Chalhoub, LVMH, Emaar Mall, MAF and Aldar Properties unite to promote sustainability

Luxury retailer Chalhoub Group, luxury goods company LVMH, Emaar Malls Management, Majid Al Futtaim Properties and Abu Dhabi’s biggest listed developer Aldar Properties have partnered to accelerate sustainability targets in the UAE’s retail sector.

They have formed a joint taskforce, called Unity For Change, that aims to negotiate and execute an agreement by the end of 2024 on collaborative sustainability key performance indicators, according to a statement from the stakeholders on Saturday.

Key areas of co-operation include energy efficiency, clean energy, eco-design, water and waste management.

Objectives involve enhancing energy management, developing eco-design checklists, increasing clean energy adoption, improving water and air conditioning efficiency, researching greener alternatives for cement and recycling operational waste, the statement said.

“The aim of this partnership is collective action to reduce carbon footprint,” Patrick Chalhoub, group president of Chalhoub Group, said.

“We will focus on how to act on waste and water management, both in our own stores and in our retailers, use eco designs and green cement, how to reduce electricity needs and use renewable energy.

“We will fix certain KPIs to make it happen.”

In 2021, the UAE unveiled its Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative, a Dh600 billion ($163.4 billion) plan to invest in clean and renewable energy sources over the next three decades.

It was the first Gulf country to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050.

The strategic initiative aligns with the Paris Agreement, agreed in 2015 and signed by 195 countries including the UAE, which aims to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The Unity For Change announcement comes as the UAE hosts the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai.

Under the initiative, after the KPIs have been defined and agreed upon by the end of 2024, each party will designate a co-ordinator who will evaluate sustainability progress and report to the parties, the statement said.