Abu Dhabi: Environmentally conscious companies are now to be listed on the Ministry of Environment and Water’s website (www.moew.gov.ae).
The Environmental Performance Card (EPC) is awarded by Dr. Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, the minister of Environment and Water, to encourage industrial establishments that are committed to environmental laws and regulations of the country.
The aim of the initiative is to promote the concept of green production, reduce carbon emissions during production processes and save energy and raw materials.
An official spokesperson of the ministry told Gulf News that the number of enterprises obtaining the EPC, which is issued free of charge, is gradually increasing, When the ministry launched the card as part of its strategic plan in 2009, only 10 enterprises were awarded the card in the beginning, she said. However, 35 enterprises received the card last year and 50 more are expected to obtain it this year.
About 60 enterprises have applied for the card as of September 18 and the ministry expects 20 more applications by the end of November, which is the deadline for applications this year.
The ministry issues the card only after inspecting the industrial enterprises to ensure that their facilities have the minimum requirements.
Industrial enterprises are evaluated according to their commitment to environmental laws and regulations and application of safe environmental management. The assessment also includes how the enterprise is handling chemicals, industrial waste and air pollutants discharged from the facility. It also checks whether the enterprises follow a system of health, safety and environment procedure and usage of green production technology. The assessment is conducted by many working groups of specialised technical specialists at the ministry.
The EPC initiative is one of many the ministry supports as part of its ‘Towards a Green Production 2021’ programme. It promotes cleaner production to avoid the use of hazardous substances as much as possible, to raise the efficiency of industrial enterprises and to reduce emissions and waste resulting from production processes.
The adoption of green production will reap many benefits, economically and environmentally, the ministry says. On the one hand, it will reduce the cost of waste disposal operations and will reduce production costs in terms of providing energy and raw materials, while on the other it will reduce the quality and quantity of pollutants, reduce risks and industrial accidents and improve the quality of the environment.
