Unilever Gulf has hosted an event to brief stakeholders on collective efforts taken in the last year towards meeting the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UAE Vision 2021.

 Held on November 1 at the Dubai Chamber offices in Deira, Dubai, the multi-sectoral event titled #DrivingCollectiveAction saw support and participation from a host of public and private sector organisations, including DP World, Jebel Ali Freezone Authority (JAFZA), Dulsco, Imdaad, MonViso and Blue LLC.

During the event, Unilever unveiled its report “Mobilizing Collective Actions to Achieve Sustainable Developmental Goals”. The report, which aims to continue the dialogue initiated in 2016, outlined the challenges and opportunities in the UAE in the areas of energy consumption & renewable energy; Zero Waste to Landfill; Entrepreneurship and Health.

In particular, the event highlighted three key achievements accomplished since its last event held a year ago – the setting up of the Jafza Sustainability Network in association with Jafza and DP World to drive sustainability goals via collective industry action; The Launch of the Young Entrepreneurs Awards as a platform to engage youth; and the creation of the ‘zero waste to landfill’ blueprint for companies to support a 75 per cent reduction in non-hazardous waste going to UAE landfills by 2021.

"Since announcing our ambition of driving collective action last year, our progress has been inspired by the UAE Vision 2021, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan,” said Sanjiv Kakkar, executive vice president for Unilever Mena, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

“#DrivingCollectiveAction is not just a necessity to confront the increasingly challenging social, environmental & economic goals, but it also has a positive business impact. Our research shows that 54 per cent of our consumers want to be more sustainability conscious with their purchase decisions. Simply put, there’s never been a better time to create a brighter future,” he added.

A high-powered panel discussion during the event saw industry leaders discuss strategies to support the UAE’s agenda of diverting 75 per cent of all waste heading to landfills by 2021 through an integrated waste management strategy. The UAE is planning a 100 per cent diversion rate by 2030, and is the only GCC country to have set clear numerical goals for its waste management efforts.  

2017 also saw Unilever bring its Unilever Young Entrepreneurs Awards (YEA) to the UAE for the very first time. Via its hackathon, Unilever reached out to 8,000 young people under the age of 35 across 6universities and 2entrepreneurial incubators to spark ideas and innovate solutions for challenges identified by the UAE Vision 2021 and the SDGs. 120 team entries were shortlisted to 11 before 2 finalists were chosen. Winners were invited to the event to share their inspirational ideas.

“The Young Entrepreneur Awards are designed to harness the power of youth innovation in tackling pressing environmental concerns. We are delighted at being able to have reached out to 8,000 students across the country by working with universities and entrepreneur incubators,” said Cem Tarik Yuksel, managing director Unilever Gulf & Vice President Customer Development Mena, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine & Belarus.

“The quality of ideas, and the dedication shown towards creating viable solutions, was inspiring. I also want to thank all our partners from the public and private sector for joining hands and making concerted efforts towards embedding sustainability – with the JAFZA Sustainability Network being a perfect example of collective action. We are delighted at the results we have already achieved, and are excited about charting new goals for 2018 and beyond,” Yuksel added. – TradeArabia News Service