Dubai: BEEH Group, the UAE’s leading sustainability pioneer and digital specialist, has achieved a waste diversion rate of 76 per cent, the highest in the Middle East, with the remaining 24 per cent being disposed of in landfills.
Speaking to Arab News, Khalid Al-Huraymel, the group’s CEO, said that BEEAH Group aims to help Sharjah achieve 100 percent landfill waste diversion in 2022, which currently stands at 76 percent.
He added that BEEH Group had launched the UAE’s first waste-to-energy facility in 2022 as part of its efforts to achieve zero waste.
The facility, located in Sharjah, will divert more than 300,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste from landfill annually and generate 30 megawatts of clean energy, enough to power around 30,000 homes.
“Once the facility reaches full operational capacity, Sharjah will become the first city in the Middle East to achieve zero waste,” Al-Huramail said.
This is all because of BEEAH Group’s operations in Sharjah with 10 different plants.
There are 10 dedicated recycling facilities that process materials such as paper, plastics, tyres, old vehicles, metals, construction and demolition waste, organic waste, industrial waste water, marine waste and commercial and industrial waste.
Al-Huramail said that BEEAH was established in 2007 to address environmental challenges, including waste. However, in early 2022, the company changed its name to BEEAH Group and adopted an investment holding company structure and a new visual identity. This is part of the group’s strategy to diversify its core business into new areas.
The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council have the highest amount of garbage per capita in the world. So, it was an immediate challenge, he said.
He added, “We started in waste management and today, we are proud to say that we have become the first in the Emirate of Sharjah to reach zero waste, and today we are active in the UAE as well.” “Our new structure as an investment holding group has enabled us to launch several new business verticals that will take advantage of business opportunities across different industries and countries.”
BEEAH puts sustainability and digitization at the heart of the business. This can be seen in a number of verticals, including BEEAH Tandif for waste collection and city cleanup, and BEEAH Recycling for waste processing and material recovery. There is also BEAH Energy for clean and renewable energy and BEAH Environmental Services for consultancy, research and innovation.
Additionally, BEEAH Digital for future technologies and digital ventures, BEEAH Transportation for green mobility and autonomous transportation, and BEEAH Education, an environmental education and awarding organization for businesses and individuals.
Various verticals will benefit from the collective experience of the BEEH Group, while having more room to grow in their respective industries.
BEEH encourages collective responsibility for sustainability through group education and awareness programs. In 2010, BEEAH Group launched the BEEAH Academy of Sustainability to promote environmental education. Today, the Academy reaches out to over 252,000 students, 6,500 teachers and a network of 700 schools. In its areas of operations, the group aims to improve the quality of life through a twin-pillar approach that focuses on sustainability and digitalisation.
Digitization of BEEH Group
During a private meeting at the recently constructed headquarters of the BEEAH Group, designed by the late Zaha Hadid, Al-Huraymel remarked, “It was one of the last buildings she designed.”
Our new structure as an investment holding group has enabled us to launch several new business verticals that will take advantage of business opportunities across various industries and countries.
Khaled Al-Huramail, CEO of BEEH Group
According to him, the brand new headquarters of the organization reflects the identity of the BEEH Group as an enduring icon.
The BEEH Group Headquarters is a command center for all BEEH Group operations, as it has over 10,000 employees and is growing. “This building is one of the smartest and most sustainable buildings in the area,” he said.
Technology is a primary area of focus for the BEEAH group, and the organization believes that technology has many tools to help it achieve its goals, Al-Huramail said. In that area, BEEAH Group has three companies: Evoteq, re.life, and One Data Center, a recent joint venture with Khazna to build Sharjah’s first data center.
He said that the headquarters of BEEAH Group operates using hundreds of Artificial Intelligence use cases.
In Tandiff, the BEEAH Group’s waste collection business, all vehicles are tracked, and routing is also optimized by artificial intelligence.
The commercial and industrial recycling facility, recently launched by BEEAH Recycling, has a robot with AI vision that can segregate different types of waste.
“So, we believe in and embrace technology because it can help us build a better future and meet our goals,” said Al-Huramail.
As part of its efforts to facilitate digital transformation, BEEAH Group recently partnered with Khazana Data Center to build Sharjah’s first Tier 3 data center.
Commenting on its joint venture with Khazana, the group CEO said that with the growth of cloud computing, data centers have become essential. This requires a lot of data storage.
He added that Sharjah also needed a data center to support reduction and digitization and become a more innovative city.
“In today’s world, it is critical to build a strong digital foundation and infrastructure,” said Al-Huramail.
By harnessing the power of technology and innovative sustainable solutions, BEEAH Group is paving the way for a better quality of life in the MENA region.
COP27 Delegation
BEEAH Group has launched operations in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, including sustainable waste management services, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP27.
He said the organization and Green Planet, an Egyptian environmental solutions company, signed a contract in September to provide waste management and city cleaning services under a 10-year contract.
“We were awarded the waste management contract for Sharm el-Sheikh, and we have started our services ahead of COP27,” he added.
BEEAH GROUP also participated in COP27 and represented UAE as part of UAE delegation.
In addition to showcasing the organization’s key projects such as the UAE’s first waste-to-energy plant and the region’s first fully AI-integrated office building, BEAH Group introduced conference attendees to its recycling facilities and zero-waste solutions. Got it done
“We are proud to participate in COP27 as part of the UAE delegation. As a leader in climate action, the UAE has made enormous progress towards zero emissions; we are delighted to show that How we support these goals through clean energy, sustainable infrastructure and integrated waste management solutions.
“I believe that the UAE and the region have strong sustainability goals. We see that in the UAE, Saudi, Egypt and so on,” he said, commenting on the presence of the BEEAH group at COP27.
As the CEO of the group pointed out, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are two key markets for BEEH Group, which will continue to expand over the next 18 months.
Geographical growth and diversification have been the main ways the group has grown. BEEAH has diversified into Digital, Energy Consulting and Health Care.
“We targeted Saudi Arabia and Egypt for future expansion, as they are the two largest markets for us in terms of size and recognition of the relationship between our countries,” he said.
Currently, the group focuses on growing in Saudi Arabia and Egypt by offering waste management services in both the countries.
BEEAH Group also hopes to consolidate its position as a regional leader in waste management by bagging other government and private contracts.