Abu Dhabi: An initiative that seeks to educate and encourage university students on being environmentally friendly and reducing their carbon footprint was launched in Abu Dhabi.

The Sustainable Campus Initiative was launched in collaboration between the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) and Borouge. Gulf News had previously reported on the pilot phase launch of the initiative in June, which proved to be a success among the universities that carried out the plan.

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary-General of EAD, said that the “Sustainable Campus Initiative reflects EAD’s continuous efforts in motivating the youth and encourages them to play a vital role in environmental practices and support the prospect of a sustainable future. The initiative falls in line with Abu Dhabi’s Environmental Vision 2030 which recognises the importance of the youth’s contribution in building sustainable communities and protecting the country’s environment and natural heritage”.

“This initiative provides students with the opportunity to be more involved in assessing their universities’ environmental performance and enables them to share ideas and introduce them to the best practices and applications applied by their peers outside the UAE. We hope the next phase of the initiative will see more environmental awareness projects and programmes,” he added.

Speaking to Gulf News, Gayatari Ragwha, Senior Specialist for the EAD’s environment outreach programme, spoke about the holistic approach behind the initiative.

“Sustainability is a value system. You learn the value system and so sustainability is not only doing one thing, it’s changing your own mindset and changing your whole perception. So, first you have to examine yourself at the individual level, then at the institutional level, which is at the college level at the campus, and then you reach out to the community because they’re all woven together, it’s basically a collaborative approach.”

She added, “You need to collaborate, you need to set up a network and that’s what the whole Sustainable Campus Initiative is about. It’s a very holistic process. You do your audit, you set up your mitigation plan, and you address your carbon footprint and turn it into a handprint which we call action towards sustainability.”

Abdul Aziz Al Hajeri, CEO of Borouge, a leading provider of innovative, value-creating plastics solutions and one of the collaborating partners with EAD, spoke about the company’s commitment and backing of the initiative, “Borouge is fully committed to the preservation of the environment and the well-being of the communities where we operate. Our commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility is embedded within our company and is reflected in the way we manage our operations and innovate plastics solutions that enhance people’s lives. We are pleased to actively engage the leaders of the future in the sustainability practices and management system of the Sustainable Campus Initiative so that they, too, can contribute to a better environment today within their campuses and tomorrow in their chosen fields.”

Sami Zaatari is an intern at Gulf News