President Sheikh Mohamed visits an Emirates Red Crescent event where volunteers packed essential supplies for earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria. All photos: Emirates Red Crescent
President Sheikh Mohamed visits an Emirates Red Crescent event where volunteers packed essential supplies for earthquake survivors in Turkey and Syria. All photos: Emirates Red Crescent
Sheikh Mohamed was joined by his sons and grandsons at the event in Abu Dhabi
Sheikh Mohamed was joined by his sons and grandsons at the event in Abu Dhabi
The President witnessed the latest relief effort for those affected by the earthquake
The President witnessed the latest relief effort for those affected by the earthquake
Thousands of volunteers have helped to pack vital aid bound for Turkey and Syria in recent weeks
Thousands of volunteers have helped to pack vital aid bound for Turkey and Syria in recent weeks

UAE

Emirates Red Crescent to support bid to cut UAE food waste and help the needy

National Food Waste Initiative and ERC will work with restaurants, food outlets and the hospitality sector to donate food surplus to disadvantaged families

Jessica Morgan

June 15, 2023

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The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) has signed a partnership with the National Food Waste Initiative (Ne'ma) to reduce food waste in the UAE.

The agreement outlines that the two organisations will work together to collect food surplus from restaurants, food outlets and the hospitality sector to redistribute it to the less fortunate.

It will also build on the work they have been carrying out to redistribute food surplus to disadvantaged families.

The initiative will contribute towards achieving the UAE's target of reducing food waste by 50 per cent by 2030, Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Thursday.

The agreement was signed by Ahmed Taleb Al Shamsi, chief executive of Emirates Foundation on behalf of Ne'ma, and Hamoud Abdullah Al Junaibi, Secretary General of Emirates Red Crescent.

The partnership will support the national strategy to cut food waste, as well as build on the work of ERC's Hefth Al Nema project and Ne'ma's National Food Rescue Working Group, to redistribute food surplus to disadvantaged families.

During Ramadan, Ne'ma and UAE Food Bank collected a million meals and distributed them within the UAE to the underprivileged. Photo: Ne’ma
During Ramadan, Ne'ma and UAE Food Bank collected a million meals and distributed them within the UAE to the underprivileged. Photo: Ne’ma

"Ne'ma initiative takes pride in having Emirates Red Crescent as a significant partner in our mission to reduce food loss and waste across the UAE," Mr Al Shamsi said.

"As the key stakeholders of the ecosystem come together and displayed combined capabilities, we have established a robust network for rescuing and redistributing food nationwide, maximising our full potential in attaining our objectives."

ERC and Ne'ma have already co-operated on numerous food rescue and redistribution initiatives this year.

The Zero Food Waste initiative was launched during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, in which 3,000 kilograms of food waste was collected and diverted from landfill, 400kg of food surplus was redistributed and about 1,000 meals were donated in three days.

During Ramadan, about 2,000kg of food leftovers were rescued and recycled from the Abu Dhabi Energy Centre as part of the Hefth Al Nema project.

The partnership announcement comes a week after the UAE Food Bank launched an initiative to reduce food waste by 30 per cent by 2027.

The new strategy aims to raise the sustainability through long-term planning, as well as supporting farmers and working with food establishments, companies and hotels to donate excess food and reduce waste.

It also aims to divert surplus food from landfill and reduce wastage by 30 per cent in four years.

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The bio

Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.

Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.

Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.

Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.

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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.”

Updated: June 15, 2023, 4:45 PM
UAEAid