Averda, Fairmont The Palm alliance reduces 17,100kg of carbon emissions

Dubai-based waste management and recycling company, Averda, and Fairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai have achieved an important milestone as part of a sustainability drive to mark Earth Day held last month.

The initiative is part of an ongoing partnership between the hotel and Averda for its recently launched used cooking oil (UCO) service in the UAE where Averda has committed to collect 10 million litres of UCO annually from customers in the region.

The UCO service offers sustainable waste management of used cooking oil at hotels and big kitchens to support the preservation and protection of the earth through the creation of biodiesel. This recent collaboration has already led to a significant positive impact on the environment as each litre of used cooking oil collected reduces 3kg of carbon emissions.

The initiative, aimed at highlighting the sustainable management of UCOs at hotels and large kitchens, coincided with Ramadan when oil is predominantly used in the cooking process for most regional cuisines. As part of the initiative, Averda’s team visited Fairmont The Palm’s kitchen to collect the UCO produced from daily operations at the kitchen.

The collected UCO will processed to create sustainable biodiesel, – an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to petroleum and other fossil fuels. The biodiesel is blended with regular diesel and used by haulage companies, substantially reducing their carbon emissions.

Jobin Solomon, head of biofuels project development at Averda, said: “Averda is committed to leading with the global best practices when it comes to sustainability and waste management. Our partnership with Fairmont The Palm has seen us collect over 5,700 litres or 5,244kg of used cooking oil from the hotel, which has helped mitigate over 17,100kg of carbon reductions. This initiative demonstrates how small changes in how we all manage our waste can together make a significant positive impact on the environment.”

Aurelio Giraudo, cluster general manager at Fairmont The Palm, also added: “Through our UCO service partnership with Averda, Fairmont The Palm has been able to further our commitment to environmental sustainability and ensure that we stay eco-conscious in the way we operate and serve our guests. This is part of our Planet 21 initiatives, Accor’s Global sustainability program.”

As part of the UCO service, Averda provides its clients with bespoke oil containers free of charge and offers a regular schedule of collection. It also offers recycling analysis reports for each client with a breakdown of the carbon savings that have been achieved.

Averda has been focused on providing sustainable solutions which extract value from waste, reducing use of the planet’s limited natural resources and driving the circular economy. Recently, Malek Sukkar, the CEO of Averda, stated that an average resident in the UAE generates nearly 3kg of waste every day, almost double the amount of an average person in Europe.

Read: Hastening the UAE’s journey to zero waste