Organised by The Economist Events, Senior government officials, industry leaders, policymakers, scientists, academics and investors in sustainable business are set to participate in the Green Business Summit 2018, the company said through a Press communiqué. The event, in its premiere edition, will be held on April 17, 2018, at the Rosewood Hotel, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi.

Speaking on occasion, Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East Correspondent for The Economist said: “We are delighted to host the first-ever Green Business Summit 2018 in Abu Dhabi. The inaugural conference will foster important dialogue on the necessity of protecting the environment across global economies that have experienced dramatic growth over the past few decades, such as the UAE.”

H.E Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of the Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi (EAD) added: “Our capacity for innovation must exceed our capacity for growth if we are to reverse a trend of environmental degradation. EAD is keen to foster a culture of innovation, critical in finding solutions to meet the future’s environmental challenges. We think that technological innovation can help us to prepare for the future, but we also believe that a change in mind-sets is necessary to understand that managing all capital assets sustainably, including natural capital, is the responsibility of every business. We hope the Green Business Summit will help us to advance this notion that the economy and the environment can go hand in hand.”

Al Mubarak added that during the summit, the EAD and the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) would share details of a joint study on the state of resource efficiency in the UAE in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.

She further added that along with the Department of Economic Development (DED), the EAD would create the EnviroTech Awards, which would become a part of the Technology Innovation Pioneer (TIP) programme initiated by the Ministry of Economy and DED to accelerate the development of technology and innovation in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.

According to the communiqué, leading the first business panel of the day titled ‘From responsibility to leadership’ will be H.E. Razan Al Mubarak, Secretary General, Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, H.E. Kaleefa Salem Al Mansouri, Undersecretary, DED Abu Dhabi and Ahmed Abdellatif, Chairman, CTC Group. The panel will address the prevailing short-termism that dominates markets. The panellists will discuss the unprecedented growth of corporate responsibility, which is now mainstream, and the different ways in which sustainability can be incorporated into long-term business strategies.