Cities across the globe have long harnessed the power of nature by integrating more green spaces in urban development plans to boost the environment, as well as improve well-being.
But research in the UAE has underlined how creating additional green spaces should not be merely confined to streets and parks, but can be crucial to cultivating healthier, happier and more productive workplaces, too.
A study by Atina Ghunaim, a postgraduate researcher at UAE University (UAEU) in Al Ain, has highlighted how living or green walls - structures covered with greenery and vegetation - can cut down on pollution and create cleaner air in premises where employees can typically spend 2,000 hours a year.
Ms Ghunaim analysed pollution in the UAEU’s offices during the autumn and winter, and found that concentrations of particulate matter fell when there was a living wall installed. Levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), some of which have been linked to increased cancer rates, were also lower.
Cleaning the air inside homes, workplaces and other locations could offer significant health benefits, as the World Health Organisation has estimated that globally each year 4.3 million people die prematurely because of polluted indoor air.
Going green
Green walls may provide monetary and environmental upsides, because the UAEU research found that when such a wall was installed, the internal temperature was reduced by between 0.3 °C and 1.0 °C, which could cut energy demand for cooling.
According to analysis by Indian-based company, Straits Research, the global market for green walls is set to double in size in the decade up to 2031, when it is projected to be worth $5.3 billion (Dh19.5 billion).
Hisham Elkadi, a professor of architecture at the University of Salford in the UK who has researched living walls, said that the way that they brought nature into the urban environment “absolutely” offered benefits.
“The more we’re integrated with nature the better for us, for our environment, for health. There’s no question this is the way forward,” he said.
Internal and external benefits
As well as internal green walls improving internal air quality, external green walls clean the air outside, Prof Elkadi said, by removing particulate matter, harmful gases and VOCs.
There are also thermal benefits to external green walls: they reduce the heating effect on buildings in hot climates and limit the loss of heat from buildings in cooler parts of the world. Research in the UK published in 2021 found that heat loss was cut by 31 per cent when a pre-1970s building was retrofitted with a living wall.
“It’s mitigating the transmissions of energy from the atmosphere, and towards the atmosphere … The plants have very good control over the energy efficiency of buildings,” Prof Elkadi said.
Living walls and other plant life in towns and cities, including trees, also mitigate the urban heat island effect, which causes built-up areas to become hotter than surrounding areas. People who can see green walls while they are working have also been shown to have increased productivity, Prof Elkadi said.
By helping to increase the number of insects and birds, green walls can improve biodiversity, which Prof Elkadi said could contribute to urban areas becoming “green corridors” for nature instead of barriers to them.
However, green walls in hotter climates are at a greater risk of drying out, which can turn them into a fire hazard, so correct installation and regular maintenance are important.
How are companies tackling air pollution?
Many companies now provide green wall installations, both internally and externally, while green roofs are similarly becoming more popular and can, Prof Elkadi said, also reduce the urban heat island effect.
Employers around the world are making efforts to reduce internal air pollution. In India, for example, Acer has reportedly installed air purifiers in its offices, as have PepsiCo, Deloitte and KPMG, all of which have additionally brought in extra greenery to filter the air.
Simple pot plants have also been shown to reduce internal air pollution, according to research by the Royal Horticultural Society and the University of Birmingham, both in the UK.
Meanwhile, Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai opened in 2021 with a sustainable vision supported by living walls and palm trees in the central atrium to encourage air circulation.
Another approach to clean the air, by deploying a spray-on coating for walls and other surfaces, is being offered by UAE company, Best Pick Energy.
The firm and its UK partner, Clean Air, which promotes the technology developed in Hungary by Resysten, said the method had been demonstrated to remove nitrogen oxides (NOX) from the air.
“Around the world you have zones and areas where you have naturally high concentrations of NOX sitting in the atmosphere. That tends to be in cities, it tends to be around transport hubs, it tends to be around construction sites,” said Steve Lewis, chief executive of Clean Air.
He said that the coating, which contains titanium dioxide, had been sprayed on to, for example, glass facades, vehicles, lorries and perimeter fencing around construction sites.
Construction sites are known as pollution hotspots and, with air pollution from traffic having fallen in some countries because of tighter emissions regulations, the share of air pollution accounted for by construction has increased.
Mr Lewis said a major global operator of drive-through fast-food outlets had contacted the firm about the possible use of the technology, which could reduce the extent to which employees are exposed to pollution.
The company states that the spray can remove 222mg of nitrogen dioxide per square metre per day, which can lead to a significant total across a large project.
Trials are taking place in the UAE to further test the technology with a view to rolling it out in the country, with the potential for it to be used both internally and externally.
So, from employing the age-old cleaning power of plants to using high-tech sprays, efforts to purify polluted air indoors and outdoors look set to grow.
The impact of climate change in the Middle East – in pictures
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Du Football Champions
The fourth season of du Football Champions was launched at Gitex on Wednesday alongside the Middle East’s first sports-tech scouting platform.“du Talents”, which enables aspiring footballers to upload their profiles and highlights reels and communicate directly with coaches, is designed to extend the reach of the programme, which has already attracted more than 21,500 players in its first three years.
Left Bank: Art, Passion and Rebirth of Paris 1940-1950
Agnes Poirer, Bloomsbury
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The biog
Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2nd row
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
4th row
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)
5th row
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6th row
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
8th row
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
9th row
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
10th row
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ENGLAND SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Company profile
Company name: Nestrom
Started: 2017
Co-founders: Yousef Wadi, Kanaan Manasrah and Shadi Shalabi
Based: Jordan
Sector: Technology
Initial investment: Close to $100,000
Investors: Propeller, 500 Startups, Wamda Capital, Agrimatico, Techstars and some angel investors
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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