UAE's telecommunications service provider ‘du' is now the only company ¬ on a global level ¬ to ever earn the prestigious UL (Underwriters Laboratories) Building Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Certification for its office buildings. These include the du offices in Al Salaam Tower, Dubai Academic City offices in blocks 8 and 9 and Al Barsha Command Centre in Dubai, Abu Dhabi Offices, and Fujairah Call Centre.
UL Environment's Building IAQ Certification Program is the world's first comprehensive IAQ certification and preventative maintenance program for buildings. Based on extensive tests, UL has assured that the du buildings certified exceed the highest indoor air quality standards. The buildings and their systems underwent comprehensive visual inspection and air samples were evaluated for common air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, CO2, CO, moisture, and dust. Beyond the initial period, maintenance of the certification will require an annual assessment and inspection.
"Over the years, we have cultivated a powerful culture of well-being ¬ one that staunchly values employee safety, work/life balance, and engagement. It is in line with this that du has, in recent years, emerged as an employer of choice here in the UAE. The UL IAQ Certification serves as a strong testament to our commitment to providing a safe workplace where our employees can thrive. We aim to serve as a role model for companies in the UAE and across the world when it comes to employee safety and welfare", says Abdulhadi Alalyak, Vice President of Asset Management, du.
"We would like to congratulate du on this achievement and applaud its dedication to ensuring the highest level of indoor air quality," says Hamid Syed, UL's Vice President and General Manager for the Middle East. "Sustainability starts with people. We spend such a large majority of our time indoors and the air we breathe has a great impact on our health and quality of life. UL is excited to partner with a visionary organisation such as du to pilot our UL Building Indoor Air Quality Certification."
du' s most prominent achievement lies in its pioneering role to not only assess the buildings for indoor air quality, but to commit to a certification, which entails meeting benchmarks and continuing to demonstrate performance. du has demonstrated great vision and commitment to healthy indoor environment and is the first company in the world to certify their buildings for Indoor Air Quality Performance."
In line with the company's sustainability strategy, du has continued to reduce its carbon footprint by expanding the network's reliance on hybrid power sources, reducing CO2 emissions from mobile network base stations, adopting e-billing to reduce paper consumption and recycling office waste to reduce the eco-footprint.
In 2014, du's second largest Signature Shop - located in Mirdif City Centre - was awarded a LEED Platinum certification, as the UAE's greenest telecom retail outlet. This is the second Shop, after Fujairah City Centre Shop, to have received the LEED Platinum certification.