The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) recently conducted assessment visits to 171 educational institutions in the run up to the fifth round of its annual environmental awards.

The Conservation for a Better Tomorrow awards, which kicked off in May 2009, have a deadline of April 2010 for participating schools, colleges and universities to record the highest percentage of savings in energy and water consumption.

During its visits to the various institutions throughout Dubai, Dewa staff members collected data on the amount of energy saved to date, and held seminars offering tips and best practices to students for further reducing their energy consumption.

Launched in 2005 in strategic partnership with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the annual awards honour educational institutions, conservation teams, parents and guardians, as well as students.

In addition, the latest cycle will also include a new category for deserving faculty members.

As part of the evaluation process for the awards, each school’s energy conservation level is collated at the end of the cycle and compared to its energy consumption prior to the beginning of the reduction campaign.

The first category of the awards will honour an academic institution – school, college, or university – that saves the highest amount of electricity and water during the period of 10 months.  The first, second, and third place winners in this particular category will receive the largest cash prize of all the awards.

“The year-on-year success of the Conservation for a Better Tomorrow awards is very encouraging and further affirms that the commitment to conserve our natural resources is taking root in the region,” said Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa.

“Dewa will continue to take a pioneering role in highlighting the rational use of energy in order to minimize our collective carbon footprint and ensure that we bestow a healthy and clean environment on our next generation,” he added.

“Students today are the leaders of tomorrow. It is our responsibility to provide them with the tools to succeed in the future.  It is for this reason why we consider teaching them about the environment and providing them with the right incentive as one of our core responsibilities,” Al Tayer concluded.

Dr Abdullah Al Karam, chairman, board of directors, and director general of KHDA, said: “Our co-operation comes on the heels of yet another successful round of the awards, and we are honoured to partner with Dewa on this initiative.

“Both KHDA and Dewa appreciate the importance of instilling a culture of energy conservation at a young age, and through this partnership we have demonstrated our commitment to the vision of Dubai’s leadership for a greener emirate.”

The previous round of the Conservation for a Better Tomorrow awards led to an overall saving of 9,905,791 KwH of electricity and 103,408,073 gallons of water, according to a statement. – TradeArabia News Service