#ShapingGreenLiving — Dubai

An initiative of the Global Shapers Community, this is a green living guide for Dubai. A live document, this will be continually updated as new initiatives arise. [Last update: December 17, 2018]

Waste: Refuse sources of waste, then reduce/reuse/recycle and finally, repurpose.

• Avoid plastic cutlery on food deliveries! Earlier this year, Deliveroo added a new ‘opt in for cutlery’ feature on the app and website. As a standard, delivery orders will come without plastic cutlery. This initiative has already realised impactful results: 85% of restaurants noted a reduction of over 50% in plastic consumption!
• Refuse a plastic straw! The alternative? Purchase a set of metal straws from Clingnature. Fortunately, there are some restaurants that are taking the lead on this by serving their customers paper straws, or no straws at all. Freedom Pizza, Noodle House and Sea Shepherd, well done!
• Use reusable containers and get rewarded! Spill the Bean, located in The Sustainable City, is one cafe in Dubai that gives you a 1 AED discount on your coffee if you bring your own reusauble mug.

• Check in with plastic, check out with dinner! Rove Hotels, a chain by Emaar Hospitality Group, recently kicked off an initiative to encourage environmental best practices. Every Sunday, individuals can exchange plastic bottles (1 bottle = 1 AED) at The Daily, in any of Rove Hotel’s four locations and receive money off their meals at the restaurant on the same day.
• Bring your own reusable bag for grocery shopping! Carrefour recently launched an initiative to incentivise use of reusable bags: bring your own bag and benefit from a ‘green checkout’ lane, a dedicated, express, checkout lane. If you don’t own a reusable bag, you may purchase one from Carrefour. Else, you can shop at grocery supermarkets that use bio-degradable bags.

• Get rid of your recyclables in one click! A lot of residents in Dubai sort their recyclable waste but are unsure of exactly what to do with it as recycling bins are either limited or inconvenient. Fortunately, Washmen, a laundry service, has offered a solution: users can now add an option for recyclable waste pickup for a mere extra AED 1, with a focus on plastic, cardboard and of course, metal hangers!

Mobility: Get around in the city by minimising your reliance on fossil-fuel powered transportation modes.

• Take an e-scooter to the metro station! A dockless scooter sharing program has recently arrived to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Qwikly, based out of California, launched 75 scooters in various locations in early December. Download the app today to get around in an efficient and clean way!

• Order electric! Ride-hailing service, Careem, now gives users the option to order a Tesla, electric car. Albeit a bit expensive now and requiring a pre-booking arrangement, they plan to increase their fleet of electric cars, which will hopefully reduce prices and increase availability.
• Buy electric! If you still have range anxiety, commonly affiliated with purchasing electric cars, we have good news for you: the RTA recently announced it will be adding 100 additional electric charging stations across UAE. The locations of the existing charging stations can be found via this link. Also, as a small added bonus, you’ll get a free SALIK tag upon registration of the vehicle.

Location of various EV charging stations across Dubai (Source: DEWA website)

Energy: Strive to be more energy-efficient and reduce dependence on fossil-fuel powered energy sources.

• Conserve energy at home! Residents are responsible for 47% of total energy consumption in the GCC, compared to a global average of 25%, mainly driven by high energy consumption for space cooling. While there are many measures real estate developers should take to minimise this, there are also many actions residents can undertake to reduce their energy consumption and the UAE Ministry of Energy & Industry has a neat tool to measure your energy performance and provides practical tips for energy use reduction.

Water: Rethink how you consume water and reduce your environmental impact from drinking water consumption.

• Cut down on plastic water bottles by installing a filter for drinking water at home! The ‘Drop It’ campaign is a local initiative aimed to reduce single-use plastic consumption through connecting individuals and businesses with water filter suppliers. Installing a filter will help you reduce the amount of plastic waste you generate and we recommend the following suppliers: Water Club, Trust your Water, Culligan.

Food: Contribute to food waste reduction.

• Eat well, save money and make a difference! BonApp’s tagline is exactly that and they’ve developed an app that allows you to purchase meals, at discounted prices, that would otherwise have gone to waste. Download the app today to start saving money, and the environment.

Did we miss anything? If so, please comment below and we’ll include it!