Dubai, UAE: At its headquarters in the Dubai Media City, du hosted the latest of The Sustainability Business Network's sessions, entitled 'Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy: Practical Business Solutions in the UAE'. Hosting the session is in line with du's sustainability initiatives, which sees the company actively seeking more green alternatives to its energy consumption by deploying efficient technology - including solar energy solutions. 

Speakers at the event were Jesus Gutierrez, Founder and Co-Managing Director, Smart4Power; Waseem Ashraf Qureshi, Founder, Director and Chief Technical Officer, MiccGreenTec; Luma Jasim, Vice President, Corporate Communications, du, and AbdulMajid Harmoodi, Director, Electro Mechanical - Infrastructure Development and Permits, du. 

"Sustainability is more easily achieved in partnership with several organisations, who can work collaboratively to the benefit of the community as well as their own organisations," said Hala Badri, Executive Vice President, Brand and Communication, du. "In this vein we encourage partnerships amongst our peers in the UAE community, to bring more awareness of the importance of sustainability and to introduce people to the various sustainable initiatives that exist in the country." 

Mr. Ulysses Papadopoulos, Founder of The Sustainability Business Network said "I wish to thank du for generously hosting the event at their Dubai HQ. It was an impressive speaker line-up across the spectrum of energy-efficiency and solar energy. I am delighted with the turnout of attendees which demonstrates the huge interest in this subject matter. SBN looks forward to hosting more Sustainability-related events in partnership with du in the future". 

In 2013, du contracted Dubai Carbon Centre for Excellence (DCCE) to conduct a thorough assessment of its carbon emissions, as a proactive step towards further reducing its carbon footprint. As a result of the assessment, du has developed a comprehensive data management system to understand and monitor its energy. 

du has more than 200 base transceiver stations that are powered by smart hybrid energy systems, that use solar-powered batteries alongside traditional fossil-fuel powered generators. Since the start of this initiative in 2012, until end of June 2014, the total diesel saving has been 4,400,000 litres resulting in a reduction of 11,000 ton of CO2 emissions. In the first 6 months of 2014 alone, these sites had an diesel savings of 1,500,000  litres, resulting in a reduction of 3,750  ton of CO2 emissions. du also has a 4 sites in the UAE that run on 100% solar energy. 

For more information on du's energy-efficient initiatives and achievements, click here

For more information on The Sustainability Business Network and forthcoming events, visit http://www.greenemirates.org/

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