Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group Report 2008/2010 - Laying the Foundations

May 2008Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) launches its first Sustainability Report. H.E. Mohamed Al Bowardi, Secretary General of the AD Executive Council and Managing Director of EAD calls for the establishment of the ADSG.

Representative organizations from some of the most important sectors for the Emirate sustainability: Energy, Industry, Transport, Tourism, Health, Oil and Gas, Construction and Building are invited to join the ADSG.

June 2008On June 30th the ADSG is established. Fifteen founding members sign the ADSG Declaration committing to adopt sustainability management and reporting practices: ADCCI, ADNOC, ADTA, ADWEA, DMA, DED, DOT, EAD, HAAD, ZonesCorp, Aldar, Dolphin, NBAD, Sorouh, Emirates Foundation.

November 2008The General Secretariat is established with two permanent members: the General Secretariat of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, and five elected members: ADCCI, ADWEA, Aldar, Dolphin Energy, Emirates Foundation.

March 2009The ADSG Charter is approved by the founding members stating the mission, goals, governance and members’ rights and duties.

The ADSG action plan 2009 is approved. Training activities are initiated with three workshops: The roadmap towards sustainability, sustainability reporting and stakeholder management.

May 2009One-on-One technical support starts to provide assistance to members to document their business cases for sustainability.

June 2009EAD sets up a sustainability unit to provide strategic and operational support to the ADSG General Secretariat and its members. The CEO/MD Leadership Group meets in a gala dinner to celebrate the ADSG first anniversary.

EAD issues its second sustainability report. Sorouh issues its first sustainability report.

July-December 2009The ADSG approves the membership criteria and membership process, the range of products and services to be delivered to members, and the logo.

A member task force starts the design of the agenda for the first Abu Dhabi Annual Sustainability Forum. Training needs are assessed through a survey.

ADCCI issues its first sustainability report.

Masdar City, Urban Planning Council (UPC) and Aramex join the ADSG.

January-March 2010The ADSG action plan 2010 is approved. Training activities continue with a workshop on sustainability reporting.

Etihad Airways and Mubadala Development Company join the ADSG.

April-June 2010Training activities continue with a workshop on Transparency in the Value Chain;

Quarterly meetings are open to guest speakers;

Four flagship programs are launched;

Khalifa Fund joins the ADSG.

ADSG leads a Delegation of 13 members to the GRI Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency held in Amsterdam;

The ADSG Portal and the ADSG newsletter are launched.

15 founding members develop their sustainability reports.

Launching (2008) Laying the foundations (2009) Outreach (2010)

CEO/MD meeting8th July 2010

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group Strategy 2011/2013 - From Reporting to Action

Vision and mission Goals Objectives Initiatives Products and services Projects

Our vision Sustainability management is considered a competitive advantage for organizational success in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

G1 - Raise awareness and understanding of sustainability management and reporting principles and practices

High level of awareness and understanding of sustainability amongst government, private and not for profit organizations

Knowledge creation and dissemination

Communication

Sustainability index Sustainability Awareness Index Portal Resource Centre Newsletter 4 quarterly issues

Publications (Knowledge)

Issue brief “Abu Dhabi: Our case for sustainability”. Guide “The sustainability management cycle: A handbook for organizations” Toolbox “The sustainability management cycle: A toolbox for organizations” Case study “Sustainability in practice: The case of the Abu Dhabi

Sustainability Group” White paper “Sustainable procurement” White paper “Sustainable ICT”

White paper “Waste Management”

White paper “Sustainable labour practices and decent work”

Publications (Communication)

Brochure “About Us” Press releases (4 quarterly releases) Articles (4 quarterly articles)

Seminars

Member seminars (Guest speakers in Forum Quarterly meetings)

Public seminars (Construction, Hospitality, Financial Sector, ICT, Health, Education, and Media)

G2 - Facilitate the adoption of sustainability management and reporting practices

Best practices of sustainability management and reporting adopted amongst government, private and not for profit organizations

Capability building

Quality assurance

Recognition

Training meetings Workshops (4 quarterly meetings) Training programs Sustainability institute Training of trainers Training module for employees One-on-one-support Sustainability case & Scorecard (10/20 common indicators) Mentoring Transparency in the supply chain Benchmarking Global Reporters methodology External assurance GRI check, Third party assurance Awards Abu Dhabi Sustainability Award

G3 - Provide a forum for experience sharing and learning about good governance, sustainability management and reporting practices

Experience shared amongst government, private and not for profit organizations.

Experience-sharing meetings

General Secretariat meeting

Progress scorecard

Forum quarterly meeting

Member seminars (Guest speakers in Forum Quarterly meetings)

CEO/MD meeting Annual report Annual Sustainability

Forum Abu Dhabi Sustainability forum

G4 - Support sustainability initiatives within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Economic, environmental, social and governance (EESG) issues advocated by the ADSG addressed by its members and by other organizations in Abu Dhabi.

Advocacy Flagship programs

Sustainable procurement Sustainable ICT Waste management Labour practices and decent work Education for sustainability

G5 – Create opportunities for international cooperation and recognition

ADSG recognized by the international community as an active group promoting sustainability management and reporting

Networking

Affiliations GRI Partnerships GRI, Global Compact

Conferences GRI, AFED

G6 - Build an excellent, autonomous and sustainable organization

An excellent, autonomous and sustainable not-for-profit organization.

Membership

Performance management framework

Members

Performance management deliverables

Strategy Action plan Budget MOUs Products and services Annual report

Our missionTo promote sustainability management in Abu Dhabi by providing learning and knowledge sharing opportunities for government, private and not for profit organizations in a spirit of

cooperation and open dialogue

Our values and principles*Responsibility: We all share responsibility for our common present and future * Accountability: We are answerable for our impacts on our stakeholders * Transparency: We ensure the timely and accurate disclosure of

all material issues

CEO/MD meeting8th July 2010