Abu Dhabi: The Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi (EAD), in conjunction with Borouge, has launched the Sustainable Campus Initiative, an extension of the Sustainable Schools Initiative.
The main goal of the project is to have university students in the UAE take responsibility for their ecological footprint at their university campuses.
Speaking about the project, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary-General of EAD, said: “The Sustainable Schools Initiative was immensely successful and students across the UAE showed great interest and passion in protecting the environment. EAD is proud to build on this achievement with the Sustainable Campus Initiative, which will further empower students to make positive environmental impacts and advocate a sustainable future.
Gulf News spoke with Gayatari Ragwha, Senior Specialist for the EAD’s environment outreach programme.
“In this initiative the colleges that register with us would need to assess their own institutional footprint, so they look at what their ecological footprint is in terms of individually, institutionally, and in the community.”
“It’s a full package, you start by looking at yourself, then you change the community, and then you connect with the regional and international groups” she said.
Ragwah also spoke on how the project aims to enhance networking between students and different universities.
“One of the things lacking is connecting youth, networking youth, so we want the youth within the colleges to network with each other, and then we want to connect between the colleges, that is connecting one university to the other university.”
“We will also connect these youth with the international youth organisations and associations connected with sustainability.”
Part of the networking between colleges will involve the formation of a ‘green youth majlis’.
“Every month there will be a meeting where the students will come together and discuss their plans, and this majlis will be run by the students themselves.”
Abdul Aziz Al Hajeri, CEO of Borouge, a leading provider of innovative, value-creating plastics solutions, said that the initiative is in line with the company’s commitment to sustainability and social responsibility, and provides Borouge with a unique opportunity to interact and encourage university students to manage their carbon footprint and enhance their awareness and involvement in various environmental issues.
Sami Zaatari is a trainee at Gulf News
