Business

Circular Economy council plans to speed up UAE’s Manufacturing, Food sctor efforts

The UAE has decided to focus on accelerating the implementation of the circular economy policy in the UAE in four main sectors: manufacturing, food, infrastructure, and transport. It is also reviewing the plans and experiences of related industries and the latest developments in this regard.
These policy initiatives were unveiled on Monday, when the Circular Economy Council held its second meeting, Monday, chaired by Mariam bint Mohammed Al Muhairi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment.
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Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, President and CEO of the UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA), was also present.

The meeting –hosted by Envirol Recycling Plant, Alserkal — was attended by Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the UAE Circular Economy Council, in addition to representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, Alserkal Group, Borouge, and technology company IBM.

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan said: "To understand how the circular economy works, we must also realize how essential it is to integrate its principles into various aspects of the economic value chain. In order to achieve our collective goal of reaching net zero emissions, we need to preserve limited resources, such as natural materials and precious metals, and the global circular trade system, not just production and consumption. We must also commit to accurate assessment, research analysis, and redesigning our current systems worldwide to ensure a comprehensive and smooth transition from the traditional linear economy model to the circular one.”

On her part, Mariam Almheiri affirmed that the UAE, stemming from its local and global climate and environmental commitments, believes in the importance of enhancing the circular economy for its central role in contributing to achieving these commitments, pointing to the importance of enhancing the circular economy model and its pivotal role in consolidating the three principles of recycling represented in eliminating waste, reducing material and resource consumption, and reducing harmful emissions.

Mariam Almheiri said: “The meeting of the UAE Council for the Circular Economy coincides with World Environment Day, which this year the world is celebrating with a focus on the need to find solutions for plastic pollution, a major component of the circular economy. In the UAE, we work on this approach by finding and implementing recycling solutions, waste management, and other efforts, notably creating policies to prevent food loss and waste and managing single-use products.”
She added: “The importance of the circular economy is highlighted during the Year of Sustainability and our preparation to host the Conference of the Parties (COP28) this year.
This motivates us to push efforts towards achieving the goals of the UAE’s NetZero 2050 strategic initiative. We, in turn, support various contributions and projects undertaken by our partners from federal and governmental bodies and private sector companies, which support the UAE’s vision towards enabling a circular economy capable of enhancing our economic competitiveness and building a more sustainable future.”
In turn, Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, said: “Thanks to the wise leadership’s directives, the UAE has taken positive and accelerated steps towards developing an integrated system for the circular economy, in line with global best practices. This is done through our commitment to launching initiatives and national policies that support sustainable economic and social development, including the UAE Circular Economy Policy 2031, which represents a roadmap to support national efforts in the transition towards a circular economic model based on sustainability and development by the next decade, improving the local and global environment, and ensuring a more prosperous future for current and future generations, in light of the UAE Centennial 2071 determinants.”

Abdulla Al Marri added: “The Policy Committee of the UAE Circular Economy Council has made significant progress in developing and implementing 22 circular economy policies within four main sectors, namely manufacturing, infrastructure, food, and transport. These sectors drive sustainable growth within the country’s vision for the next 50 years. The committee works continuously and intensively in cooperation with its partners from the public and private sectors to fully implement these policies, which contribute to improving the use of natural, material, and environmental resources, thereby consolidating the UAE’s position as a global centre for the circular economy.”

Al Marri pointed out that today’s meeting at the Alserkal Envierul Station underscores the importance of enhancing the partnership between the public and private sectors in the country to support sustainable development for the state, as this station is the first facility to recycle food waste, grease, and oils at the regional level.

The main developments regarding the circular economy were addressed during the meeting.
The plans presented by the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure, Al Serkal Group, BOROUGE & Circularity and IBM were also reviewed.
The plan presented by the Ministry of Climate Change & Environment addressed the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in terms of setting standards, reporting, and monitoring of food loss and waste, as well as separating waste in residential, commercial, and institutional buildings at source. The plan also looks at creating a national database of materials from collection to recycling and conservation.
The Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure’s plans addressed several issues, including the standardisation of electric vehicle charging systems in the country to ensure compliance with the best charging system standards and the country’s electric vehicle infrastructure. The plan also envisages the completion of a standardized manual for the readiness of electric vehicle infrastructure, as well Green Charging and Bio-Directional Charging. This also aims to identify the technical specifications for bi-directional charging using EVs. The plan also explores options to deploy Sustainable Aviation fuel throughout the country.”
Al Serkal Group presented the company’s sustainability journey and circular economy, as well as the role of artificial intelligence in this field.
BOROUGE & Circularity, the pioneer in unique polymer solutions, focused its plans to enable post-consumer recycling, develop new solutions, enhance efforts to build cooperation across the value chain, establish a new packaging centre of excellence, and leading a circular economy free of plastic waste.
IBM demonstrated its recent sustainability technology solutions, underlining the importance of artificial intelligence in enabling a circular economy, as well as sustainability software, systems, and supply chains. IBM’s plan also emphasized that artificial intelligence and the rate of automation will increase the visibility, adaptability, and sustainability of the supply chain.

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Business

Almarai signs multiple agreements to localize jobs through training and recruitment programs

Almarai signed a cooperation memorandum with the Food Industries Polytechnic, the
Transport General Authority, and the Saudi Logistics Academy to localize jobs in the
food and beverages sector through training and rehabilitation programs ending in
employment. This came within the first international conference on the labor market,
organized by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on 13 – 14
December 2023 at the King Abdulaziz Convention Center in Riyadh.

‘These agreements are part of Almarai’s corporate program for the social responsibility
to achieve localization in the food industry sector, which is one of the top priorities of the
comprehensive strategic plans in Almarai, especially since the company is one of the
largest working environments in the kingdom, with more than 9,000 Saudi employees,
including more than 900 Saudi female employees.”Fahad Aldrees, Chief Human
Resources Officer of Almarai, said.

He added that the agreements signed to train and qualify young people are part of the
integrated initiatives and training and rehabilitation programs for national human
resources in Almarai. He pointed out that the company provided about half a million
employee training hours during 2022, raising its retention rate to 90% during 2022.

It is worth mentioning that Almarai is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy
company, and the largest food and beverage producer and distributor in the Middle
East. Almarai was ranked among LinkedIn’s top 15 Saudi companies for professional
career development for 2022.

Business

SEBA Bank rebrands to AMINA Bank and continues to write its success story

a fully licensed Swiss crypto bank, announced today its new brand identity: AMINA Bank AG. The group operates
globally from its regulated hubs in Zug, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, offering its clients traditional and crypto banking services.
SEBA Bank made history in 2019 by becoming one of the first FINMA-regulated institutions to provide crypto banking services. This rebrand marks a new chapter for the company, which has proudly been in operation for more than four years. AMINA Bank is inspired by the same trailblazing ambition to lead the way for its clients and to write its own future as a Swiss-
regulated crypto bank offering services to its traditional and crypto savvy clients around the globe. The name ‘AMINA’ stems from the term ‘transAMINAtion’, meaning transference of one compound to another. AMINA is a brand driven by perpetual change, bringing together the various ‘compounds’ of traditional, digital, and crypto banking to unlock new potential and
growth for our clients. This vision of change represents the transformation of our clients’ financial future. Franz Bergmueller, CEO of AMINA, said: “We are delighted to introduce the world to our new brand identity. While we say goodbye to the SEBA name, we remain forever proud of the achievements made by the group under the former brand. “Our brand signifies a new era in the company’s growth and strategy; we are a key player in crypto banking and are here to define the future of finance. With our client-focused approach, our years of traversing traditional and crypto finance, we offer a platform for investors to build
wealth safely and under the highest regulatory standards.” “We are grateful to be encouraged by our supportive and committed investors who have been very helpful, supporting the growth of the company. We thank our employees in all the regions
for their dedication and client focus. As we look forward to 2024, our ambition is to accelerate the growth of our strategic hubs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and to continue our global expansion, building on all the successes we have laid down over the past years.” Current clients of AMINA Bank (formerly SEBA Bank) will be unaffected by the rebrand other than encountering the new name; all operations will be business as usual across the board. The branch office based in Abu Dhabi and the subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore will subsequently apply for a name change to align with the head office in Zug.

Business

Uptime Appoints Mustapha Louni Chief Business Officer

Uptime Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Mustapha Louni to the position of Chief Business Officer, a role specifically created to drive strategic leadership and client success. In this new role, Mr. Louni will assume responsibility for the global Uptime sales and marketing organizations and drive overall business value for all Uptime clients. He will retain his existing responsibilities overseeing operations in the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. In this elevated capacity, Mr. Louni is poised to play a pivotal role in driving Uptime’s next phase of global expansion through strategic initiatives to enhance market awareness of the dramatically expanding global service lines and delivery capabilities of Uptime that uniquely support the global data center industry in its pursuit of ever higher performance through elevated availability, resiliency, sustainability, and cyber-security of digital infrastructure. Louni’s appointment renews and expands Uptime

Institute 39;s 30-year commitment to advancing excellence in the data center sector on a global scale. “Today we are experiencing the next phase of the one-time, planetary transformation from analog to digital. This unprecedented, once-in-a-generation growth in data center demand is primarily driven by continuing cloud adoption, the new promise of AI, and the demonstrable fact
that hybrid digital infrastructure is here to stay for the foreseeable future,” said Martin McCarthy, CEO, Uptime Institute. “These complex and nuanced market demands require a visionary talent like Mustapha Louni. He is someone who cannot only deftly manage specific aspects of the business but also remain ahead of accelerating changes and trends. He continues to earn client
trust and respect by timely delivery on demanding commitments while he also inspires and energizes colleagues and clients alike. I am delighted to announce Mr. Louni’s new position and know that he will continue to expand the impact that he has already brought to Uptime since his arrival.” In 2014, Mr. Louni joined the Uptime organization in the United Arab Emirates, leveraging his extensive experience from roles at Panduit and Schneider Electric in Paris and Dubai. As the company’s first commercial resource in the Middle East and Africa region, Mr. Louni played a pivotal role in expanding Uptime’s presence. Within a year, he successfully established what became and remains Uptime’s fastest growing regional office. Under his leadership, Uptime has
extended his impressive trajectory of growth in MEA to the Asia-Pacific regions, augmenting the Uptime workforce with dedicated team members spanning more than a dozen countries across these regions. A new Uptime office has been inaugurated in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year, further fortifying the company’s ability to meet its commitment to sustained
growth and excellence and serve clients in critical, accelerating markets for digital infrastructure.

Uptime Institute began development of its proprietary and now globally recognized Tier Standards and its Tier Certifications 30 years ago to ensure that the mission critical computing needs of all organizations could be met with confidence and understood by executive management. Since that time, Uptime Tier Certification as well as other Uptime offerings including assessments and awards in digital infrastructure for ensuring business performance in areas of management and operations, risk and resilience, sustainability, and more recently cyber- security have gained global adoption. Uptime’s expanding success is based on delivering a
unique business service that is based upon unparalleled engineering excellence and technical mastery, while remaining vendor independent and technology agnostic.