Doha, January 10 (QNA) – The United Development Company (UDC), the leading Qatari public shareholding company and master developer of leading developments The Pearl and Gewan Islands, announced that it had achieved a comprehensive sustainability during 2022, and won international accreditation certificates and premium awards accordingly; as a result of the commitment made by all its development projects to the highest standards of the known environmental sustainability in alignment with the future challenges and Qatar National Vision 2030 goals associated with the reduction of factors that cause climate change.
In a statement on Tuesday, UDC said that such international accreditation certificates had culminated in several prestigious awards that reflect UDC’s long-standing and deep commitment to adopting the latest sustainable and environmentally friendly practices to ensure the health of the ecosystem and the wellbeing of the community residing in The Pearl Island.
Moreover, UDC added that it had succeeded in being the first in the State of Qatar to win this global recognition, by the “SEAL Awards”, which every year honors more than 50 international companies that are the most effective and influential in their environmentally friendly practices through establishing a comprehensive methodology and standards, a fixed digital process that reflects the true impact of planet-friendly practices in general whose impact will extend for decades to come.
It pointed out that the criteria for achieving this global award included: the reduction of carbon emissions in its activities and projects within The Pearl Island, development of a strategy to reduce carbon emissions for 5 years, encouragement of a circular economy based on reducing waste and use of recycled building materials, saving of 2,716,290 gallons of fresh water by reducing waste and encouraging rational water use, as well as reduction of waste while recycling over 34% of it.
In this regard, UDC highlighted that it won two prestigious international awards, by one of the UK’s most prominent environmental organizations, “Green Apple Environment” during its annual global environmental event at the headquarters of the British House of Commons, where certificates were distributed in recognition of the efforts of organizations, associations, and companies in applying and adopting environmentally friendly behaviors.
It was also awarded the ISO 14001 certification for environmental management from the British Standards Institution (BSI), for its long-term environmental goals adopted, and the tremendous steps it has pursued in recycling waste, streamlining energy and water demand, and other environmental initiatives.
In addition, The Pearl Island ranked in the top 5 companies for its environmental marine initiatives by the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) out of more than 50 leading institutions worldwide demonstrating a genuine leadership commitment toward marine protection. Moreover, UDC seeks to reduce its environmental footprint and carbon emissions associated with its buildings and facilities by reducing direct and indirect energy consumption in all its offices and projects and replacing it with renewable energy and equipment that ensures energy efficiency, such as energy-efficient and motion-activated lighting.
This is in addition to rationalizing water use as well as ensuring that the largest amount of water is recycled for irrigation and other purposes with the installation of roof systems to collect rainwater and make use of it. (QNA)