UAE capital aims to reduce energy, water and waste

Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) is spearheading a major campaign to deliver substantial sector-wide energy, water and waste reduction by the end of 2010.

Under its industry-leading Environmental, Health and Safety Management System (EHSMS) for the emirate’s entire tourism sector, ADTA is targeting 10% energy, 20% water and 20% waste-to-landfill savings over the coming year.

“These ambitious targets are aimed at improving the environmental performance of hotels so that they are in line with, if not better than, the world’s greenest,” says Nasser Al Reyami, ADTA’s Tourism Standards Director.

The initiatives have been rolled out in a series of EHSMS seminars and workshops to help stakeholders - hotels in particular - kick-start programmes aimed at meeting the 12-month targets. The seminars have introduced delegates to EHSMS, as well as outlining how organisations can develop and audit an individual entity system.

“We have received a tremendous response to the initiative from more than 130 representatives from the emirate’s 113 hotels and hotel apartments,” says Al Reyami. “Participants have been extremely positive about the initiative, viewing it as a significant investment in the hotel sector.”

ADTA’s EHSMS is said to the first in the world developed to encompass an entire tourism sector.

Photo from TripAdvisor

More information: www.abudhabitourism.ae/