The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) hosted yesterday the fifth Hiwar Session, which is a regular event that aims to shed light on current economic, social and environmental issues and its implications for sustainability in Abu Dhabi as seen through the lens of practitioners from the government, business and not-for-profit community.

The session was led by three speakers; Mr Ahmad Lootah representing the Prime Minister’s Office, Engineer Aisha Al Abdooli, in Charge of UAE Green Growth Strategy Follow up Office and Mr Sameer Assaf, Directorate of Energy & Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who spoke about the UAE Vision 2012 and the Green Growth Strategy. The debate focussed on three main areas;

• Developing a common understanding on high-level Government direction, strategies and policies,
• Demonstrating the link between the UAE Vision 2021 and the Green Growth Vision. And,
• Improving understanding of the challenges and opportunities that these trends towards a Green Economy present for Abu Dhabi.

Mr Lootah, Engineer Al Abdooli and Mr Assaf explained how the UAE Vision 2021 and Green Growth Strategy work in tandem and in alignment towards sustainable development, a development where the three pillars - economic, social and environmental are balanced.

The session made significant inroads into building a common understanding on those key topics, thereby providing valuable insights and opportunities to explore the subject in more details with key stakeholders.

The UAE Government is pursuing a holistic policy development approach towards sustainability under a common vision, UAE Vision 2021 and the Green Growth Strategy.

Speaking at the opening of Hiwar, Ms. Huda Al Houqani, ADSG Director said: "Using the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group as an example, we can only stress the need for more effective knowledge sharing of best practice across the world. This Hiwar session, offers an important supporting step in bridging knowledge gaps."

"Organisations that succeed are breaking the mould and moving beyond archaic policies and out-dated management models to embrace sustainability practices and visionary management models that develop meaningful stakeholder engagement and reflect the triple bottom line."

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