for clients while enhancing the overall performance of buildings and communities.
In 2023, Emrill achieved significant reductions in CO2 emissions, with a decrease of 801 tonnes of CO2e, equivalent to removing 664 cars from the roads or providing the CO2 absorption of 138,000 mature trees. Additionally, Emrill reduced water consumption by over 2.25 million litres, which is the equivalent of filling more than 162 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Through energy and cost savings initiatives across Emrill’s 235+ contracts, the organisation has saved 7,639,125kWh, enough electricity to power 713 households for a year. Emrill has also made significant strides in waste management, diverting 22 percent of total waste away from landfills, far exceeding the regional average.
Philip Rawlinson, Emrill’s head of HSSEQ, said: “Our top-down approach drives the progress Emrill has made on its sustainability journey. A key success factor has been the involvement of every Emrill employee and a shared commitment to accountability. In addition to rolling out sustainability initiatives across our projects, Emrill holds an annual Sustainability Week to focus on the importance of environmentally friendly processes and how we can continue to positively impact the environment. Emrill has also introduced Sustainability Champions across our contracts to bolster our sustainability efforts on-site and work closely with our clients to ensure we are helping them meet their green goals. This commitment to sustainability extends beyond our work and is having a positive knock-on effect for our employees, with 88.46 percent of our team members saying they are now managing their own energy and water consumption more efficiently.”
Partnerships have also formed a core pillar of Emrill’s sustainability strategy. Emrill Energy, launched in 2023, has collaborated with regulatory authorities to provide insights on and reporting strategies aligned with recently implemented energy efficiency policies. Partnering with sustainability-focused social enterprises, Emrill is also actively identifying and developing new sustainability goals and implementing strategies to achieve them with a view to fighting climate change more actively.
Stuart Harrison, Emrill’s CEO, said: "Our sustainability journey is integral to our operational ethos. We’re empowering our teams to understand the value of sustainable facilities management strategies and execute them in our day-to-day operations to create environments that help our clients and the UAE achieve a greener built environment. Our achievements are a testament to the hard work of our dedicated team and the innovative strategies we’ve implemented across the board."
Among the innovative measures undertaken by Emrill is the introduction of advanced and environmentally friendly technologies. The organisation has implemented a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) platform, providing a centralised system to track, analyse and consolidate ESG data using the latest standards and methodologies. This has enabled Emrill to make more informed decisions and foresee trends to improve the ESG performance organisation-wide. In addition to using battery-operated and sustainable cleaning machinery, Emrill has also implemented Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring systems to reduce the use of unsustainable materials and enhance operational efficiencies.
Emrill has held the Dubai Chamber of Commerce CSR Label for eleven consecutive years, demonstrating the organisation’s mission to deliver service excellence through responsible business practices. Looking forward, Emrill is committed to continuing its pursuit of excellence in sustainability. With its strategic initiatives and continuous improvement measures, the organisation is not only on track to meet its 2024 targets but also drive substantial change in the facilities management sector, positively impacting the environment and the communities it serves.
