MoIAT forms alliance with private sector to develop and use sustainable technologies

The Industrial Sustainability Alliance will also be a platform for dialogue among policymakers, global technology experts and industrial companies

Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) and members of the Industry 4.0 Champions Network have formed the Industrial Sustainability Alliance. Photo: MoIAT

The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) is leading a group of industrial company heavyweights to form an alliance to develop and use sustainable technologies in the sector.

The Industrial Sustainability Alliance aims to adopt green technologies to accelerate sustainable industrial growth, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

It also seeks to showcase industrial sustainability best practices in the UAE’s industrial sector and provide a platform for dialogue among all stakeholders — policymakers, global technology experts and industry.

“Cop28 takes place later this year in the UAE and the industrial sector is committed to the UAE Net Zero 2050 initiative. We will work with the Industry 4.0 Champions Network to showcase their pioneering efforts to transform the UAE into a hub for sustainable industry and advanced technology," Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, said.

"Technology and sustainability go hand-in-hand, and we can only unlock the full potential of technology through partnership and collaboration, and this is why we are forming this alliance. It all comes in line with the Ministry’s programmes to infuse technology across industrial production, leading to a lower carbon footprint."

The move comes as the UAE undertakes a series of measures, initiatives and joint ventures to achieve its pledge of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Gulf country is also pushing to develop its local manufacturing sector in line with sustainability practices and the use of advanced technology.

The main activities of the newly-formed Industrial Sustainability Alliance will include greentech exhibits to increase awareness of the benefits of deploying these technologies in industrial operations, MoIAT said.

Other activities include offering sustainability training for the industrial workforce on the concepts of efficiency, waste management and circular production processes.

Also on agenda are policy dialogues, knowledge exchange on industrial sustainability and technical support in formulating sustainability road maps using the Industrial Technology Transformation Index (ITTI).

The alliance also aims to support the development of new technologies to help solve climate challenges, including by backing the expansion of greentech start-ups, MoIAT said.

The ministry invited the Industry 4.0 Champions Network, a group of corporate heavyweights, to join the alliance during a meeting at the World Government Summit.

The meeting was attended by executives from Etisalat, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Adnoc, Strata, Du, Microsoft, IBM, Edge, Huawei, Ericsson, SAP, Aveva, EGA, CISCO, Unilever and Honeywell, who discussed ways of collaboration, mutual opportunities and best practices.

The Champions Network was launched under Operation 300bn as a key pillar of the Technology Transformation Programme. It comprises a group of major companies who exchange experiences and knowledge to promote the adoption of advanced technology in industry and exchanging sustainability best practices.