Dubai Investments, the largest and most diversified investment company in the UAE, has embarked on a strategic sustainability journey since inception, with a significant contribution to the country’s economic growth and a determination to support entrepreneurship and responsible investments.
In 2019, Dubai Investments launched a multifaceted sustainability initiative, the “Building the Change: Acting on Plastic Universities Competition,” that fosters the Company’s commitment to its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) plan and aligns its directions with the UAE Vision 2021 Which calls for phasing out waste across the country, notably plastic waste, with a declared objective to reduce landfill waste by 75% by 2021.
The initiative had the main purpose of inspiring university students to become agents of change facing mounting environmental challenges with significant social implications. The Competition served to engage students in conceiving an integrated solution for managing and treating plastic waste at their universities as well as neighboring communities following the 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) approach.
A MULTI-PURPOSE INITIATIVE
Community – Engaging youths in rethinking how they use and dispose of plastics and become more responsible consumers. Also prompting their entrepreneurial spirit in developing revenue-based solutions that are at the same time beneficial for the community and the environment.
Environment – Shedding light on the plastic waste dilemma and long-term impacts both on the environment and the community with the main aim of reducing pollution, land and water, and securing a healthier and a better quality of life.
Sustainable Development – Rethinking plastics allows a better management of resources and considering sustainable alternatives which contribute to reducing long-term risks and operational costs.
SDGs – The Competition is also a response to an accelerated drive to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) notably: SDG 3, SDG 6, SDG 9, SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 14
Innovation – Triggering youths creative thinking in considering out-of-the-box solutions for the plastic waste problem on their university, community, or country levels.
WHY PLASTICS?
Simply because plastic pollution has a critical role in fostering climate change. Plastics are used as a primary material for many valuable products, a half of them are designed to be used once and then disposed of. This is coupled with irresponsible consumption behavior from over-consuming, to discarding, and littering, which have led to a high prominence of plastic pollution in the environment.
By 2050, oceans will contain more plastic than fish by weight.
From the 1950s up to 2018, 6.3 billion tons approximately of plastic has been produced worldwide: 9% recycled, 12% incinerated.
1,000,000 plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute worldwide.
5 trillion single-use plastic bags approximately are used worldwide every year.
80% of the world’s marine pollution derive from land-based sources, 60to 95% of the waste being
plastics debris.
The UAE has not been immune to the plastic pollution problem. There is still a need to further people’s awareness on the drastic consequences of plastic pollution through relevant campaigns or other kinds of initiatives. The government has undertaken some of these initiatives last year, but more needs to be done to achieve serious shifts in attitudes.
The per capita consumption of plastic is estimated at 94 kg per year in the UAE and is forecast to grow by 4% annually.
80% of the UAE’s plastic waste goes to the landfill.
AUAE resident consumes450 plastic bottles annually. The highest rate in the world!
The UAE residents use a whopping 13 billion plastic bags a year.
OBJECTIVES
The “Acing on Plastic” Competition aimed at providing an opportunity for students to positively contribute to social and environmental wellbeing by addressing a critical environmental challenge while also generating health and economic benefits. The Competition successfully fulfilled the following key objectives:
- Mobilized university students to have deep insight into the plastic waste environmental challenges as a global crisis in the first place, and at the center of their universities in particular, detecting spheres of action and gaps to deal with.
- Propelled students’ creative and innovative thinking skills and their potential to be active agents of positive change.
- Prompted collaborative effort and diversity among students, team members, as well as cooperation with the various relevant stakeholders.
- Served as a building block for acting on climate change and SDGs through awareness raising initiatives among communities that students interact with or have the ability to reach and engage with.
- Provided guidance to students on starting their own journey to become responsible citizens and consumers through minimizing plastic waste generation in their daily activities and making the needed shift in their practices.
- Therefore, emphasized the role of young generations in being the driver towards achieving behavioral change and sensitizing communities to be more considerate in their consumption habits and seek sustainable alternatives.
- Youths are the entrepreneurs of the future. The Competition had a major influence on transforming their perspective towards business, and rethinking their entrepreneurial purposes, approaches, and values.
FAST FACTS
- Started in Early January 2020
- 40 Universities approached
- 19 Universities responded: Abu Dhabi University, Heriot Watt University, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, American University in Dubai, Module University, American University of Sharjah, Gulf Medical University, Institute of Management Technology, Khalifa University, ECMIT, Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Rochester Institute of Technology, Skyline University College, Synergy University Dubai, University of Dubai, University of Balamand, University of Sharjah, Zayed University, American College of Dubai.
- More than 110 students interested to participate
- Due to COVID-19 pandemic, 13 universities remained involved: Abu Dhabi University, Heriot Watt University, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, American University in Dubai, Module University, American University of Sharjah, Khalifa University, Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Dubai, University of Balamand, Zayed University, American College of Dubai.
- HIGH LEVEL OF CREATIVE THINKING: participants showcased high level of inventive and innovative creativity with advanced conceptualization skills.
- HIGH TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION: Almost all participants integrated technology as the main driver of their solutions or a key enabler showcasing advanced knowledge and flexibility in digitalization.
PROPOSALS OVERVIEW
The initiative was an opportunity to accentuate youths advanced sustainability interests and enthusiasm to deliver innovative strategies and ideas acting on behavioral change, awareness raising, and tech-based solutions mainly including improved recycling machines, mobile applications, online platforms, and blockchain mechanisms for waste collection, segregation, and overall management with tracking systems for assessing impact, efficiency, and progress. Participants also tapped into the need to adopt biodegradable and more eco-friendly alternatives to plastics backed by plastic ban policies as a way to minimize plastic waste generation. They also touched on plastics lifecycle through repurposing strategies for the reuse of plastic waste as a raw material for new products in different sectors thus keeping it in the system. Moreover, creating partnerships was a key component of all proposed solutions stressing on the urge for a collective action among stakeholders to succeed an efficient transformation to new plastic-free models.
JURY PANEL
Proposals were screened, assessed, and shortlisted by a jury panel from Dubai Investments and independent consultants and experts. The jury had the mission to rate the received proposals based on clear standards and guidelines with firm relevance to the Competition theme.
The jury panel included members of Dubai Investments, and senior managers and executives from Dubai Municipality, Imdaad, Bee’ah, and Responsible Business Group, all selected from professional fields with direct relation to the Competition’s theme.
GUIDELINES
The Competition has set common requirements that participating teams should meet while developing their projects. Those requirements call for abiding by specific standards and guidelines on the directions that participants should follow to fulfill the Competition ESG objectives with respect to the 3R approach and based on which their proposals will be assessed and rated.
Solution Provider – Projects should provide long-term solutions for effectively managing plastic waste at the universities and neighboring communities.
Validity & Feasibility – Proposed ideas, targets, action plans and processes should be logic and achievable with consideration to stakeholder engagement.
Credibility – Provided facts, data, and technical details should be reliable and authentic.
Creativity – Participants were invited to think beyond common solutions and practices which proved limited and/or short-term impacts. The use of technology was highly encouraged.
Engaging – The developed plan should be inclusive to the maximum extent where almost everyone (students, faculty members, suppliers, residents, etc.) can be involved in implementation.
Measurable – Key performance indicators (KPIs) are very significant to evaluate efficiency and track progress in achievements over the years.
Strategic – Participants should keep in mind that solutions should remain valid and achievable over the years which suggests including strategies and policies that would support this direction.
SHORTLISTING AND WINNERS
- Seven Universities were shortlisted in the first evaluation round: Abu Dhabi University, Heriot Watt University, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, American University in Dubai, American University of Sharjah, Khalifa University, University of Balamand.
- Three Winners:
- First place: Heriot Watt University
- Second place: Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University
- Third place: American University of Sharjah