DEWA’s Sustainability Culture Index reading reaches 92.67%, reflecting strong employee commitment

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that it achieved a Sustainability Culture Index reading of 92.67% in 2024, based on a corporate survey of about 4,000 employees. The Sustainability Culture Index measures employees’ awareness of sustainability concepts and their commitment to applying them in the workplace. It is a key tool for assessing the effectiveness of awareness initiatives and advancing organisational sustainability practices.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, expressed his contentment with the result, emphasising that it reflects DEWA’s continued commitment to spreading a culture of sustainability among its employees and empowering them to actively support the national agenda for sustainable development. He noted that DEWA was the first government entity to adopt sustainability as part of its vision and strategic plan, making it a key driver of development and progress. This approach aligns with the directives of the wise leadership to balance economic growth with environmental protection while investing in human capital and enhancing expertise in sustainability.

“Sustainability is a core pillar of all our operations. We adopt a comprehensive strategy to instil a culture of sustainability among all stakeholders and engage employees, customers and members of the community in our environmental and resource conservation efforts. Through these initiatives, we aim to support the UAE’s leading role in global climate action and contribute to achieving the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 and the Dubai Net Zero Carbon Emissions Strategy 2050 to provide 100% of the emirate’s energy production capacity from clean sources by 2050,” said Al Tayer.

Waleed bin Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA, said DEWA’s top management is committed to embedding sustainability into day-to-day operations and practices while fostering it as an organisational culture.

“DEWA continues to implement and support initiatives that demonstrate the positive impact of sustainability at a corporate level and raise employee awareness, turning them into sustainability ambassadors by encouraging more sustainable behaviours inside and outside the workplace,” said bin Salman.

Mohammed Abdulkareem Al Shamsi, Chief Climate Change & Sustainability Officer at DEWA, noted that the Sustainability Leadership Team, comprising 34 employees from DEWA’s various divisions, works to promote and implement sustainability concepts. He highlighted that the ‘Sustainability Connect’ initiative provides an educational and interactive platform that enhances employee engagement with sustainability topics and deepens their understanding of DEWA’s sustainable practices.

Various activities and events

The ‘Sustainability Connect’ initiative has seen notable success in engaging employees with sustainability topics and encouraging them to adopt more sustainable behaviours at work and beyond. The initiative includes quality programmes such as ‘Sustainability Talks’, which aims to build employee capacity and raise awareness of DEWA’s sustainability efforts. Since the initiative was launched in May 2024, DEWA has organised many awareness-raising activities, including 36 sessions under the ‘Sustainability Talks’ programme, with 3,870 employees participating. It has also held six internal competitions for employees and external competitions through social media platforms, attracting 5,000 participants in total. Through the initiative, 92 employees registered and were trained in how to use the Energy Management System (ISO 50001) to increase energy efficiency awareness, in addition to be informed about the system’s requirements. The programme concluded with a trivia competition involving 39 employees from 13 divisions and departments, designed to test their knowledge of DEWA’s 2024 Sustainability Report and foster healthy competition among staff.