United Development Company, the master developer of The Pearl and Gewan Islands, has been honored with four international awards for environment and sustainability by the Green Apple organization, in recognition of its outstanding achievements in the areas of pollution control, energy efficiency, water management and carbon emissions reduction, all of which are pivotal elements in the renaissance of improving Environment and sustainable development.
The award was received by Eng. Abdullatif Ali Al Yafei, Executive Director of General Services, on behalf of the United Development Company, during the honoring ceremony held in Miami, Florida, in the United States of America, in appreciation of the company’s efforts represented in the Environment and Sustainability Strategy 2026, which reflects leadership, perseverance, innovation, and a commitment to sustainable business practices on The Pearl Island.
UDC was selected from among 200 nominations that included leading regional and international companies, making UDC the first company in the Middle East to win this type of prestigious award.
UDC’s receipt of these awards will also be documented in the “Green World” book, which reflects the company’s continued commitment to the Qatar National Vision 2030.
Gold award
in the pollution control category
UDC’s award-winning practices include waste recycling and management and focus on reducing plastic, electronic waste, battery waste, and other targeted environmental efforts. It is worth noting that the United Development Company is the first Qatari real estate company to present the marine baskets project to clean the marina and reduce pollution, as the project resulted in the filtering of 2.5 billion tons of marine water and the removal of 2.4 tons of environmental waste and 8.4 kilograms of plastic.
Silver award
in the energy efficiency category
The United Development Company provided a smart lighting system with LED technology that relies only on solar energy to illuminate public and private beaches, and it is composed of about 80% of recycled materials, which ensures obtaining products in a sustainable manner. Smart LED, which resulted in reducing energy consumption by at least 35%, thus managing energy efficiently.
Bronze award
in the Water Management category
Since its inception, The Pearl Island has contributed to highly efficient waste management in order to conserve fresh water consumption. Through technology and sustainable practices, UDC has managed to save more than 2,716,290 gallons of fresh water, by reducing waste and promoting water rationalization. The business has been evaluated and changes have been added. Which is concerned with sustainability and long-term purposeful practices.
Bronze award in the carbon emission reduction category
The largest district cooling plant in the world is located on The Pearl Island, providing the community with environmentally friendly cooling technology while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The cooling plant saved more than 1.7 billion kilowatt-hours of energy, which in turn removed more than 950 million kilograms of second Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, since 2010. That’s the equivalent of removing more than 182,000 cars from our roads or planting more than 11 million mature trees, which would cover an area of more than 32,000 football fields.
Last month, UDC Chief Executive Officer and Board Member Ibrahim Jassim Al-Othman received the 2023 SEAL Sustainability Leaders Award for his role in leadership, innovation, and commitment to sustainable business practices. Al-Othman was selected among 9 CEOs who received the Sustainability Leader Award, as they were selected based on achieving environmental and social governance goals, leadership skills, and the ability to attract and retain talent.
The United Development Company had also recently launched a unique initiative last year to promote the process of reducing carbon emissions represented by planting a tree for every new employee who joins the company and successively every five years he spends in the company.
In addition to all this, the United Development Company cooperated with the Green Organization to plant 12 trees in areas that need them. This initiative contributes to reducing carbon dioxide, providing a source of food, stabilizing the soil, and reducing the impact of carbon dioxide, which reflects the extent of UDC’s commitment to social responsibility at the global level.
