Cop28: Major sustainability initiatives announced by companies

While billion-dollar clean energy deals and ambitious climate funds took centre stage at the Cop28 climate conference in the UAE, several regional and global companies also took the opportunity to announce initiatives aimed at boosting sustainability and lowering their carbon footprint.

At Cop28, the UAE pledged to establish a $30 billion climate-focused fund, while the World Bank, the largest multilateral development bank, committed to raising its climate finance target to $40 billion by 2025, allocating 50 per cent to mitigation and the remainder to adaptation.

Here is a round-up of the announcements made by some of the major companies on the sidelines of the UN summit:

MasterCard

Global payments company MasterCard said that 80 per cent of its cards in the UAE market issued from 2025 would be sustainable, ahead of the company’s global target of 2028.

e&

The UAE’s technology conglomerate e& announced the launch of the Sustainability Consultancy Programme in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The company will provide a free sustainability consultancy, leading to a greenhouse gas assessment of their businesses, to the first eight organisations who wish to be part of the programme and meet the qualification criteria.

To further extend the programme’s impact, other 15 companies will be selected and offered preferential rates.

The company also announced a partnership with World Wide Generation, a British sustainability FinTech company, to launch the “world’s largest” global sustainability exchange platform.

Red Sea Global

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Global, the developer of mega-tourism projects on the kingdom’s west coast, announced a “coral commitment”, vowing to protect and regenerate corals in the Red Sea and other regions.