Masdar, which is building the world's first zero-carbon city in Abu Dhabi, has launched its new employee sustainability campaign.

'The Start initiative' teaches that change happens at the individual level with better decision making and environmentally-conscientious lifestyles. Masdar encourages its employees to be aware and accountable of the environmental impacts of their everyday actions.

The sustainability framework is a structured approach to thinking about the risks and opportunities of sustainability. The framework is comprised of four primary components: Masdar strategic sustainability goals, the organisational factors driving sustainability behaviour, identification of relevant sustainability themes and issues and identification of the key sustainability performance enablers.

The Start initiative’s most recent efforts included a week-long sustainability awareness campaign for Masdar staff. Nearly 200 Masdar staff signed a “sustainability pledge” and committed to promoting and living a more sustainable lifestyle.

During the week, the campaign focused on key sustainability areas — waste, water, energy, and transport — providing staff with practical solutions to make significant change.

“While the world waits for mass-scale integration of renewable energy, and game-changing innovations in clean technology, as individuals we are in a position to minimise our impacts on the environment and to reduce our demands for energy by making better decisions,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar.

“Climate change and energy security are real issues, and it’s time for businesses to adapt and recognise the importance of being sustainable.

The Start initiative is also about measurable results. Masdar recently integrated smart meters to monitor energy consumption. Water, waste, as well as carbon emissions associated with staff commute are being measured and published as well.

Integrated within the Masdar Sustainable Administration Facilities, the system will be used to gauge behaviour changes and identify a calculable index for Masdar’s sustainability.-TradeArabia News Service