The largest sustainability event in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) has grown rapidly from a regional gathering focused purely on renewable energy into a major global platform, where private and public sector experts debate the impact of social trends and new technologies not only on energy and climate change but on topics such as water, mobility, digitalization, biotechnology and other critical areas of sustainable development.
In January 2018, the latest edition of ADSW attracted 850 companies and 38,000 participants from 175 countries, up from 11,000 attendees from 74 countries in 2011. At this year’s event, participants publically committed to $15 billion of investments in renewable energy and sustainability projects, including the world’s largest desalination plant.
“ADSW is an action-oriented platform,” says Dr. Lamya Fawwaz, executive director of brand and strategic initiatives at Masdar, the leading renewable energy company in Abu Dhabi and the host of the event. “ADSW is not just a place where people come and talk. We want to make a difference in the world.”
“Sustainablity is a fundamental part of the UAE’s national agenda.”
Dr. Lamya Fawwaz, Executive Director of Brand & Strategic Initiatives, Masdar
As well as expanding to address new challenges of sustainable development, ADSW is also evolving into a year-round initiative. Dr. Fawwaz says that ADSW will work with long-standing partners such as IRENA, the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency, on activities that showcase the advances that are made over the course of the whole year
“Our aim is to grow the conversation, continuously engage our stakeholders and show to the general public the impact of new innovations on sustainable development”
As published in TIME magazine
