Dubai, 12 June 2018:  In the spirit of Ramadan and in line with the values of the late Sheikh Zayed, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the global, science-led healthcare company, distributed 8,500 ecofriendly Iftar bags last week to people across the GCC, of which 2,500 were delivered in the UAE, in support of the Year of Zayed. 

 

GSK’s CSR initiative aims to bring to life the values of sustainability and human development, as well as humanitarianism and promoting environmental sustainability. 

 

A team of 50 volunteers from GSK’s office in the UAE offered an Iftar meal in a sustainable bag to 2,500 people across Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The bags, which are produced by EnTec, an environment services company, are made of an ecofriendly material, designed to be rewashed and reused, in order to help reduce plastic bag waste. 

 

Commenting on the initiative, Sally Storey, Vice President and General Manager of GSK in the GCC, said: “We believe in giving back to the communities we operate in and we are delighted to help make a difference today, however small. GSK was established more than 30 years ago in the UAE, during the rule of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE. Ever since, the Emirates has provided us with innumerable opportunities to become one of the most innovative companies helping over 6 million people across the UAE do more, feel better and live longer.”

 

According to GSK’s last assessment in 2016, 88% of its packaging is sourced responsibly. By 2020, GSK’s goal is to source globally at least 90% of the paper packaging from responsible sources. And, in 2017 only, GSK’s employees contributed 40,000 hours globally in volunteering activities across all its flagship programmes.