UAE primary aluminium industry leads by example with multifaceted initiative

United Arab Emirates, 26 March 2015: Evidencing a deep commitment to sustainability, Emirates Global Aluminium (“EGA”) – one of the world’s five largest primary aluminium producers – is again an active participant in Earth Hour this year. With EGA’s operating subsidiaries Dubai Aluminium (“DUBAL”) and Emirates Aluminium (“EMAL”) having participated annually since 2009, Earth Hour 2015 marks the seventh consecutive year of EGA’s involvement in the global Earth Hour movement.

Aiming to encourage responsible corporate citizenship throughout the EGA workforce as well as participation in Earth Hour 2015, EGA has hosted an awareness campaign during the week leading up to the global event, which takes place from 20:30 to 21:30 on Saturday 28 March. Then, as in prior years, EGA and its employees will participate actively during Earth Hour by switching of non-essential lighting at EGA’s business premises and in employees’ homes.

Reflecting the Earth Hour 2015 theme, “Use your power to change climate change”, the EGA “Change Climate Change” campaign emphasised the importance of operating EGA’s business in a responsible manner and in ways that do not jeopardize the environment or deplete the world’s limited natural resources. It also highlighted the need to go beyond the event, by continually looking at ways to operate more efficiently, waste less, and reduce one’s ecological footprint. Various communications channels were used to spread the word, including email, e-posters, intranet banners, PC wallpaper, and bulk SMS-messaging to EGA employees. E-posters were been sent to customers, suppliers and contractors to advise them of EGA’s participation in Earth Hour 2015 and to encourage them to join the movement.

Several initiatives were launched as part of EGA’s “Change Climate Change” campaign, such as:

• Encouraging the use of the Dubai Metro by distributing over 400 NOL cards to EGA employees living on-site at DUBAL and simultaneously suspending all bus services to and from the city on Saturday 28 March;
• Planting 250 trees at DUBAL’s Jebel Ali site;
• Hosting an Earth Hour quiz for employees, for which environment-friendly prizes can be won; and
• Conducting sessions at the Al Iman School and the Dubai National Charity School in early-March, where students learnt about the importance of the event as well as how they can incorporate conservation practices into their daily lives.

“Protecting the environment and contributing meaningfully to the communities where we operate are among EGA’s core values,” says Khalid Buhumaid (Senior Vice President, Communication & Government Relations). “As a responsible organisation, we focus on sustainable practices – be it recycling our products and by-products, adopting energy-efficient methods or instilling an environmentally conscious culture among our employees through green initiatives. This “Change Climate Change” campaign and our participation in Earth Hour 2015 reflect EGA’s commitment to optimising energy consumption and minimising the impact of our operations on the environment. While switching-off all unnecessary lighting and equipment for an hour will conserve energy, EGA believes that supporting the greater goals of Earth Hour will help to instil a long-term commitment in our employees to protect the environment and help tackle climate change.”