When judging these awards, what are you looking for?
The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has established a set of criteria by which to judge entries. However, in addition to ensuring that participants meet these assessment KPIs, we are always on the lookout for entries that go above and beyond the minimum standard of their own hotel operations to become inspirational stories from which their peers in the industry can learn from. We hope to see hotels and other entities involved in the travel trade raise the bar higher and higher with each passing year.
Can you share your journey in this industry, and why sustainability is important?
I joined EWS-WWF almost 10 years ago, and today serve as the organisation’s director general. As an Emirati, I am especially grateful to be in a position to make a real difference to our nation’s wildlife and natural resource conservation efforts — two things I am passionate about.
Environmental sustainability is important to me, as it should be to all of us, because everything that supports the survival of humans is dependent on the environment. The wellness of the environment directly relates to our wellness and health, as well as every other species on the planet. Our local heritage is also deeply rooted in the physical environment, which provides us with remarkable beauty that we can all appreciate, and which we need to preserve. Sadly, we face an issue when it comes to consuming resources. Our demand has increased so greatly that we would need 1.5 Earths to sustain it and if no action is taken, we will soon require two Earths well before 2050. We are blessed to live in a country where we have the capability and capacity to make a real difference in the lives of those around us — and the millions of tourists who visit every year.
How does EWS-WWF engage with the travel industry, and what more can it do?
We work hand-in-hand with the UAE’s hotel and tourism industry to ensure that its constituents are leading by example in setting a global standard for sustainable practices, while engaging stakeholders and supporting local conservation as they increase their own value and integrity.
For example, EWS-WWF provides resources for the industry to advance their own sustainability objectives — such as offering energy and water conservation toolkits, staff/guest engagement guides, speakers, and hands-on activities to engage their employees and guests across their operations — creating value for their brand while building motivation and loyalty. Additionally, we provide opportunities for hotels to demonstrate their commitment to supporting government initiatives and we engage with them through our various existing partnerships, such as the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative. Taking an active role in environmental stewardship has become a golden opportunity for the wider business community to create innovative, smarter, more cost-effective and sustainable ways to succeed in increasingly competitive markets. The merits of this approach are being demonstrated by many brands such as global leaders Unilever, Ikea, Coca Cola, IBM, Panasonic Microsoft and, HSBC; but also by many of our own UAE brands, including Majid Al Futtaim — a well-recognised conglomerate working hard to reduce its own footprint while supporting civil society. These, and many other organisations, are already reaping the rewards and showing a positive ROI from a variety of angles including revenue, stock performance, product-level profitability, brand reputation, accounting for externalities, reduced risk exposure, employee and consumer engagement, and more.
Moving forward, we aim to further collaborate with the hotel and tourism industry on transformational change through long-term strategic partnerships with key players that can eventually become leaders in sustainable practice. We will be working closely with WWF international who are pioneers in conservation travel, sustainable travel that supports the protection of nature, wildlife, and local communities.
Additionally, as a non-profit organisation, EWS-WWF requires a consistent stream of financial support in order to continue to carry out its many valuable conservation programmes. We have thus created various avenues for the hotel and tourism sector to be able to contribute towards the sustenance of these programmes.
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