A&A Associate puts sustainability on focus in 2023

Dubai consultancy pledges plants and scale-up sustainability initiatives to reduce carbon emissions

Leading Dubai Business Setup consultancy A&A Associate L.L.C. has pledged to focus on sustainability initiatives to reduce carbon emissions as part of their 2023 resolutions to increase their contributions towards sustainability. With the UAE hosting COP28 later this year, the business setup experts have committed to increasing their efforts by 50 per cent from 2022.

The country is going to host the 28th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) from November 30 to December 12 later this year. This is along with the Net Zero 2050 promise by the national leadership to bring carbon emissions to zero, the first country from the MENA region to do so.

Ahead of the curve

So far, A&A have implemented at their office energy-efficient technologies to reduce waste and emissions and started investing in renewable energy sources. They are partnering with other organisations to promote sustainable development in the country.

“Apart from encouraging our own staff (number) for taking individual initiatives at respective homes, our service representatives also advise clients to implement sustainable procurement practices, such as sourcing materials from environmentally-friendly suppliers and implementing recycling and composting programmes.

“The UAE government has committed to increasing the share of clean energy in the total energy mix to 50 per cent by 2050, and we would like to do every bit we can,” Philip said.

The UAE announced that it will ban single-use plastics by 2024. Apart from the government entities, A&A is among the few private sector companies that have already started to create an eco-friendly environment in their offices.

“We have already made a concentrated effort to help teammates and clients live in a more sustainable fashion by reducing the use of plastics. There is no plastic being used within our offices,” said Philip.

Creating a green culture

Ines, a client of A&A (full name withheld on request): “Here’s an idea that we are thinking of pursuing — group ordering. If you are in an open space with 20 people and each one orders from different places, this multiplies not only the number of containers and packaging bags but also the delivery journeys. We are working on reducing it as much as we can.”

Sandeep Nair, an entrepreneur, said making simple changes in everyday life patterns is also enough. “We have made conscious efforts with reminders initially to change our behaviour until it became a habit like switching off lights when rooms are empty. We’ve also given everyone a plant to grow at their desk.”

A&A has also meticulously recorded the employees’ work-related data like commute times, travel undertaken, energy consumption in the office, etc. “By doing that, we can strategise how to reduce it, and also measure the carbon emissions that need to be offset as a result of the work demands. We get a fair idea of the number of trees needed to be planted to keep the emissions low,” said Philip.

The whole initiative at A&A involves teamwork, says Philip’s subordinate Georgy. “At A&A, we have already reduced our emissions by 20 per cent from 2021 to 2022. In 2023, we are going to aim for an additional 50 per cent.”

“On the side of the sustainable practice, we are planning to start sustainability challenges, like which team produces the least waste. In addition to this, we are constantly on the lookout for sustainable entrepreneurs who want to start their journey toward creating a better world. I think if we can help them, we bring more change to the world.”

A&A Associate is a leading Dubai business setup company and the only firm that houses chartered accountants, lawyers, and consultants providing a wide range of legal, auditing, accounting, and management consulting solutions designed to meet different business needs through a single window. Visit www.aaconsultancy.ae/ if you are someone looking to set up a new business anywhere in the UAE and need help.

• KT Network