Stage set for Sustainability Forum Middle East launch

TDT | Manama      

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Sustainability Forum Middle East will launch its first edition in Bahrain in November 2022 focusing on “Business Transition to Net-Zero – the Path Towards a Successful Low-Carbon Future”.

The timely event will come just after this year’s annual United Nations climate change meeting, the Conference of the Parties (COP27), taking place in Egypt between 7 and 18 November 2022.

This will be followed in November 2023 by COP28 in the UAE, marking the first time this important international climate gathering will take place for two consecutive years in the MENA region, one of the region’s by climate threats and its consequences.

Zahraa Taher, Managing Director at FinMark Communications and Head of the Forum’s Organising Committee, said: “We’re delighted to announce this Forum on a topic that impacts every business in the Kingdom, region and around the world.

To help meet our national and international net-zero objectives every business must play its part irrespective of size or industry.

“While many larger companies have already begun the complex process of transitioning, there are so many others, including many SMEs, that have yet to fully understand and plan for the necessary changes required to decarbonise in order to create more effective, efficient and profitable businesses that are future-proof. It is certainly a great challenge but one that we must all collectively work to meet.

“The Forum will help businesses understand not only what the transition means but provide the opportunity to share knowledge, gain insights and develop practical tools for starting their net-zero journey.”

The event aims to promote and accelerate action to meet net-zero commitments across the GCC and broader MENA region by providing a platform for dialogue and to share experience on the net-zero journeys of economies and businesses underway around the world.

It will bring together a diverse group of senior leaders from the public and private sector across alongside international experts to discuss what the net-zero transition is and what this means for businesses, including those in the GCC and MENA region, which must act swiftly to decarbonise their operations and assets, a task requiring new approaches, practical and systemic changes, new technologies and capital.

The Forum will also address the important work already being done by regional and global businesses and the considerable work that lies ahead to ensure that climate action is brought to the forefront and heart of a business’s operations – both that of large corporates but also that of SMEs, many of which have yet to take a serious look at how to reduce emissions and plan for a net-zero future.

Covering all sectors, the Forum will be holistic in nature, providing a platform to showcase global and regional success stories, discuss challenges and opportunities and provide practical hands-on learning for attendees to understand how best to develop strategies, innovate and move their organisations towards a more sustainable low-carbon economy and future.

There will be an emphasis on the role of government, the private sector and in particular financial institutions in driving and funding the change, which requires significant investment and financing for the business transition of their clients and for new businesses, technologies and projects that can help accelerate decarbonisation.