Dr. Yousef Alhorr (right), Founding Chairman of GORD, and Anna Paolini, Director of Unesco office in Doha and Representative to the countries of the Gulf and Yemen, signing the MoU.
Doha: A number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed between Gulf Organisation for Research and Development (GORD) and leading organizations including the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC), Unesco and Doha Bank on the first-day of Qatar Sustainability Summit 2019 (QSS) yesterday.
SC signed an agreement with GORD to work towards neutrality of the host country carbon emissions towards the 2022 World Cup. GORD will provide services to SC in three main areas, namely standards development, carbon projects document development and facilitation for carbon credits issued by the Global Carbon Trust (GCT) – the MENA region’s first voluntary carbon offsetting platform.
Unesco and GORD also signed a letter of intent to work towards specific SDGs set forth by the United Nations. To this end, the two entities will introduce joint initiatives enhancing knowledge on climate change, the impact of pollution and unsustainable consumption practices.
Similarly, the organizations will team up to raise awareness and foster the role of educational institutions in responding to climate change challenges. Doha Bank has signed to partner with GORD to explore areas of mutual collaboration in sustainability and carbon neutrality.
Speaking about the agreement with GORD, Anna Paolini, Director of Unesco office in Doha and Representative to the countries of the Gulf and Yemen, said: “The objective of our partnership is to further leverage the role of educational institutions and the civil society in contributing to the implementation of the 2030 agenda and specifically the Sustainable Development Goal 13 for Climate Action. We are really looking forward to the prospects of long-term partnership and successful joint initiatives with GORD.”
Recognizing outstanding achievements in the field of sustainability and climate change, GORD awarded leading organizations within MENA region with the ‘Award for Excellence in Climate Action’.
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and Bauer Nimr LLC were conferred with the award for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction through the treatment of produced water at crude oil processing facility through wetland treatment solution in Oman. The project contributes to the greening of the desert, providing potential water solutions and reducing significant greenhouse gas emissions.
Within Qatar, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) received the award for project on wastewater treatment which avoids the landfill methane emissions, a potent GHG, by diverting sewage water to Doha North Plant and converting solids into dried palleted fertilizer in a sophisticated ultramodern pallet plant. The fertilizer is used for greening of Doha replacing emission intensive Urea Fertilizer.
Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) was also awarded for delivering Qatar’s pioneering solar charging station for electric vehicles. Al-Ta’adhod Trading & Construction Group received the Award of Excellence in recognition of green CSR initiatives.
A number of ‘Sustainability Awards’ were given to various leading green projects within MENA region. Hamad Port Project was awarded for the exceptional implementation of GSAS among other sustainability initiatives, while the Ministry of Interior was recognized for considering sustainability as one of the key aspects in delivering several MOI projects, including National Cyber Security Center and Civil Defense & Preventive Buildings in Al Wakra.
Another recipient of Sustainability Award was Qatar Rail for its outstanding 5-Stars rating of Msheireb Metro Station, managing to exceed Qatar Rail requirement of 4-Stars. Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy was awarded for extraordinary delivery of four stadiums with 5-Stars provisional certificates, exceeding FIFA’s requirement of 4-Stars.
Correspondingly, multiple private sectors companies were recognized, including the Energy City Qatar Headquarter project for the successful delivery of 4-Stars GSAS Design & Build commercial project, providing solar PV panels which meets approximately 3.2 percent of the total buildings electrical load.
Another recipient was Al Sayer Group in Kuwait where GSAS Operation Platinum certificate was issued for Toyota showroom at Abu Fatira, acknowledged as the first retail in Kuwait to receive the certificate. Within the retail sector, Lulu Group International received the Sustainability Award for demonstrating stewardship in environmental sustainability within retail sector as well as planned initiatives in areas of GSAS operations, recycling and waste management.
