It was co-hosted by Aldar, which owns over 50 million square metres of land in strategic locations throughout the Emirate – and which is committed to “producing developments that balance the need for infrastructure with environmental sustainability.”
Desso is a major European carpet manufacturer with a significant presence across the Middle East, supplying to hospitals, educational facilities, offices and government buildings.

The Netherlands-based company was the first carpet manufacturer in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region to adopt Cradle to Cradle® - which Time Magazine has called “a unified philosophy that - in demonstrable and practical ways - is changing the design of the world.”
The hugely successful event, aimed at raising environmental awareness, was attended by over 100 of the UAE’s leading architects and designers, as well as government representatives from the tourism and urban planning sectors, and overseas representatives from New York University.

Delegates heard presentations from Dr Michael Braungart, one of the founders of Cradle to Cradle®, and from Stef Kranendijk, chief executive of Desso, on how Cradle to Cradle® principles are being applied in one of the world’s leading carpet manufacturers.

Michael Braungart, along with the American architect William McDonough, heralded the philosophy with their book ‘Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things’. For Desso, its central premise is that at the end of a carpet’s useful life, its components will be disassembled and reused without being down-cycled or, worse, simply thrown away.

The Cradle to Cradle® philosophy means that all product components are used and reused without losing their value, and represents an entirely new approach to consumerism.

Underlining the importance of the event, it was held at the HQ of Mubadla, established by the government of Abu Dhabi to diversify and transform the economy and develop the next generation of business leaders.

Also represented was government-owned Masdar, a pioneer in renewable energy, which is seeking to position Abu Dhabi as an international hub for renewable energy, new energy and sustainable technologies.

Abu Dhabi has some 10% of the world’s oil reserves and 5% of its gas reserves – and is channelling income through Mubadla and Masdar, among others, to create new infrastructure, encourage economic diversification, and a greater focus on sustainability.

The development of the GCC region, and its increasing urbanisation, has inevitably brought problems of waste management and concerns about pollution. The 2008 WWF Living Planet Report found that the UAE has the highest per capita carbon footprint internationally.

However, Abu Dhabi has set a target to generate 7% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020, and has embarked on the ground-breaking Masdar project, due for completion in 2025, to build the world’s first zero emission, zero waste, city. Other initiatives, alongside new green building codes, are smaller-scale, but also significant: for example, to phase out plastic carrier bags across the country by 2012.

In parallel, the UAE has also established the world’s most valuable environmental award, worth US $1 million, the brainchild of H.H. Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in recognition of former President, H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who saw the importance of protecting the environment for future generations.

Issues of sustainability and environmental responsibility have grown in importance over recent years leading to, for example, the creation of Estidama, which means sustainability in English, an initiative launched in May 2008 by the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council, the agency responsible for the future of Abu Dhabi’s urban environment.

Estidama seeks to achieve the highest levels of sustainable designs and practices from the very start of the design process. The initiative supports the principle of sustainable living and wise use of resources by working closely with communities, organisations, businesses and policy makers to promote responsible decision making. The Pearl rating system associated with Estidama is now a regulatory requirement.

“This was an event that captured imaginations,” said Andre Dulka, Desso’s regional manager, “with Abu Dhabi’s key development organisations represented, as well as a broad spectrum of delegates from the private sector.”

“Dr Michael Braungart and Stef Kranendijk were able to outline both the principles of Cradle to Cradle®, and how those principles can be successfully applied in a commercial or manufacturing environment. The message is simple: commercial and manufacturing activity is good, and consumerism is good. But what must happen is for manufacturers to design products that can be disassembled and their constituent parts recycled,” he said.

The Abu Dhabi event followed a similar presentation in Turkey, part of a global programme that Desso is undertaking to promote its ground-breaking policies on sustainability, and how other companies in other industries can also adopt the Cradle to Cradle® philosophy.