Dubai: – The role that the private sector and competitiveness play in meeting the 17 SDGs under the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development formed the basis for the final panel discussion at the third UAE Public Policy Forum, which ran from January 27-28 under the under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Titled ‘Policy Coherence and Competitiveness – SDG 17: Accelerating Sustainable Development in National Priority Areas’ the panel, moderated by Professor Raed Alwamleh Dean, Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government – organiser of the forum – discussed how competitiveness and sustainability were not mutually exclusive qualities, but ones that were intrinsically linked.
Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahayan, CEO of Alliance of Global Sustainability, Abu Dhabi, UAE, spoke about how sustainability made good commercial and competitiveness sense. “It’s a competitive advantage for the private sector to be sustainable. For example, in the construction industry, a huge amount of waste was created. If that waste is reduced you would see about 50 per cent of savings, which is a no-brainer for any private sector organisation,” she said.
Habiba Al Marashi President & CEO Arabia CSR Network, also put forward the notion that sustainability created a competitive advantage. “We need to ask ‘How can I innovate in a way that will enable me to achieve what I want at the least cost, so that I will become a clean and lean producer.’ If my energy production goes down and my water consumption goes down and I reduce the waste that is coming from my operations, automatically I will get that competitive advantage,” she said.
Hanan Ahli Executive Director of Competitiveness Culture Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, outlined how sustainable development in the UAE was something that started with the founder of the nation, Sheikh Zayed. “He wanted his people to live in houses, to have quality education, to have the best healthcare system, to have electricity. He started the movement that shaped the DNA of the government. Later on, that placed us on the global map, transitioning us into competitiveness and where we became a key player with other countries, trying to learn as much as possible and setting new standards every now and then,” she commented.
‘Accelerating SDGs Implementation Future Policy Roadmap’ was the title of the third UAE Public Policy Forum, which concluded yesterday at the Intercontinental, Dubai Festival City. The second day of the event featured a keynote speech from Professor Jeffrey Sachs Director, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Director at the Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University, USA.
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