Harnessing renewable energy

We reached a significant landmark in 2016 with the launch of our Renewable Energy White Paper, which sets out plans for an investment in renewable energy of AED 152 million that will reduce our annual carbon footprint by 27,000 absolute tonnes of carbon and will deliver a return on investment in as little as nine years.

In line with this environmental commitment we will now aim to source a minimum of 7.5% of our energy consumption via solar panels at all new developments and a minimum of 5% in existing buildings by the end of 2017. We will also look into using thermal and ground source cooling technology whenever feasible.

In addition, assessments will be carried out into the feasibility of establishing off-site solar and wind power plants and large scale solar panel installations. We will also be establishing the feasibility of power purchasing agreements with partner businesses that support the growth of renewable energy across the region.

Work is already underway on delivering on our new target. Our City Centre Me’aisem mall in Dubai has car park shading structures featuring integrated solar panels that aim to generate 12% of the annual energy consumption of the entire building, and similar arrangements have been put in place at the My City Centre Al Barsha mall, also in Dubai. We are investigating the installation of solar facilities across a number of other assets and in 2016 obtained internal sign off for work at two further properties.

The white paper is the first in a series of thought leadership publications, of which there will be more in 2017. It also provides stakeholders with a useful understanding of our business and environmental case for investing in renewable energy.