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Strategy 2011/2013 (Final draft)

From reporting to action

ADSG Strategy 2011-2013 (Final draft)

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INDEX The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) ......................................................................................................................... 3

ADSG Members .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 5

1. Our Commitment: the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group Declaration .................................................................. 7

1. Our Mission .......................................................................................................................................................................... 8

2. Our Values and Principles ................................................................................................................................................ 8

3. Our Stakeholders ............................................................................................................................................................... 9

4. Our Sustainability Context ............................................................................................................................................. 10

4.1The Abu Dhabi Policy Agenda 2030 ...................................................................................................................... 10

4.2PESTLE Analysis .......................................................................................................................................................... 11

4.3SWOT Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................... 13

5. ADSG Strategy (2011-2013) .......................................................................................................................................... 15

5.1Our Vision .................................................................................................................................................................... 15

5.2Strategic Goal 1 .......................................................................................................................................................... 16

5.3Strategic Goal 2 .......................................................................................................................................................... 19

5.4Strategic Goal 3 .......................................................................................................................................................... 22

5.5Strategic Goal 4 .......................................................................................................................................................... 23

5.6Strategic Goal 5 .......................................................................................................................................................... 24

5.7Strategic Goal 6 .......................................................................................................................................................... 25

5.8Summary of strategic initiatives .............................................................................................................................. 29

5.9Summary of strategic and operational indicators ............................................................................................... 31


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The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG)

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) is a membership organization whose mission is to promote sustainability1 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.

The ADSG was established in June 2008 as a forum of members who have signed the ADSG Declaration, committing to adopt best practices of sustainability management and reporting and to actively participate in ADSG activities. The ADSG is open to new members willing to practice and champion sustainability in Abu Dhabi.

The ADSG is an organization with far-sighted aspirations to encourage co-responsibility in Abu Dhabi to ensure that government entities, business and not for profit organizations are all partners in working towards achieving the goal of economic, environmental and social sustainability2, as well as contributing to the strengthening of intercultural dialogue about global and local sustainability trends, relevant in the Arab World and beyond.

To achieve its mission, the ADSG provides services to members to help them improve their sustainability management and reporting practices. Those services are focused on:

1 Improving knowledge (through a portal, a newsletter, publications and seminars), 2 Developing capabilities (through training, one-on-one support, and benchmarking) 3 Sharing experience (through forums and meetings) 4 Facilitating Advocacy (through flagship programs) 5 Building networks (through partnerships with local and international organizations) 6 Expanding the member network (through outreach activities) 7 Reporting performance (through the groups various forums and an annual report)

Some of these activities are also open to non-member organizations to contribute to promote sustainability management within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

1 Sustainability was defined for the first time in 1987 by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development as A development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The primary goal of sustainability is meeting the basic needs of all and extending to all opportunities for a better life. It refers to three type of needs:

Economic needs (access to wealth to cover, at least, basic human needs) Environmental needs (access to clean and safe environment and clean and safe products and services) Social needs (a catch-all dimension, includes access to work, education, health, housing and culture amongst other needs).

2 The ADSG logo symbolizes the triple bottom line: People (represented by older and younger generations), Planet (represented by the sun) and Profits (represented by infrastructure). The triple bottom line refers to a way of accounting for an organizations performance based on its added economic value and its combined contribution to economic prosperity (Profit), environmental quality (Planet) and social equity (People).


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ADSG Members

Government organizations

Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ADCCI)

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)

Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)

Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC)

Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA)

Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA)

Department of Economic Development Abu Dhabi (DED)

Department of Transport (DOT)

Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD)

Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD)

Higher Corporation for Specialized Economic Zones (Zones Corp)

Private companies

AL DAR Properties

Aramex Abu Dhabi

Dolphin Energy (Dolphin)

Etihad Airways

Masdar - Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company

Mubadala Development Company

National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD)

Sorouh Real State

Not for profit organizations

Emirates Foundation

Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development


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Introduction

About this strategy

This is our medium term strategy. It explains how we envision the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) in the medium term and how we will carry out our core mission and contribute to the long-term goal of promoting sustainability management in Abu Dhabi in the period 2011 2013.

This strategy marks a shift from the intensity of a start-up phase of building a network and developing the services and processes required to engage our members to being in a position to use the lessons learnt during our first two years of activity to respond effectively to the needs of our members and other organizations in Abu Dhabi to improve sustainability management and reporting.

Thanks to the knowledge acquired during the past two years about the needs of our members and the sustainability context in Abu Dhabi we are ready to document our midterm strategy, which will guide our actions in the next three years. This strategy has been designed to help us achieve our strategic goals ensuring our relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact and institutional sustainability as well as increasing our visibility.

The road travelled

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) was established in 2008 with the mission to promote sustainability management in Abu Dhabi by providing learning and knowledge sharing opportunities for government, private and not for profit organizations.

During our first year (2008-2009) we gathered support for the initiative which attracted 15 leading organizations signatories of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group Declaration. In November 2008 we elected our first General Secretariat, and in March 2009 we approved the ADSG Charter stating our mission, strategic goals and governance framework.

During our second year (2009-2010) we laid the foundations to help our members to improve their sustainability management practices. In May 2009 we started providing training on issues such as reporting, stakeholder management and environmental sustainability as well as one-on-one support to help member organizations develop and articulate their business cases for sustainability.

During the second half of 2009 we developed the membership criteria and process and the portfolio of services to be delivered to our members. During the first half of 2010 we continued training, developed our communications tools, designed our midterm strategy 2011-2013 and started raising our visibility by participating in local and international events.


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Our Milestones

Launching (2008) Laying the foundations (2009)

November 2008 The ADSG 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, and Emirates Foundation.

March 2009 The 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: sustainability management, reporting and stakeholder management.

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

June 2009 EAD sets up a sustainability unit to provide strategic and operational support to the ADSG General Secretariat and its members.

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

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

ADCCI issues its first sustainability report.

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

Reaching out (2010)

January-March 2010 The 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 2010 Training 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 issue their sustainability reports.

May 2008 Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) launches its first Sustainability Report. H.E. Mohammed 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 2008 On June 30th the ADSG is established where 15 founding members sign the ADSG Declaration committing to adopt sustainability management and reporting practices.

Moving from reporting to action (2011-2013)

1. Knowledgedissemination:Awarenessindex,Toolbox,Seminars

2. CapabilityBuilding:Sustainabilityinstitute,Sustainabilityscorecard(ADSGcommonindicators),Benchmarking

3. Experiencesharing:AbuDhabiAnnualSustainabilityForum

4. Advocacy:Keysustainabilityissues(Reporting,Procurement,ICT,Waste,Laborpractices,Education)

5. Networking:Strategiclocalandinternationalpartnershipsfocusedaroundkeysustainabilityissues

6. Membership:Recruitment,Support

7. Performancemanagement:Autonomousnotforprofitorganization


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1. Our Commitment: the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group Declaration

On June 30th, 2008 and based on an invitation from H.E. Mohammed Al Bowardi, the Secretary General of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and the Managing Director of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, representatives from selected leading government, private and not for profit organizations3 signed the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group Declaration committing to adopt best sustainability management4 and sustainability reporting5 practices in order to address some of the economic, environmental and social challenges faced by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

ABU DHABI SUSTAINABILITY GROUP DECLARATION

Abu Dhabi, 30th of June 2008

We, the undersigned, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group founding members

Hereby declare our commitment to work together in adopting sustainability as the fundamental approach in developing and executing strategic policies and using integrated management of our economic, environmental and social performance for the purpose of realizing the vision of H. H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and the vision of Abu Dhabi Emirate to achieve sustainable development, build a cohesive society and an open economy capable of global competitiveness.

We commit ourselves to do everything in our power, with our partners in this group, through the introduction of sustainability management practices, to improve management methods and decision making, reduce risks, and encourage use of technological applications to support sustainable economic and social growth.

We also commit to publishing an annual report that explains our sustainability management approach and an evaluation of our environmental, economic and social performance. We pledge this in a spirit of cooperation and open dialogue to ensure the highest levels of transparency; and we commit to supporting national plans and strategies.

3 Government entities: Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority(ADTA), Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), Department of Economic Development (DED), Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA), Department of Transport (DOT), Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD), Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD), Higher Corporation for Specialized Industrial Zones (Zonescorp); Private companies: Aldar Properties (Al Dar), Dolphin Energy, National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), Sorouh Real Estate; Not for profit organizations: Emirates Foundation.

4 Sustainability management is the systematic management of economic, environmental and social performance with the goal of optimizing benefits for both, business and society.

5 Sustainability reporting is the incorporation of economic, social, environmental and governance information into public reporting in a systematic way that is linked to strategy and management processes in order to communicate progress regarding sustainability,


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1. Our Mission

To promote sustainability 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.

To achieve our mission we engage government, private and not for profit organizations to use their influence to integrate sustainability management and reporting principles and practices both within their organizations and amongst their stakeholders.

For this to happen we follow a three pronged approach:

Identify the organizations that can contribute the most to achieving sustainability in Abu Dhabi; Identify the people within those organizations who are best suited to contribute to address some of the

pressing economic, social and environmental issues that affect our present and future development;

Provide them with the knowledge, the capabilities and the incentives to affect change within their organizations and amongst their stakeholders.

2. Our Values and Principles

Our Values Our Principles

Responsibility We all share responsibility for our common present and future.

We act as change agents to promote collaborative relationships between government, private and not for profit organizations to ensure that we realize the vision of building a sustainable and competitive Abu Dhabi by 2030.

To live by our values we take into consideration the following principles:

Coordination: We seek to harmonize our efforts with the efforts of our members and other organizations at the local, national and international level so as to maximise our relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and impact.

Collaboration: We seek to use a range of collaborative structures to achieve our mission. These include, for example, membership, joint ventures, and sub-contracts.

Complementarity: We seek to complement not to replace the work of our members and other specialised organizations. We seek to create opportunities to others to offer the services that our members and other organizations in Abu Dhabi require to adopt sustainability management and reporting practices.

Coherence: We seek to ensure that our activities in a particular dimension of sustainability (economic, social or environmental) do not undermine other dimensions.

Accountability We are answerable about our impacts on our stakeholders.

To live by our values we take into consideration the following principles6.

Inclusivity: we seek the participation of stakeholders in developing and achieving an accountable and strategic response to sustainability.

Materiality: we systematically focus on issues which are relevant and significant to our members and their stakeholders.

Responsiveness: we systematically respond to stakeholder issues that affect our members sustainability performance through decisions, actions and performance, as well as communication with stakeholders.

Transparency We ensure the timely and accurate disclosure on all material issues.

To live by our values we disclose information including our financial situation, performance, ownership, and governance7.

6 AccountAbility Principles Standard (2008). http://www.accountability.org/uploadedFiles/publications/AA1000APS%202008.pdf

7 OECD Principles of corporate governance, (2004). http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/18/31557724.pdf


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3. Our Stakeholders

To achieve our mission and strategic goals we will work in partnership with our stakeholders8 through addressing their concerns, needs and priorities and effectively respond to them in a partnership spirit.

We have identified our main stakeholders, the reason why we engage with them, their expectations of the ADSG as well as our response to their concerns. The results of this analysis are shown in the table below:

SUMMARY OF STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

Stakeholder Why we engage? Priority issues for ADSG

Priority Issues for stakeholder

Our response

Members To empower members to adopt sustainability management and reporting practices

Maintain commitment to the ADSG declaration

Achieve ADSG mission (To promote sustainability management and reporting in AD)

Achieve ADSG goals

Increase participation in ADSG activities

Improve knowledge Build capacity

through training adapted to maturity level

Improve sustainability performance

Share experience Increase

participation in ADSG activities (Task forces)

Improve reputation

Portal Newsletter Training One-on-one support General Secretariat

meetings

Forum Quarterly meetings CEO/MD Leadership

Group meetings

Annual Sustainability Forum

Flagship programs Delegations to

conferences

Candidates and prospects

To achieve a critical mass of sustainability practitioners for the uptake of sustainability in AD

Attract high sustainability impact organizations that can contribute to achieve ADSG mission

increase the impact of ADSG

Same as above Brochure Portal Newsletter Training One-on-one support Forum Quarterly meetings Annual Sustainability

Forum

Flagship programs Abu Dhabi Executive Council

To secure political support and the integration of sustainability into AD public policies

Increase participation in ADSG activities

Achieve EC vision (To facilitate Abu Dhabi to be regarded as one of the best five governments in the world)

Performance management (effectiveness, efficiency, and impact)

Partnerships with key sustainability players

Visibility in national and international events

Media To raise awareness Disseminate information to the public about sustainability and about our members good practices

Generating news Inform the public

Press releases Q&A Brochure Meetings Mailings

Sustainability community

To raise awareness and understanding, to share experience, to enhance opportunities for international recognition

Develop partnerships with key players to achieve synergies and increase our impact

Advance the sustainability agenda in the region

Partnerships with key sustainability players

8 Those groups or individuals who are affected by or can affect the achievement of our objectives.


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4. Our Sustainability Context

4.1 The Abu Dhabi Policy Agenda 2030

The Abu Dhabi Policy Agenda 2030 Mapping the Road Ahead9 defines the future strategic aspirations and plans of the Emirate in all major sectors of life. It is designed to present a unified view of the Abu Dhabi Strategy for the long run in order to achieve the vision of the Abu Dhabi Emirate to achieve sustainable development, build a cohesive society and an open economy capable of global competitiveness.

The Policy Agenda 2030 is a major update of the previous version 2007-2008, adding clarity to the priorities of Abu Dhabi and defining a long term Vision. The Agenda defines high level outcomes that Abu Dhabi seeks for its citizens, and a roadmap for the main areas of policy development that will help to get there. The document guides government entity planning and coordination, as well as inform the private sector, international peers and the Abu Dhabi population about the aspirations and plans of the Emirate.

Together with the Policy Agenda, the Abu Dhabi Performance Management Framework (PMF) has been adopted to ensure alignment across government entities and help achieving the Governments goals and outcomes. The Policy Agenda as well as the PMF distinguish 5 performance dimensions for the whole of government (WoG): social development, environment sustainability, economic development, infrastructure, and government excellence. The Policy Agenda as well as the PMF state 17 goals described in the Abu Dhabi Government Strategy Map 2010-2030: Each goal has outcomes to be achieved.

The delivery and management of the Policy Agenda and the PMF outcomes is a collective effort requiring extensive cooperation amongst the government entities, the private sector and not for profit organizations and the Abu Dhabi population in order to achieve the aspirations and plans of the Emirate.

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group committed in the ADSG Declaration to supporting national plans and strategies. Accordingly, the Abu Dhabi Policy Agenda 2030 will be one of the elements that will guide the selection of issues to focus ADSG efforts in the coming years.

9 Not yet published at the time of writing this strategy, June 2010.


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4.2 PESTLE Analysis

To achieve our mission and strategic goals we will take into consideration the business environment in which we operate. To better understand our business environment we have identified the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors that could affect our operations. The results of this analysis are shown below:

SUMMARY OF PESTLE ANALYSIS

Factors Comments

Political Abu Dhabi Government search for excellence: The Abu Dhabi Government aims to be one of the best five governments in the world. Sustainability is increasingly seen as a necessary requirement to achieve government excellence

Growing local attention to sustainability: The Abu Dhabi Policy Agenda 2030 Mapping the Road Ahead defines the vision of the Emirate to achieve sustainable development, build a cohesive society and an open economy capable of global competitiveness. This explicit mention to the goal of sustainable development opens a window to advocate for sustainability at the local level.

Demand for improved coordination: There is an increasing demand for coordination of sustainability efforts and so far there is not an institution at the local level that acts as a meeting point for all sustainability initiatives in Abu Dhabi.

Economic Economic diversification: In January 2009, The Abu Dhabi Government announced its Economic Vision 2030, a strategy that aims to safeguard the Emirates future by diversifying its economic base to lessen its dependence on oil. This will require channeling resources to aid the growth of other economic sectors. According to the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a strategic game plan to diversify Abu Dhabis economy away from oil will require at least $167.5 billion from the government coffers in the next five years. The bulk of this budget (51%) has been earmarked for construction projects, with other key non-oil sectors such as tourism, industry, water and power set to receive 20%, 10% and 6%, respectively. The remaining 13% of the total budget will be spent on oil and gas.

Construction projects: The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is witnessing a period of impressive economic development with projects worth millions of Dirham like Saadiyat Island, a $27bn project which will convert the city into one of the culture capitals of the world. This creates great opportunities to diversify the economy, generate employment and strengthen intercultural dialogue but also creates challenges regarding how to balance the economic, social and environmental impact of construction projects so that the net impact is positive for all.

Unemployment: The unemployment rate for Emiratis in Abu Dhabi is estimated at 14%. A large portion of the unemployed, especially males, have low education levels. Chronic problems in education and disincentives to join the workforce are a main challenge for economic development. How can the UAE share the nations wealth while fostering a commitment to the national project through the work of its citizens in both the public and the private sector? (The National, 25/01/2010).

Decent work: An increasing number of labor violations and complaints in the UAE for late payments to unskilled migrant workers have been filed in the last year (Ministry of Labor in The National, 08/02/2010). As a response the Government has established the Electronic Wage Protection System (EPWS) (Khaleej Times, 27/01/2010) and has distributed the guidebook The worker: rights and duties. Additional measures will be needed to also address other pressing economic issues affecting unskilled migrant workers such as low salaries and financial exclusion.


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SUMMARY OF PESTLE ANALYSIS

Factors Comments

Social Population: Population in the Abu Dhabi emirate, inclusive of Al Ain, the Western region and the Islands, stood at 1,463,491 as of end 2006. UAE Population grew by a compounded average of 4.57% annually between 2001 and 2006. Urban residents comprise 68.5% of Abu Dhabis total population .45% of UAE nationals are under the age of 15 years. Men outnumber women with a ratio of 2.03 men for every woman. This is due to the high percentage of male migrant workers. Across the UAE, Emirati nationals comprise roughly 20% of total population, while expatriate workers nationalities include Asians, Africans, Europeans as well as North and Latin Americans. The majority of the expatriate workers are unskilled.

Literacy rate: One of the UAEs highest priorities has been the education of both men and women. In 1975, the rate of adult literacy was 54 percent among men and 31 percent among women. Today, literacy rates are nearly 90 percent for males and 96% for females.

Education standards: New initiatives are being launched at all educational levels. A key area of focus has been to transform K to 12 programs, to ensure that UAE students are fully prepared to attend universities around the world and compete in the global marketplace. In addition, some of the worlds best universities are creating programs in the UAE, attracting talented students in the Arab world and globally. In spite of these positive steps the government still faces challenges in raising education standards as it grapples with issues of student motivation, particularly males. The total number of women enrolled in higher education is higher than that of men.

Social cohesion: Although the UAE is one of the most cultural diverse societies in the world where modernity and tradition coexist peacefully, the UAE faces multiple socioeconomic challenges related to demographic imbalances and disparities between citizens and residents and between men and women:

Challenges affecting citizens related to the rapid pace of development and its impact on culture and heritage. Challenges affecting residents related to their access to affordable health, education, housing, decent work and

rule of law.

Challenges affecting men related to their future participation and contribution to the emirate prosperity and success due to poor student motivation and high dropout rate among boys in the UAE.

Challenges affecting women related to their equal participation and contribution to the emirate prosperity and success due to cultural reasons.

Technological Knowledge based economy: One of the focus areas of the Abu Dhabi Governments long term vision is building a sustainable, knowledge-based economy. This will require a strong emphasis on human capital development, growing the private sector, establishing knowledge networks with leading research centres, promoting innovation, improving ICT literacy and infrastructure as well as replacement of labour intensive industries where labour is largely non-national to knowledge intensive industries where labour is largely national.

Legal Corporate Governance: Transparency and reporting in the GCC are below international standards and a string of corporate scandals and lawsuits have hit the region since the credit crisis (Fitch Ratings in The National, 08/02/2010).

Corporate governance law: A new UAE corporate governance law for publicly listed companies in the United Arab Emirates will come into force on 30/04/2010 to help to restore trust. The law includes a clause in Article (13) Code of Conduct that requires companies to apply an environmental and social policy towards the local society.

Environmental The state of the environment: The UAE has the worlds highest ecological footprint.

Energy: The UAE has a high per capita level of greenhouse gas emissions due to intensive air conditioning, high reliance on private transportation, and dependence on oil as a key source for energy (H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President in UAE Interact, 20/01/2010)

Waste: The UAE has one of the world's highest per capita levels of domestic waste: Abu Dhabi annual average 730 Kg; US 710 Kg, Australia 690 Kg and UK 300 Kg (www.uae.gov.ae).

Water: The UAE has one of the world's highest per capita water consumptions 550 litres per day, despite having a hyper arid climate. This risks the depletion of water reserves within 50 years (H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of EAD in UAE interact, 22/03/2009).

Climate Change: According to the report published by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, entitled Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation, around 85 percent of the population and more than 90 percent of the infrastructure in the United Arab Emirates is located within several meters of the shoreline, and in low-lying areas. Therefore, climate change poses a threat to the Emirate due to risk of flooding caused by a rise in the sea level above the current infrastructure.

Biodiversity: The unique ecology in the region and its biodiversity is under threat due to the environmental impact of the UAE production and consumption patterns.


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4.3 SWOT Analysis

We have identified our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, that is, the key internal and external factors that could help or hinder us from achieving our objectives. The results of this analysis are shown below:

SUMMARY OF SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths

(Key internal factors that could help us achieve our objectives) Weaknesses

(Key internal factors that could hinder us from achieving our objectives)

Our members Public-private partnership: Our members are government,

private and not for profit organizations. This allows us to coordinate the efforts of most relevant stakeholders when addressing an issue.

Sector leaders: Our members are some of the most prominent public and private organizations in Abu Dhabi.

Active members: Some of our members are very proactive and willing to provide resources to develop ADSG activities.

Peer pressure: Our members are induced into a behavior of improving performance by comparison towards their peers.

Mutual support: Our members can rely on a network of organizations willing to share knowledge and contacts.

Our issues Multidimensional approach: We cover a wide variety of topics

united by the theme of sustainability. Whereas existing sustainability initiatives in Abu Dhabi focus on one specific aspect or sector, the ADSG provides an umbrella approach to address topics within the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, environmental and social) as an interdependent field of practice. This is closer to reality where the three dimensions are interconnected.

Benefit to the wider community: The issues we address benefit the wider community including both citizens and residents.

Our management Strategic Focus: Our strategic objectives are clearly defined and

respond to three levels of achievement: attain a sustainable Abu Dhabi, grow a strong membership and build an excellent organization.

Democracy: Decisions are taken by the General Secretariat, which comprises five elected representatives and two permanent representatives and by member organizations who are invited to participate in the development of processes, products and services and initiatives through ad-hoc task forces which have addressed issues such as membership, capacity building, flagship programs or strategic planning.

Transparency: We provide access to information about the decisions taken and our progress in achieving our goals through periodic meetings and reports.

Our supporters Patronage of the Secretary General of the Executive Council (EC):

The EC is entrusted to propose public policies and strategies to be decided on by the Executive Council, and has a strong interest to position Abu Dhabi as one of the best governments in the world.

Guidance of the Environment Agency (EAD): EAD is providing strategic and operational support until the ADSG can become an autonomous organization.

Our members Silent members: Some of our members are not proactive enough, often

due to lack of resources to commit human and financial resources to sustainability and to ADSG activities.

Insufficient allocation of resources by some members: Some members are more aware of the costs than of the benefits of sustainability and this affects their allocation of resources.

Representatives turnover: There is a high risk of loss of expertise within our members if no appropriate succession planning is envisaged for ADSG representatives and members of the sustainability teams.

Levels of commitment: Sustainability reporting is only a step in the process towards sustainability and it is not enough. ADSG does not have yet a system to encourage an increasing commitment to sustainability as higher levels of maturity are achieved. ADSG requires a system that provides incentives to move from reporting to action.

Our issues Multidimensional approach: We cover a wide variety of topics united by the

theme of sustainability. Although this has advantages it also has risks, namely loss of focus if there is not a good system to give priority to the most relevant issues, where the most impact can be achieved by the collective action of our members.

Our financial resources Reliance on voluntary driven-support: The ADSG Charter states that the

General Secretariat should recommend options to be considered by the members Forum to evaluate overall funding requirements. Until then the ADSG is relying on ad-hoc sponsorships for training and other activities. At present, we are ready to undertake more demanding initiatives such as the Resource Center, the Toolbox and the Flagship programs that require more substantial funding.


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SUMMARY OF SWOT ANALYSIS Opportunities

(Key external factors that could help us achieve our objectives) Threats

(Key external factors that could hinder us from achieving our objectives)

Global pressure for sustainability Pressing global sustainability issues: The UAE frequently appears in

international statistics as one of the countries with the highest ecological footprint.

Sustainability is increasingly deemed globally as the next level in excellence: Sustainability is seen as a necessary requirement to achieve government or business excellence (EFQM 2010).

Growing global pressures for mandatory sustainability reporting: The GRI just launched a proposal to make sustainability reporting mandatory for large and medium-sized companies in OECD countries and fast-growing emerging economies by 2015.

Growing global movement calling for integrated reporting: Moves are afoot to set up an International Connected Reporting Committee (ICRC). This will be a collaboration of key stakeholders in connected reporting with representation from around the world and from the accounting profession, standard-setters, business, investors and inter-governmental organizations. The aim of the committee will be to create international standards on connected/ integrated reporting.

Local interest for excellence and sustainability Abu Dhabi Government search for excellence: The Abu Dhabi

government aims to be one of the best five governments in the world. Sustainability is increasingly seen as a necessary requirement to achieve government excellence

Growing local attention to sustainability: The Abu Dhabi Policy Agenda 2030 Mapping the Road Ahead defines the vision of the Emirate to achieve sustainable development, build a cohesive society and an open economy capable of global competitiveness. This explicit mention to the goal of sustainable development opens a window to advocate for sustainability at the local level.

Demand for improved coordination: There is an increasing demand for coordination of sustainability efforts and so far there is not an institution at the local level that acts as meeting point to gather information about sustainability initiatives in Abu Dhabi.

Demand for membership: There is an increasing interest for sustainability at the local level, and even when the ADSG has maintained a low profile there is a strong interest for membership.

Green washing Appetite for green washing: Some organizations can be attracted to the

ADSG to build their reputation without this interest been accompanied by a strong commitment to sustainability.

Financial crisis Current economic crisis: so far the ADSG has been a low cost initiative

reliant on the General Secretariat of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council (ADGSEC) financial support and the voluntary support of its member organizations. In an economic environment where budgets are being cut both in public and private organizations the ADSG can find it difficult to raise enough funds to upscale its activities.

Overlapping

Isolation from other relevant local initiatives: There are lots of sustainability initiatives going on in Abu Dhabi and not a mechanism to ensure coordination. Therefore there is a risk of duplicity and overlapping.

Success Become a victim of success: The ADSG is a small organization with limited

human and financial resources and can become a victim of success if we are not able to develop the appropriate mechanisms to satisfy demand.


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5. ADSG Strategy (2011-2013)

5.1 Our Vision

Sustainability management is considered a competitive advantage for organizational success in Abu Dhabi.

To achieve this vision we will pursue the following six strategic goals:

Our strategy to achieve each one of our strategic goals is described in the following pages. First, we present the goal and the strategic indicator to measure progress in the short and medium term; Second, we describe the current situation; Third, we present the initiatives that we will deploy to achieve our goal; and Fourth, we suggest the expected deliverables. In Annex 1 we present our strategic projects in a summary table, and in Annex 2 we present operational indicators that we will use to measure our achievements.

Goal 1: Raise awareness and understanding of sustainability management and reporting principles and practices

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Goal 2: Facilitate the adoption of sustainability management and reporting practices

Goal 3: Provide a forum for experience sharing and learning about sustainability management and reporting practices

Goal 4: Support sustainability initiatives within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Goal 5: Create opportunities for international cooperation and recognition

Goal 6: Build an excellent, autonomous and sustainable organization

Portal Newsletter Publications Seminars

Trainingmeetings Trainingprograms Trainingoftrainers Oneononesupport Mentoring Benchmarking Externalassurance Awards

GSmeetings Forumquarterlymeetings CEO/MDmeetings Abu Dhabi Annual

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Members Strategy Actionplan Budget MOUs Productsandservices AnnualReport

Deliverables/Products Strategic Goals


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5.2 Strategic Goal 1

Goal 1: Raise awareness and understanding of sustainability management and reporting principles and practices

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

Indicators Baseline Targets

2010 2011 2013

Sustainability Awareness Index TBM

1. Current situation

During our first two years we have focused on raising the level of awareness amongst our members, but less so amongst other Abu Dhabi organizations. However, although there is no comprehensive data about the level of awareness and understanding about sustainability in Abu Dhabi there seems to be a high level of awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the UAE.

According to a study on the state of Corporate Social Responsibility and corporate governance in the UAE10 conducted by the Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Emirates Foundation, almost 70% of responding businesses reported being aware of CSR. The study covered four areas of CSR practice, namely, community, natural environment, marketplace, and workplace, revealing that there is a high level of awareness of CSR in the UAE.

The study provided some insights about the drivers for CSR in the country: better image and reputation (46%), preservation of the environment (45%), top management values and beliefs (44%), increasing productivity (42%), better relationship with government (41%), increasing employee loyalty (40%) compliance with Islamic values and practices (Zakat).

The study also revealed the main barriers to implement CSR in the UAE which differed for companies that reported being aware of CSR and those that reported not being aware of CSR. For companies that reported being aware of CSR the main barriers were internal: lack of financial resources (30%); inability to accommodate a CSR function in the companys structure (28%), and perceived high cost of CSR (23%) followed by some external barriers: lack of incentives (26%); and lack of appropriate institutions to encourage CSR (22%). Resistance by employees seems to be the least important barrier to CSR implementation (6%). For companies that reported not being aware of CSR the main barriers to implement CSR were internal: lack of CSR knowledge (23%), inability to accommodate a CSR function in the companys structure (21%), lack of CSR awareness (21%); perceived high cost of CSR (4%), and lack of financial resources (14%). Resistance by employees seems to be the least important barrier to CSR implementation (6%).

However, although the level of awareness seems high, more information about the level of understanding of the implications of sustainability in Abu Dhabi is required in order to understand where we stand and which is our baseline regarding this goal. For this reason is not possible yet to measure the baseline for this goal. We will need to design and conduct a survey to measure the sustainability awareness level.

So far, we have identified the perception of our members regarding the sustainability issues where a better level of understanding is required. In January 2010, we conducted a survey with this purpose. 40% of members answered the survey that shown the following results: 88% of the respondents expressed interest in sustainable procurement (evaluation and selection of suppliers and supplier development programs); 88% expressed interest in addressing community needs through social investment; 75% were interested in human rights; 75% in environmental management; 63% in labour practices and decent work; 63% in public policies and 50% in sustainable investment and sustainable government financial assistance.

10 Rettab, B., A. Ben Brik, and K. Mellahi (2010): Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai Chamber Center for Responsible Business: Dubai.


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2. Initiatives

Knowledge creation and dissemination: We will inform and inspire our members and other organizations in Abu Dhabi about how they can contribute to understand and address some of the pressing economic, social and environmental issues that affect our present and future development. We will create, collect and disseminate knowledge, news, trends, best practices and case studies through our portal, newsletter, publications and seminars and other media. We will analyze and rate the effectiveness of our efforts to generate and raise awareness about sustainability within government, private and not for profit organizations in Abu Dhabi through a Sustainability Awareness Index. Communication: We will reach out to those sectors that are strategic to achieve our mission: government, business, academia, and media. We will disseminate information about the ADSG through media (newspapers, magazines, social networks) and specialised websites.

3. Products and services

i) Portal: The portal is one of our channels to communicate with members and with the general public. It gives access to ADSG resources (information, initiatives, events, news) some of which are open to the public and some of which are members-only. The portal contains a Resource Centre where relevant knowledge for Abu Dhabi about sustainability created by our members or third parties is consolidated. The portal also gives access to the websites of the champion entities that are leading the way regarding specific sustainability issues as stated in Policy Agenda 2030 and other national and local policies and programs.

ii) Newsletter: The quarterly newsletter is one of our channels to communicate with members and with the general public. It gives access to information about ADSG news and events, sustainability trends, recommended readings and best practices relevant for Abu Dhabi.

iii) Publications: The publications are documents produced by the ADSG, its members or partners used to generate and disseminate knowledge about the ADSG and its members and about sustainability issues relevant for Abu Dhabi and the UAE. Publications are focused on applied research which can be used by members to improve sustainability management and reporting. We will produce the following types of publications:

Issue briefs: issue briefs are documents that raise awareness about economic, social or environmental topics relevant for Abu Dhabi. To provide information to our member organizations about their sustainability context we will develop an issue brief Abu Dhabi: Our case for sustainability.

Guides and Tools: Guides are documents that provide a step-by-step approach to manage processes or issues to encourage the adoption of sustainability. Tools are aids to implement a process related to sustainability management such as templates, tables, presentations, etc Our publications complement our training initiatives so that we can address the gap between organizations awareness of sustainability and their ability to implement sustainability initiatives. To provide step-by-step guidance to our members about how to adopt sustainability management and reporting practices we will develop a guide The sustainability management cycle: A handbook for organizations and a toolbox The sustainability management cycle: A toolbox for organizations to facilitate implementation and will make the guide and the toolbox available on line.


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Guide & Toolbox - The sustainability management cycle: a step-by-step approach

Plan Understand the roadmap to sustainability. Build the business case for sustainability. Asses your sustainability maturity level. Develop a stakeholder focused sustainability strategy and action plan.

Do Implement sustainability in the workplace, in the marketplace, in the environment, and in the community. Check Assess progress towards sustainability through a sustainability score card

Communicate with stakeholders through a sustainability report. Act Get feedback from stakeholders through proactive engagement.

Case studies: Case studies are documents that share experience regarding how a sustainability challenge or opportunity was addressed by a member organization or by third parties. To provide examples to our members about how sustainability issues are addressed in the local context we will document our members experiences in a case study Sustainability in practice: The case of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group.

Green and white papers: Green papers are documents to stimulate debate on a particular topic. White papers are documents that address a sustainability challenge or an opportunity and offer a solution to be implemented through collective action. To provide guidance to our members and to other interested organizations in Abu Dhabi about how to address key sustainability issues we will develop a white paper with the outputs of each of our flagship programs.

Brochure: The ADSG brochure offers detailed information about the Group, its mission, the services provided and the expected benefits of membership. The brochure is sent to members (to share information about the Group within their organizations), candidates (to raise their interest in the Group) as well as stakeholders interested in the ADSG (to share information). We will update our brochure as often as necessary to keep our stakeholders informed about us.

Press releases: An ADSG press release is a written communication directed at media for the purpose of announcing an event or an achievement related to the ADSG and its members. We will issue at least one quarterly press release to keep the public informed about our activities and achievements.

Articles: An ADSG article is a written communications about an event, an achievement, or a case study directed at media for the purpose of raising awareness, sharing knowledge or calling for action about a sustainability issue. We will produce at least one quarterly article about the ADSG and our members to keep the public informed about our activities and achievements.

iv) Seminars: The seminars are events to raise awareness and understanding about sustainability in Abu Dhabi. The seminars provide a forum to share knowledge and openly discuss the challenges and opportunities linked to sustainability. To encourage the uptake of sustainability in Abu Dhabi we will focus our awareness activities on priority sectors. To select priority sectors we will take into consideration their contribution to the local economy, to environmental sustainability or to social development. In 2011-2013 we will focus on the construction, hospitality, financial sector, ICT, health, education, and media sectors.

v) Index: The sustainability awareness index measures the level of awareness and understating of sustainability within government, private and not for profit organizations in Abu Dhabi. To know the impact of our awareness activities we will conduct an annual sustainability awareness survey in Abu Dhabi.


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Goal 2: Facilitate the adoption of sustainability management and reporting practices

Description Best practices of sustainability management and reporting11 adopted amongst government, private and not for profit organizations.


2010 2011 2013

No. of organizations reporting their sustainability performance 15


There is no comprehensive data about the level of integration of sustainability management and reporting practices in Abu Dhabi from a holistic perspective. At the country level, the study on the state of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and corporate governance in the UAE12 released by the Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Emirates Foundation indicates a significant gap between companies awareness of CSR and their willingness and ability to implement CSR initiatives.

The study covered four areas of CSR practice, namely, workplace, marketplace, environment, and community, revealing that although there is a high level of awareness of CSR in the UE (almost 70% of responding businesses reported that they are aware of CSR) there is a low level of CSR management and reporting practices (more than 90% of responding businesses do not adopt CSR policies and practices associated with auditing, monitoring and reporting CSR objectives and targets or CSR activities).

The study reveals data about the most common areas of CSR involvement (community support, environmental protection, marketplace CSR activities mostly focused on customer relations management, and some activities in the supply chain, and workplace CSR activities, mostly focused on health and safety) and how the involvement is managed (most businesses get involved in short-term activities; few have a monitoring system in place to measure impact of their donations or investments in CSR initiatives; most act in isolation from other organizations).

A comparison of results across the seven Emirates reveals that Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the driving force for CSR in the country. But, there are differences regarding how the two emirates approach CSR. For instance, 29% of responding companies from Abu Dhabi expect companies to show concern for their local communities compared with only 12% of companies based in Dubai, or 42% of companies from Abu Dhabi reported lack of transparency in corporate practices, compared with only 20% in Dubai. Overall companies based in Abu Dhabi are more active in workplace activities and CSR activities to preserve the environment while companies in Dubai are more active in marketplace activities than other Emirates.

There is also some information available about specific CSR practices in the marketplace. The Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) has recently released a research study on Awareness of Green Purchasing in Dubai13 that reports that 80% of businesses are aware of the concept of green supply while 41% are looking for ways to implement green practices within their purchasing functions. The report also sheds light on the drivers and barriers to green purchasing stating that improving a companys environmental performance (89%) is considered the most important driver while lack of green information and data systems (i.e., public database) and the physical availability of green materials and products are considered the main barriers that limit the adoption of green purchasing.

11 Best practices of sustainability management are economic, environmental or social practices conducted to minimize the bad impacts or maximize the positive impacts of an organizations activities on its stakeholders. For example, practices to reduce water or energy consumption, practices to encourage gender diversity in the board of directors or in senior management, practices to protect consumers rights, practices to ensure workers and consumers health and safety, practices to facilitate stakeholder engagement, etc. Best practices of sustainability reporting are practices to measure and disclose the economic, social and environmental impacts of an organizations activities on its stakeholders.

12 Rettab, B., A. Ben Brik, and K. Mellahi (2010): Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai Chamber Center for Responsible Business: Dubai. Not available on line.

13Rettab, B., and A. Ben Brik (2010): Green Purchasing in Dubai: Practices, Drivers and Performance. Dubai Chamber Center for Responsible

Business: Dubai. http://web2.dubaichamber.ae/pdf/reports/Green_Purchasing_in_Dubai_final_edited.pdf


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2. Initiatives

Capability building: We will build the capabilities of our members and other organizations in Abu Dhabi to adopt best sustainability management and reporting practices. We will identify the needs of our members and will organise or help to organise training activities to cover them, taking into consideration their different learning stages and experiences regarding sustainability. We will provide the new members with training and we will encourage existing members to extend training about sustainability to all their staff to avoid succession planning problems within the sustainability teams and to facilitate the uptake of sustainability practices. We will also coach new members through one-on-one support to help them understand the roadmap to sustainability and to use existing tools to integrate best sustainability management and reporting practices. We will encourage existing members to be available as subject matter specialists and to mentor new members to help them to progress more effectively in their journey towards sustainability.

Quality assurance: We will encourage our members to enhance the quality, credibility, and reliability of their sustainability reports through internal benchmarking and external assurance. Whenever possible we will provide the tools and the coaching to do the benchmarking.

Recognition: We will recognize the achievements of our members and other organizations in Abu Dhabi to adopt best sustainability management and reporting practices. We will request existing excellence awards14 to give additional points to the organizations that have issued a sustainability report and will develop an Abu Dhabi Award for Sustainability Excellence.


i) Training meetings: Training meetings are half day or one day activities designed to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences about sustainability management and reporting. They are designed to share experiences with peers or to receive training from invited experts. They are conducted every quarter and are usually scheduled one day after the Forum Quarterly Meetings.

ii) Training programs: Training programs are courses to develop local leadership for sustainable development at the senior, middle and junior level. They are developed in partnership with the local and international education community. They follow the step-by-step approach to the sustainability management cycle presented in the ADSG guides and tools. We will support the creation of a Sustainability Institute to offer these programs.

iii) Training of trainers: Training of trainers are activities designed to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences to train others on sustainability management and reporting. They are designed to help members organizations to integrate sustainability in employee training programs. We will support members to impart a training module for employees.

iv) One-on-one support: One-on-one support is a coaching process designed to help candidates and new members to initiate their journey towards sustainability. One-on-one support focuses on three levels of achievement:

1. Understand the case for doing right or moral case, that is, the values and principles that should underlie sustainable strategies and operations. To facilitate this process we will recommend candidates and new members to read and understand the new International Standard providing guidelines for social responsibility ISO 26000.

2. Understand the case for doing well or business case, that is, the tangible and intangible benefits of integrating socio-economic and environmental concerns into business strategies and core operations. To facilitate this process we will recommend candidates and new members to produce a business case matrix showing the connection between good governance, economic, environmental and social practices and business benefits, such as higher sales, reduced costs and lower risks.

14 Abu Dhabi Award for Excellence in Government Performance for public agencies and the Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award (SKEA) for private companies both aligned with the EFQM model.


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3. Understand the current sustainability performance of the organization. To facilitate this process we recommend candidates and new members to produce a sustainability report following the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Reporting Framework15. This report provides the baseline data to understand the performance of the organization regarding its governance, economic, social and environmental management and start a PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) sustainability cycle, as requirements for candidates to become full members. A sustainability score card with 10 basic sustainability indicators to report about will be provided to new members. The sustainability scorecard will also be a reporting requirement for existing members and will be used to benchmark collective performance across years.

v) Mentoring: Mentoring is a process to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from one organization (the mentor) to another organisation (the mentee) in order to accelerate the learning process of new members. The mentor is someone that has been there, done that before and who is willing to share with others its experiences of success as well as its challenges. Mentors use different methodologies to transfer knowledge to their mentees such as coaching, counselling or discussions. We will encourage our members to become mentors of other organizations that are, for example, members of their value chain or peers from the same sector through initiatives to encourage transparency in the value chain.

vi) Benchmarking: Benchmarking is a process to compare an organizations performance to best practices from other organizations. We will encourage our members to benchmark their sustainability practices and reports against international best practices and we provide the tools and one-on-one support to apply them.

vii) External assurance: GRI uses the term external assurance in the GRI Guidelines (p. 38)16 to refer to activities designed to result in published conclusions on the quality of the report and the information contained within it. This includes, but is not limited to, consideration of underlying processes for preparing this information. This is different from activities designed to assess or validate the quality or level of performance of an organization, such as issuing performance certifications or compliance assessments. We will encourage our members to conduct a GRI check of their application level and an external assurance of their sustainability reports whenever possible17.

viii) Awards: The ADSG will collaborate with existing excellence award programs such as Sh. Khalifa Excellence Award and Abu Dhabi Award for Excellence in Government Performance (ADAEP) to facilitate that these awards recognize the achievements of organizations that have published a sustainability report by granting them additional points18 .The ADSG will develop, launch and promote or help to promote the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Award to recognize the achievements of organizations in Abu Dhabi that have adopted best sustainability management and reporting practices. The ADSG will disseminate information about sustainability awards at the national, regional or international level which recognize the achievements of organizations that have adopted best sustainability management and reporting practices and will encourage members participation.

15 http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/

16 http://www.globalreporting.org/NR/rdonlyres/B52921DA-D802-406B-B067-4EA11CFED835/3882/G3_GuidelinesENU.pdf

17 External review, verification, or external assurance are terms often used interchangeably to refer to the evaluation of the nature and extent of adherence to the principles used to publicly disclose information on sustainability performance (i.e. the GRI reporting framework). Assurance has a more formal connotation and is usually used when referring to an assurance process that follows professional standards for assurance like the International Standard for Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000. An assurance process also usually leads to auditors providing an assurance statement in the sustainability report.

18 This recognition is consistent with the new fundamental concept of excellence Taking Responsibility for a Sustainable Future that was introduced in the 2010 review of the EFQM model.


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Goal 3: Provide a forum for experience sharing and learning about sustainability management and reporting practices

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


2010 2011 2013

No. of sustainability practices shared and adopted by ADSG members TBM


Learning and knowledge sharing is at the core of the ADSG mission. Our Charter describes four types of forums to achieve this objective: the General Secretariat Meetings, the Forum Quarterly Meetings, the CEO/MD Leadership Group Meeting and the Annual Sustainability Forum. During the past two years we have tried different formats for the meetings and we have finally found formats that are effective and efficient to achieve our mission.

The General Secretariat meetings have evolved from process oriented to strategy focused meetings. The Forum Quarterly Meetings have evolved into lively forums focused on sharing experiences within members and with guest speakers. The CEO/MD Leadership Group meetings have evolved into operative meetings where strategic decisions about the future of the group are taken. The Annual Sustainability Forum is yet to be convened.

2. Initiatives

Experience-Sharing meetings: We will facilitate member connections to learn from each other and to foster collaboration around sustainability management, reporting and good governance practices. We will also facilitate member connections with other local, national, regional or international organizations. We will do this through our General Secretariat Meetings, the Forum Quarterly Meetings, and the CEO/MD Leadership Group Meeting and the Annual Sustainability Forum.


i) General Secretariat Meetings: The General Secretariat Meetings is an operational meeting to coordinate and facilitate ADSG activities on behalf of the members. They are held monthly.

ii) Forum Quarterly Meetings: The Forum quarterly meeting is an operational and experience sharing meeting held every quarter. The meeting follow an experience sharing, learning, and action items format including a review of the performance of ADSG in achieving its goals. Members can take part in the Forum with up to two additional participants besides their representative. With the agreement of the ADSG Forum, the General Secretariat may extend an invitation to future members or guests to attend the meeting as observers; otherwise the meeting is restricted to ADSG members.

iii) CEO/MD Leadership Group Meetings: The Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors (CEO/MD) leadership Group Meeting is held once a year to demonstrate ongoing commitment to sustainability management within each organization and to provide an opportunity for knowledge sharing amongst executives. The ADSG annual report is presented for review and approval. In light of the executive review, the existing ADSG strategy may be revised to maintain alignment with the overall sustainability agenda of the Abu Dhabi Emirate. Any resultant executive directives are cascaded to the membership through the General Secretariat and the ADSG forum.

iv) Abu Dhabi Annual Sustainability Forum: The Abu Dhabi Annual Sustainability Forum is held annually to share and promote ADSG activities with a broader audience. The aim of the forum is to demonstrate the benefits of adopting the principles of sustainability by drawing upon the experience of both ADSG members and other active organizations. Existing and potential ADSG members are encouraged by the General Secretariat to attend this event as a fundamental step to understanding the requirements and benefits for implementing sustainability management.


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Goal 4: Support sustainability initiatives within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi19

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


2010 2011 2013

No. of members and other organizations in Abu Dhabi that adopt best practices flagged by ADSG programs

TBM


In recent years Abu Dhabi has witnessed the emergence of several initiatives to pursue economic, social or environmental sustainability. However, so far, the ADSG is the only forum which addresses the three dimensions of sustainability as an interdependent field of practice. It is also the only forum which includes members from three sectors: government, private and not for profit organizations. This offers us an excellent platform to support sustainability initiatives in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi by means of advocacy.

For this to happen we require quality information about the situation at a macroeconomic and a microeconomic level to do a gap analysis to determine where we can add value. We expect to be able to use the report about the Case for Sustainability in Abu Dhabi commissioned by the Executive Council which will be available in June 2010 together with the Policy Agenda 2030 to decide about the priority issues to focus our support in the coming years as well as the right partners to address those issues.

So far we have already identified four issues proposed by members to develop flagship programs. These programs will help ADSG members and other organizations in Abu Dhabi to use collective action to encourage systemic improvements regarding economic, environmental and social and governance issues.

2. Initiatives

Advocacy: We will draw attention to pressing economic, environmental, social and governance (EESG) issues that affect the present and future development of Abu Dhabi. We will use flagship programs and campaigns to raise awareness, provide information and suggest collective actions to address those issues.


i) Flagship programs: Flagship programs are actions to raise awareness, provide information and encourage collective action by the public and private sector to achieve systemic improvements regarding economic, environmental, social and governance issues which are critical for Abu Dhabi. Critical issues are those stemming from the Policy Agenda 2030 and other national plans and strategies, as well as those proposed by members as a result of problems encountered while trying to adopt sustainability management practices. Flagship programs identify a problem, specify the cause and propose a solution. They are built around topics (procurement, carbon management, labour practices) or around sectors (education, media, financial services, or construction).

At present four programs have been approved by the General Secretariat to be developed in 2010: Sustainable Procurement; Sustainable Information and Communication Technologies (ICT); Sustainable Waste Management; Sustainable Labour Practices and Decent Work. One program has been proposed by the General Secretariat to be developed in 2011: Education for Sustainability.

ii) Campaigns: Campaigns are actions that use media to influence and change the behaviour of organizations or individuals.

19 The original goal of Support sustainability initiatives within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and enhance opportunities for international recognition has been divided in two goals Support sustainability initiatives within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Enhance opportunities for international cooperation and recognition, the reason being that the first goal is more locally oriented and the second goal is more international oriented and both require different approaches.


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Goal 5: Create opportunities for international cooperation and recognition20

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


2010 2011 2013

No. of citations, articles and interviews by international organizations 5


Initially we focused on building internal capacity and producing some results before raising our public profile. At the end of 2009 we started to develop linkages with regional and international organizations working on sustainability. In November 2009, we sent a delegation of 4 members to the Annual Conference of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED). In April 2010, we imparted our first lecture in a seminar hosted by INSEAD, one of the worlds leading business schools. In May 2010, we sent a delegation of 13 members to the Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency, the worlds most important event about sustainability reporting. These activities have been featured in INSEAD Middle East Campus website21, in the GRI May22 and June23 Newsletter (18.000 subscribers), in the GRI Conference website24 (1.200 attendees) and in the Justmeans website25 (150,000 followers).

2. Initiatives

Networking: We will facilitate member connections with like-minded organizations to foster dialogue and collaboration around improving sustainability management practices. We will grow our network through affiliations, partnerships and meetings with the most credible and effective organizations which share our interest in sustainability.


Networking

i) Affiliations: The ADSG will be affiliated with local, regional and international organizations with similar interests regarding the advancement of sustainability management and reporting. In 2010, we will become an organizational stakeholder of the Global Reporting Initiative and propose future affiliations.

ii) Partnerships: The ADSG will work in partnership with local, regional and international organizations to advance the state of sustainability management and reporting. In 2010, we will develop a partnership with the Global Reporting Initiative to advance sustainability reporting and propose future partnerships to advance sustainability management and reporting in Abu Dhabi.

iii) Conferences: The ADSG will participate in local, regional and international conferences on sustainability management and reporting. In 2010, we participated in the Amsterdam Global Conference on Sustainability and Transparency and every year we will participate with a Delegation in at least one international sustainability event.

20 The original goal Enhance opportunities for international recognition has been replaced by Create opportunities for international cooperation and recognition, the reason being that to be recognized be need first to cooperate.

21 http://www.insead.edu/middle_east_campus/masdar.cfm

22 http://www.globalreporting.org/NewsEventsPress/LatestNews/2010/NewsApril10GRIAndMENARegion.htm

23 http://www.globalreporting.org/NewsEventsPress/LatestNews/2010/News_May_10_Delegations.htm

24 http://www.amsterdamgriconference.org/index.php?id=101

25http://www.justmeans.com/videos/Interview-with-Graham-Rae--Live-from-the-2010-Global-Conference-on-Transparency-and-Sustainability/917.html


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Goal 6: Build an excellent, sustainable and autonomous organization26 Description A critical mass of high impact organizations engaged as ADSG members Indicators Baseline Targets

2010 2011 2013

No. of members 21


Thanks to the knowledge acquired during the past two years about the needs of our members and the sustainability context in Abu Dhabi we are prepared to make a shift from the intensity of the start-up phase of building a network and developing the services and processes required to engage our members to being in a position to use the lessons learnt to respond effectively to the needs of our members and other organizations in Abu Dhabi to improve sustainability management and reporting.

To make this shift we need a critical mass of organizations engaged to adopt best sustainability management and reporting practices and a performance management framework.

Membership

Members: Our members today include government, private and not for profit organizations. They represent sectors which are critical for the Emirate of Abu Dhabi from an economic, environmental or social perspective, including energy, industry, transport, tourism, health, oil and gas, construction and building, investment, financial services, environmental protection, youth development and enterprise development. Until now we have acted in a low profile mode and used word of mouth to promote the benefits of ADSG membership. In spite of this we are now 21 members and with a number of expressions of interest to join in the pipeline. As soon as we start our outreach activities we expect that we will be able to expand quickly but before that we will ensure that we have the capability to provide outstanding value to all member segments.

Membership criteria: Candidates have to comply with some conditions to become members. In 2009 we proposed seven membership criteria: legal form, location, sector, size, commitment, reputation, contribution. In 2010 a new criteria, reporting, will be added. From July 2010, candidates will be required to publish a sustainability report of at least level of application C according to the GRI Reporting Framework27 to be ratified as full members.

Membership process: Members are recruited through peer nomination o self-nomination. In 2009 we proposed seven steps to become a member: expression of interest, compliance review, expression of no objections, signature of the declaration, ratification of full membership and welcome letter. In 2010 a new step, reporting, will be added. From July 2010, candidates will be required to publish a sustainability report of at least level of application C according to the GRI Reporting Framework to be ratified as full members.

26 This goal replaced the original goal Issue an annual report to focus on managing performance and not only on reporting performance.

27 http://www.globalreporting.org/GRIReports/ApplicationLevels/


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Performance Management Framework28

Leadership

CEO/MD Leadership Group: The Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors (CEO/MD) Leadership Group provides advocacy, strategic planning and review overall ADSG performance. They met annually in the CEO/MD Leadership Group meeting (see goal 3).

General Secretariat: The General Secretariat is responsible for the coordination and facilitation of ADSG activities on behalf of the members. The General Secretariat members and the General Secretary are elected every two years. They meet periodically in the General Secretariat meeting (see goal 3).

Member Forum: The member organizations and their representatives fulfil their commitments under the ADSG Declaration and actively participate and contribute to the ADSG activities. The representatives are senior enough to influence sustainability policy and performance within their respective organizations. They meet every quarter in the Forum quarterly meeting (see goal 3).

People

Secretariat: The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi provides guidance and support to ADSG activities and in collaboration with the ADSG General Secretariat handles administrative tasks related to the ADSG through a Sustainability Unit. The unit is led by the Director of the Policy and Strategy Sector and is constituted by one senior sustainability specialist who joined in June 2009, and a sustainability coordinator who joined in November 2010. To ensure continuity a strategy for the long term sustainability of the ADSG should be agreed with the ADSG members in 2010.

Strategy and operational plans

Strategy: The ADSG reviews the strategy during the CEO/MD meeting held in June. In light of the review the existing strategy is revised to maintain alignment with the overall sustainability agenda of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In June 2010 the first ADSG strategy will be presented for approval to the CEO/MD Leadership Group.

Action plan: The General Secretariat proposes and implements the ADSG Action Plan. The Action Plan is presented and approved by the ADSG members during the Forum Quarterly Meeting in January. The Action Plan explains the activities to be developed on an annual basis to achieve each of our strategic goals. In 2009 we approved our action plan in March and we produced an interim quarterly progress report in September to monitor progress. In 2010 we approved the new action plan in March and we produced quarterly progress reports which we shared with members during the forum quarterly meetings.

Financial resources

Budget: An annual budget is proposed to assign resources for the deployment of the Action Plan.

Financial plan: The ADSG does not have yet its own independent financial resources. So far, human resources have been financed by the Executive Council and managed by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi on behalf of the ADSG. Activities have been financed by members through sponsorships. Members have also provided support in kind in the form of time from their representatives to participate in meetings and task forces. The financial support of the Executive Council-Abu Dhabi is planned for a three year period (January 2009 to December 2011). To ensure continuity, a strategy for the long term sustainability of the ADSG should be agreed with the ADSG members in 2010.

Partnerships

Memorandu

adsg strategy 2011-2013 final draft july 2010

Documents

strategic goal

abu dhabi strategy

action adsg strategy

abu dhabi policy agenda

champion sustainability

sustainability context

adsg members

final draft page