Dubai, UAE June 19, 2019: Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, has published its 2018 Sustainability Report, showcasing positive progress towards the targets set out in its company-wide sustainable development strategy, ‘Dare Today, Change Tomorrow’. The report highlights reduction in carbon footprint and water usage by 4% and 7% respectively, despite adding 44 new physical assets into the company’s operations.

 

While the company made steady progress towards the goals set in its strategy in 2018, it also committed to addressing 10 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and joined the United Nations Environment Programme to collaborate on resource efficiency and sustainable developments. 

 

Ibrahim Al-Zu’bi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Majid Al Futtaim Holding, commented on the report: “At Majid Al Futtaim we have been ahead of the curve in the region, integrating sustainability into our business thinking since 2012. Our 2018 report highlights the significant progress we have made on our sustainability journey to reduce our environmental impact, support the local communities we operate in and deliver more sustainable experiences for our customers.”

 

“The reductions we have achieved in carbon output and water usage in particular underline how serious we are about sustainability and demonstrate important headway being made towards our 2040 Net Positive goal and changing our own world.” Al Zu’bi added.

 

Majid Al Futtaim’s 2018 Sustainability Report provides a complete overview of the company’s sustainability achievements and progress against its long-term targets across three core priorities: Rethinking Resources, Transforming Lives and Empowering our People.

 

2018 Highlights:

 

Rethinking Resources: Majid Al Futtaim has increased its efforts in water, energy and waste management across all businesses, in line with its commitment to rethinking its use of resources to make a positive impact. Majid Al Futtaim also reduced both its operational carbon emissions and water usage by 4% and 7% respectively, despite the addition of 44 new sites to the company’s operations. Majid Al Futtaim - Retail successfully managed to reduce both its water use and carbon emissions over the past year by 10% and 7% respectively and Majid Al Futtaim Properties also managed to reduce its water consumption by 8%, despite opening two new shopping malls. The Group also announced the installation of 7,291 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels at Mall of the Emirates, set to produce 3 GWh of clean energy annually. These results show significant progress towards achieving the Group’s 2040 Net Positive goal.

 

Transforming Lives: The company’s plans for Transforming Lives are ambitious and multifaceted, with several initiatives launched across all businesses in order to transform the lives of the communities the Group serves. A key highlight under this pillar is Majid Al Futtaim’s work to raise the UAE’s profile in snow sports and create opportunities for Emirati athletes. In 2018, Ski Dubai launched the first ever UAE snow sport team and was instrumental in the UAE’s application to the International Ski Federation (FIS). Ski Dubai also hosted the UAE’s inaugural Para Snow Sports events, featuring elite athlete participation from more than 26 countries.

 

Empowering our People: Majid Al Futtaim has placed a strong focus on employee training with 911,000 hours of training delivered to ensure people have the required skills and expertise to navigate the company’s journey towards international sustainability leadership.

 

This year, Majid Al Futtaim is integrating newer, more efficient practices, across all businesses. These include the installation of LED lights, sensor taps and management systems in its buildings, whilst ensuring that new buildings and fit outs meet the increasingly ambitious sustainability standards. The company is also creating an Innovation Centre of Excellence to crowdsource innovative solutions. Furthermore, it has committed to establishing an Enterprise Hub, which will support the development of skills and entrepreneurship in line with local needs. This will help boost the economy and increase community resilience to the economic changes facing society today. 

 

The Group will also continue to focus on training, with an eLearning module to be created for the entire business in 2019, and sustainability content to be embedded within its Top Talent programme and the GROW, EMERGE and ENGAGE training programmes for team leaders, professionals, and graduates, respectively.