Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) | DEWA wins Golden Shield Award and Certificate of Excellence from Arab Organisation for Social Responsibility

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) won two awards from the Arab Organisation for Social Responsibility. These are the Golden Shield Award in environmental conservation for DEWA’s Neighbourhood Campaign, and the Certificate of Excellence in technological innovation for DEWA’s mobile photovoltaic-powered reverse-osmosis seawater-desalination plant. These achievements add to DEWA’s list of accomplishments in environmental conservation and technological innovation.

Nasser Lootah, Executive Vice President of Generation at DEWA, received the awards on behalf of HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, at a ceremony held at the Al Bustan Rotana hotel in Dubai. Lootah was accompanied by the teams of both projects.

DEWA’s Neighbourhood Campaign was launched in 2010 to raise awareness about the importance of the sensible use of electricity and water, as part of its corporate social responsibility and direct communications with residents of Dubai. The campaign includes field visits to several neighbourhoods and housing complexes by a specialist team from DEWA. The team gives advice about the sensible use of resources and how to lead a sustainable environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

DEWA won the award for its technological innovation and development of its mobile photovoltaic desalination plant that uses reverse osmosis to desalinate seawater and purify salt water and untreated water from other sources, to produce water suitable for drinking and irrigation. The plant’s capacity is 7.7 cubic metres per day, which meets the needs of 513 people per day, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The plant is designed in a way that makes it easy to move and use.

Al Tayer thanked the Arab Organisation of Social Responsibility, and commended its efforts to recognise achievements that address environmental issues. “We are pleased to win these two awards, which highlight some of DEWA’s achievements in environmental stability and social work. These efforts support the Dubai Plan 2021 to transform Dubai into a smart, integrated, connected city that is clean, healthy, and sustainable. It also supports the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for the Emirate to become the city with the lowest carbon footprint in the world by 2050, in addition to finding sustainable and innovative solutions for water scarcity around the world,” said Al Tayer.

The Arab Organisation for Social Responsibility encourages environmental organisations to adopt and develop corporate social responsibility. Each year, the organisation honours leaders from different sectors that achieve significant corporate social responsibility results. It also honours government organisations that receive international quality certificates in these areas. The Arab Organisation for Social Responsibility organises annual forums to improve relations, and exchange information in CSR, thus strengthening cooperation between these key sectors in the Arab World.