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To strengthen their ten-year partnership, the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) and BP have just signed a four-year agreement to continue working together to promote environmental knowledge and empower government and private school communities across the UAE. This agreement includes a third phase of the intrenationally-recognised and award-winning environmental education programme "Sustainable Schools Initiative" (SSI), which has been implemented by EAD since 2009.
The agreement was signed by Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, EAD’s Secretary-General, and Salem bin Ashoor, General Manager and Chief Representative for BP UAE, at EAD’s headquarters at Al Mamoura Building.
The Sustainable Schools Initiative or "Al Madaris Al Mustadama" is an initiative developed by EAD, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) and under the sponsorship of BP. It adopts an intreactive and participatory approach to promoting environmental knowledge and helps build the capacity of school communities so that they are equipped to reduce their school’s ecological footprint and increase their ecological ‘handprint.’ The first and second phases of SSI were carried out in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC) and Tadweer-Centre of Waste Management Abu Dhabi and had a significant impact on the participating schools. Daily water consumption per capita in schools decreased from 32.7 litres in 2015 to 25.88 litres in 2017. Also, schools’ daily waste generation decreased from 99g per capita in 2015 to 55g per capita in 2017. Moreover, 7,201 students were engaged during SSI’s Green School Audit where they assessed their school’s environmental performance.
The third phase of SSI will allow the school community to self-assess its environmental performance online. Specifically, the existing SSI website will be enhanced to include amendments to online courses, which act as a main source for teacher training programmes. The website will also be enhanced to include Teaching of Teachers courses, webinars and workshops, an e-Resource Materials bank, an e-Academy, an Eco-Audit Ranking Management System and an Online Reporting System (school self-assessment).
EAD’s Secretary-General said, "Sustainability is one of the key values adopted by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and we are committed to preserving his environmental legacy and protecting the natural heritage of Abu Dhabi. We seek to promote environmental education, empower and inspire young people to make a positive impact on the environment and build a more sustainable lifestyle."
Al Mubarak added that the Sustainable Schools Initiative is just one of the ways EAD is getting students to act as agents for environmental change and encouraging schools to assess and address their ecological footprint.
General Manager and Chief Representative of BP said, " BP, one of the top Intrenational Energy Companies investing in the Abu Dhabi oil industry since the1930s, is the Exclusive Sponsor of the Sustainable Schools Initiative in support of its agenda to help drive the energy transition to a more sustainable balance between hydrocarbons and renewables and to a lower carbon future."
"As part of BP’s wider contribution to support Abu Dhabi beyond oil and gas, sustainability and developing local capability are key themes BP focuses on through various social investment programmes. BP began sponsoring the Sustainable Campus Initiative, developed and launched by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi 10 years ago, to ensure that BP supports environmental education," he added.
The Sustainable Schools Initiative is used as a global benchmark by the Global Environmental Education Partnership (GEEP), which provides schools in other countries, pursuing environmental education, with a case study to follow.
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