Fast forward to 2017, Bee’ah, the Middle East’s leading environmental management company, is well on its way to proving the doubters wrong. Bee'ah says that it has tripled the diversion rates in Sharjah, and is now diverting 70 per cent of the city's waste away from landfill, becoming one of few cities in the world to do so. Bee’ah is an integral part of life for most people in Sharjah and for many in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, leading change through known and unknown ways. Remember that old tyre you discarded? Thanks to Bee’ah, it is now a part of a jogging track on the Al Majaz Waterfront. Ever imagined a waste bin being a source of connectivity? As a result of Bee’ah’s solar-powered smart bins, residents in Sharjah are rewarded with free Wi-Fi when disposing of their waste.

It is then, an undeniable fact that Bee’ah touches and transforms the lives of people in the UAE for the better, says the company. “When we formed Bee’ah, our vision for the company was very clear. Under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council & Ruler of Sharjah, we hoped to create a model for sustainability, which could be replicated across the region,” says H.E. Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah. “Today, Bee’ah has achieved far more than we initially anticipated. Bee’ah is a catalyst for positive and actionable change, a movement towards an environmentally-conscious economy, and a pioneer in waste management techniques.” Starting its journey with just 60 employees, and a primary offering of three stream bins, Bee’ah has diversified its capabilities from waste management and holistic environmental management to improving the quality of life for all people in the region. Now the company holds commercial and municipal contracts in various regions of the UAE, in addition to providing key resource management (including air and water) and resource reclamation solutions, renewable energy generation and community engagement programmes.

Leadership in waste management

"There are very few companies that can rival Bee’ah’s expertise in waste management," says the company which has pioneered a singular approach to the collection and treatment of waste that has elevated it to the position of a much sought-after waste management partner in the industry. Reconciling sustainability with operational efficiency, the company uses vehicles that are electric and CNG powered, and operate using a fleet management system that features advanced technology like smart routing and dispatch-on-demand options. Through its eco-fleet, Bee’ah is able to optimise energy consumption and manage increase in tonnage efficiently. In addition to being the sole provider of municipal services in Sharjah city, Bee’ah also holds contracts for the regions of Dibba, Mleiha, Kalba, Al Madam, Hamriya, Khorfakkan and Al Batayeh. Marking a momentous occasion for the company, Bee’ah started providing municipal services in Abu Dhabi Lot 1, through a partnership with Tadweer, the Centre of Waste Management in Abu Dhabi.

The contract, which commenced late last year, is Bee’ah’s largest municipal contract outside Sharjah, and the company mobilised 1000 employees and hundreds of vehicles, within six months, to meet its requirements. In commercial contracts, Bee’ah executes an action dynamic waste management plan that has stood its clients in good stead, by personalising to meet their requirements and by reducing the negative environmental impact of their operations. In Dubai, Bee’ah holds the commercial contracts for notable establishments like City Walk, Dubai World Trade Centre, Burj Khalifa, TECOM, Damac Properties, Marina Mall and DU Telecom, among others. In addition to managing their waste, Bee’ah is helping these entities on their journey towards sustainability, through on-demand training on recycling and on reducing their overall carbon footprint.

Towards a cycle of recovery and conservation

One of Bee’ah’s guiding principles is the adoption of a circular economy where recovering and reusing resources is not the exception but the norm, says the company. Bee’ah’s Waste Management Centre at Al Saj’ah has played a pivotal role in the pursuit of this objective. The Centre houses a number of specialised recycling facilities that recover and recycle various materials including paper, plastic, tyres, rubber, vehicles, metals, and construction & demolition waste. Bee’ah’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) is one of the largest in the Middle East, and processes over 2000 tonnes every day, while the company’s Construction and Waste Demolition Facility has played a crucial role in managing construction waste in the UAE, displaying a recovery rate of around 95-97%.

The Car & Metal Shredding Facility has one of the most sophisticated machines in the world, the Red Giant, which can process a car in just 60 seconds, states Bee'ah. The company is also in the process of building new facilities for the processing of wood waste, industrial liquids, cooking oil, pet plastic and other such materials. As part of its efforts at environmental management, Bee’ah also manages resources like air and water. In collaboration with the American University of Sharjah, Bee’ah developed an Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System. Through seven stations which operate across Sharjah, the system has been able to monitor atmospheric quality, for the execution of remedial action. Bee’ah is working with the Sharjah Investment & Development Authority (Shurooq), to study pollution in the Al Khalid and Al Khan lagoons and to devise strategies for the preservation of these iconic water bodies.

Approach towards community engagement

Bee’ah is not only distinguished by its service but also by the constant efforts it makes to enrich the lives of the people it serves through education and awareness programmes. Elaborating on what inspires Bee’ah’s community engagement initiatives, Al Huraimel said, “At Bee’ah, people are the reason we do everything. Sustainability is a journey that we undertake for their future, inspired by their wants, and dependent on their involvement to be truly successful. Through specially tailored programmes, we are enabling the community to become participants in this journey, and equipping them with the tools necessary to move from a passive to an active role in this pursuit.

Our programmes aimed at students allow us to prepare our youngsters for the challenges of tomorrow, and to become proponents for the actionable change that we are striving for.” The Bee’ah School of Environment, which was launched in 2010, reaches more than 200,000 students and 5000 teachers through comprehensive lesson plans and activities delivered through online and offline programmes. Members from the CSR team deliver presentations and undertake workshops for students and teachers, in addition to encouraging environmental activism through competitions like the Sharjah Environment Awareness Award and the Inter-School Recycling Competition, both of which are held on an annual basis.

This year, Bee’ah has made great headway towards its goal of creating awareness, through its new CSR programme, Bee’ah Rewards. The programme revolves around incentivising recycling using Bee’ah’s revolutionary Reverse Vending Machines. Over the past few months, the programme has played a pivotal role in assisting the nation’s transition from a linear model of consumption, to a circular economy that maximises the utilisation of resources. Launched at the start of this year, it has recorded remarkable participation, increasing from 890 entrants in January, to more than 33,000 by July. By expanding the programme across the UAE, Bee’ah hopes to significantly increase overall recycling rates by next year.

Innovating for the Future

So what does the future hold for Bee’ah? As the UAE evolves, Bee’ah evolves with the nation to meet its most pressing issues. Diversification, supported through innovation, is the foundation of Bee’ah’s business strategy for the upcoming years. On May 24, 2017, Bee’ah announced the launch of its new technology venture, EvoTeq. Given the rapid rate of digitalisation in the Middle East and particularly the UAE, EvoTeq was formed with the aim of providing people with a sustainable platform to access the benefits of technology. Elaborating on the vision behind the venture, Al Huraimel said, “According to a recent industry report, 90 per cent of the UAE population are mobile subscribers and 85 per cent are internet users. With this rapid pace of technological growth, it becomes necessary to safeguard people’s interests on these platforms. Bee’ah is concerned with improving the quality of life in the region and improvements in technology will play a vital role in achieving this objective.” As its primary offering, EvoTeq has announced the launch of SmartTrack, an application that will tackle the issue of counterfeit drugs, to ensure the integrity of the healthcare ecosystem.

The application which follows a live tracking system, will be implemented at all strategic points of distribution, and will rely on an internationally certified GS1 barcode to attest to the authenticity of the drugs. Apart from healthcare, EvoTeq also hopes to address issues faced by industries like logistics and education, while simultaneously facilitating the process of digitalisation by enhancing existing platforms and creating new e-commerce services. Moving forward, Bee’ah also has its sights set on an innovative means of ensuring the green energy future of the UAE. During Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) 2016, Bee’ah and Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, signed a joint development agreement to explore the possibility of working together towards establishing renewable energy projects. The following year, at ADSW 2017, the two leading companies announced that they will develop waste-to-energy projects through their new partnership and the Emirates Waste to Energy company (EWTE) was launched on May 25. During the event, the ground-breaking ceremony for the waste-to-energy facility was also held.

The EWTE, one of the first of its kind in the Middle East, sets the benchmark for innovative energy solutions and is a harbinger for the green energy future of the UAE. While dealing with the insurmountable problem of waste, it also ensures the consistent production of energy for a nation that is transitioning from a state of oil dependency to renewable energy sufficiency. The company says it will seek to establish waste-to-energy projects across the region, relying on the complementary strengths of Masdar and Bee’ah. The company’s first waste-to-energy facility, Sharjah Multi-Fuel Waste to Energy Facility, will be the first of its kind to be established in Sharjah. It will divert over 300,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste away from landfill every year. The facility will incinerate over 37.5 tonnes of waste per hour to deliver 30 MW of clean energy to the Sharjah power grid, thus meeting the needs of thousands of households.

According to Al Huraimel, the EWTE is one of Bee’ah’s most ambitious projects to date. “With the UAE Vision 2021 highlighting the importance of increasing clean energy contribution, Bee’ah decided that it was time to diversify our portfolio and lead the journey towards responsible energy stewardship. The EWTE will not only deliver green energy but also support our transition towards a low carbon economy through sustainable waste management.” The new project is not just a stepping stone for Bee’ah’s green energy ambitions but an accelerator for Bee’ah’s core mission of achieving complete diversion of waste from landfill. As a result of this project, Bee’ah says it will achieve its zero waste goal by 2020, "delivering on an impossible promise, at an incredible pace." Bee’ah is also looking to change the landscape of green architecture in the UAE through its new headquarters.

The building which was designed by Zaha Hadid is adherent to a sustainability strategy, through the minimal use of resources and through the incorporation of recycled materials produced at the company's own facilities. It will also be completely powered by renewable energy sources, like solar power and waste-to-energy. On completion, the iconic building is expected to achieve a Platinum LEED rating, the highest certification for green buildings. As the UAE transitions to a green economy, Bee’ah looks forward to replicating its success in tackling new challenges, while supporting, leading and inspiring a sustainable future.