DUBAL helps Clean Up UAE

As a responsible corporate citizen, Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (DUBAL) — the entirely state-owned enterprise that owns and operates one of the largest single-site smelters in the world — is committed to acting responsibly and admirably to protect the environment and safeguard the well-being of its employees, contractors, site visitors and neighbouring communities. Expression is given to this commitment through DUBAL's corporate support of organisations and campaigns whose objectives reflect the company's own ambition of "Zero Harm to People and the Environment".

A case in point is Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) — the UAE's leading environmental organization. As an active corporate member of EEG, DUBAL lent its support to the 9th Clean Up UAE campaign, hosted by EEG on 12 December 2010, by arranging an internal housekeeping campaign at DUBAL's Jebel Ali site.

Co-ordinated by DUBAL's Power & Desalination Operations, in conjunction with the company's dedicated Environment, Health & Safety ("EHS") and Waste departments, the initiative involved employees from these areas voluntarily conducting a thorough clean-up of the company's premises — with specific emphasis on picking-up litter, segregating the materials at source, and disposing of the waste appropriately. Abdulmunim Bin Brek (Vice President: Engineering, Expansion & EHS) reports that 300 employees responded to the company's call to participate in the initiative. "We divided the plant into sectors and placed waste bins at pre-defined points, then allocated teams of employees to focus on the various areas. After an intense one-hour period, a total of 2,260 kilograms of waste had been collected," he says.

"Our employees' enthusiasm was very encouraging, as it confirmed a general acceptance of individual responsibility for the well-being of the working environment," Bin Brek concludes. "If everyone does their bit, our world will be a cleaner, healthier and safer place."