Dubai, UAE: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has won the 2024 Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance. This recognition is a testament to the unwavering commitment to excellence, transparency and ethical leadership in corporate governance. It reflects DEWA’s commitment to upholding and maintaining governance best practice, innovation and sustainability across its operations and in every facet of the company.

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, received the award at DEWA’s head office in the presence of Waleed bin Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development & Excellence, Dr Ali Almuwaijei, Vice President of Governance, Compliance and Agility, and team members from the Governance department.

Al Tayer expressed his happiness at DEWA winning one of the most prominent awards and emphasised DEWA’s contribution towards enhancing stakeholder and investor trust, brand value, organisational integrity and fairness, and accountability and transparency.

“We work in line with directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to achieve the goals of the ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision that represents a national plan through which the UAE will continue its development path for the next 10 years, with focus on social, economic, investment and development aspects. The plan seeks to enhance the position of the UAE as a global partner and as an attractive and influential economic hub,” said Al Tayer.

He added that DEWA adheres to the highest standards of good governance, compliance and transparency. Consequently, it has emerged as a global leader in utility governance, enhancing its efficiency and productivity. The company has an effective and dynamic governance strategy that accounts for local, regional and international shifts in the energy and water sectors.

“Good governance is a cornerstone of DEWA’s decision-making process and a main pillar in achieving globally competitive results. This award is a testament to DEWA’s commitment to adopting the best international practices to improve its services and reach the highest levels of efficiency and reliability,” Al Tayer said.

He noted that DEWA adopted governance standards in 2008, with all DEWA divisions and departments implementing best practice in good governance. This has ensured a positive impact on DEWA’s productivity and customer experience.

DEWA won the award following a comprehensive auditing process conducted by Golden Peacock Award panel to ensure compliance with the highest international standards in governance. The event was held in London, with leaders of industry from around the world taking part. The Golden Peacock Award is considered one of the highest accolades in corporate governance, recognising organisations that demonstrate exemplary standards of accountability, fairness and transparency.

DEWA not only follows the guidance and requirements of the ISO 37000 guide on Governance of Organisations, the BS 13500 guide on Effective Governance Management Systems, the Security and Commodity Authority (SCA) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), but also benchmarks its activities with leading international companies and industry best practice. DEWA has demonstrated exceptional capabilities in corporate governance practice by adopting a robust and comprehensive governance framework that spans all divisions and subsidiaries. It has also maintained a strong focus on data integrity and security, in addition to deploying artificial intelligence in day-to-day operations and adopting water governance practices to exemplify its commitment to sustainable resource management.

Bin Salman commended the governance team for their notable accomplishment, saying: "I am pleased with the team's commitment and hard work that led to this milestone in our endeavour for excellence. This award affirms our commitment to governance and ethical business conduct, and a culture of openness and integrity, and we plan to build on this achievement to reach higher levels of excellence.” He also emphasised that winning this award underscores DEWA’s steadfast commitment to upholding the highest standards in corporate governance.