UAE teams up with Schneider Electric to promote sustainability in manufacturing sector

Move will support the country’s Industry 4.0 programme to raise industrial productivity by 30% and add about $6.8 billion to the local economy over the next decade

The partnership will include on-site sustainability assessments of 50 manufacturers carried out by Schneider Electric consultants. Mona Al-Marzooqi / The National

The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology joined hands with French energy services company Schneider Electric to enhance sustainability across the UAE’s manufacturing sector.

The partnership will include on-site sustainability assessments of 50 manufacturers carried out by Schneider Electric consultants, a series of online seminars on digital transformation and energy efficiency and an internship programme to train 50 Emiratis, the ministry said on Wednesday on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2022.

In the lead-up to the UAE hosting Cop28 in 2023, the partnership is part of wide-ranging initiatives to make the country’s industrial sector the most sustainable in the region.

“The manufacturing industry across the world emits substantial amounts of greenhouse gases, and changes within this sector will contribute significantly to global net-zero commitments. Hence our keenness to raise awareness about environment-friendly and energy-efficient strategies among local manufacturers, inviting them to join us in our collective effort towards a carbon-neutral nation by 2050,” said Mohammed Al Qasim, the ministry’s director of technology development and adoption.

The partnership between the ministry and Schneider Electric will support the objectives of the UAE Industry 4.0 programme to raise industrial productivity by 30 per cent and add about Dh25 billion ($6.8bn) to the national economy over the next decade.

The collaboration also aims to build on the UAE’s net-zero commitments in areas related to sustainability, the ministry statement said.

Schneider Electric is among the first dozen companies supporting the ministry’s programme to accelerate the digital capabilities of thousands of local manufacturers.

“Sustainability is not just a nice-to-have, it’s a fundamental driver of growth and a competitive advantage for the country’s industrial sector. And we can drive sustainability through technological innovation,” said Ahmed Khashan, Gulf cluster president at Schneider Electric.

The UAE is expanding its manufacturing and industry sectors as it maintains its economic momentum, leading it into a future underpinned by Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technology.

The Industry 4.0 initiative, announced in October last year, aims to increase productivity and the development of innovative products. The programme has been designed to help the UAE realise its economic potential by increasing the use of deep learning, machine learning, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and the Internet of Things, into the value and supply chains that support the industrial sector.

The UAE plans to increase the industrial sector’s contribution to national gross domestic product to Dh300bn by 2031 from Dh133bn currently. Known as Operation 300bn, the plan was launched last year with a target of supporting 13,500 industrial companies in the next decade.

The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, established in July 2020, is mandated with strengthening the UAE’s industrial sector, specifically by accelerating the adoption of advanced technologies and 4IR solutions across the value chain.