Etisalat in joint initiative to curb carbon footprint

Abu Dhabi: The Emirates Energy Star Project, a joint initiative by etisalat and Pacific Controls, aims to reduce the UAE's carbon footprint by at least 20 per cent by 2015 by harnessing information, communication and technology (ICT) with M2M (machine-to-machine) technology from etisalat.

"This project is the first in the world and in the region which will help to substantially reduce energy consumption for organisations since the UAE has a significant carbon footprint," said Abdullah Al Ahmad, etisalat's senior vice president for business solutions.

"The project aims to target this focused segment by enabling the current and future buildings to become energy efficient through impeccable use of green technologies such as machine-to-machine communication, that will enable the building owners to save energy bills while creating a cleaner and greener environment for the UAE," added Al Ahmad.

Through the Emirates Energy Star programme, etisalat and Pacific Controls aim to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the UAE, and the fuel bills of companies by retrofitting existing commercial and government buildings with energy saving control systems and achieving energy savings of 10-35 per cent, he said.

Largest source

Al Ahmad noted that buildings are responsible for 60 per cent of the world's electricity consumption and one third of greenhouse gas emissions, which makes them the largest source of greenhouse gases produced by human activity.

"One important contributor to the UAE's high energy use is the lighting and air-conditioning systems in buildings.

"These have the potential to be reduced by up to 30 per cent by applying modern control techniques to eliminate waste, and matching temperature and light levels more closely to the minimum requirements for people's comfort," said Al Ahmad. He added that etisalat works on assisting organisations to achieve the twin-fold objective of deploying the right technologies and managing them, to enable efficient energy management for building owners who can now deploy the most energy-efficient technologies and act as an example for sustainable development.