DOHA: Waste Free Environment (WFE), a community based environmental awareness and anti-litter campaign organised by the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) was chosen as the 2016 “Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year” at the 7th Oil and Gas and Refining and Petrochemicals Middle East Awards.
Presented by ITP, the Awards recognise the accomplishments and achievements of upstream and downstream companies in the GCC region over the previous year.
“The WFE campaign was born out of the petrochemical industry’s sincere commitment to give back to communities in the Arabian Gulf region in a way that is beneficial, educational and sustainable,” said Dr Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA. “Being bestowed with this award from ITP through a distinguished panel of judges is an honor and a testament to the impact of a meaningful campaign like the WFE,” he added.
The 2016 edition of WFE involved the cleanup of public spaces across 17 cities in 10 countries in February of this year, across the GCC, The Netherlands, China, Singapore and India. Over 11,000 volunteers joined hands to collect over 179 tonnes of waste, with recycling partners collaborating in the reutilisation of waste. “Since its inception in 2013, the initiative has grown from humble beginnings in a few GCC markets, to a global event that incorporates efforts of major downstream companies, universities, schools and the general public,” he said.
Along with the cleanup drive, the GPCA and its partners also incorporated a great focus on the educational element to the initiative, going to schools and raising awareness on the ‘3 Rs’ of waste disposal, namely Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
The WFE is a multi-stakeholder initiative with contributions from GPCA member companies which include some of the largest local and global petrochemical companies around the region. This year’s campaign involved collaborations with Borouge, Sabic, Fertil, Chemaweyaat, Shell, LBI, Sadara, Schem, Equate, ORPIC, GPIC, Royal Commission Jubail, Sahara, Tasnee, Advanced, Farabi, Sipchem, Muntajat, QAPCO and SA Talk.
“The petrochemical industry is the region’s second largest manufacturing base, resulting in significant benefits to the economy, jobs and quality of life. However, we recognise the growing issue of improper waste disposal of things like plastic, which is a key petrochemical product,” said Dr Al Sadoun. “Litter is not due to the product or the industry, but more of behavioral practices by consumers. Therefore, campaigns like GPCA’s WFE provide measurable solutions to combat this ongoing issue,” he said.
