Green is good

To modify an old adage: it's not what you say; it's where you say it. The fact that Amiji has chosen the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Dubai to meet is appropriate - last year, the hotel converted its main water heating system from diesel oil-fired to solar powered in a bid to reduce climate change and running costs. The new system is the first commercial installation of its kind in the UAE, and a convenient five-star testament to the strength of Amiji's argument.

"People recognize that something has to be done quickly, and they can't keep on pushing back having to make these tough decisions," he continues. "Last year was undoubtedly a tipping point especially for the Middle East. The point may have been reached earlier in other parts of the world, but here on a corporate, governmental and consumer level, it really reached a new level in the public consciousness.

It is this rich potential that has prompted Amiji to co-found EcoVentures, an environmental consultancy, advisory and management company. The firm will deliver advisory services and solutions based on innovations in greenhouse gas reduction, the use of renewable energy and the development of sustainable water resources in the Middle East, and is to launch with a core portfolio of services based on the carbon reduction offset and finance sectors.

"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) produced a report last year stating unequivocally that there is a link between climate change and man's activities," recalls Amiji.

"It has taken them about 15 years of scientific research to agree on this, and at the same time last year the issue of climate change and what that means to us on a daily basis reached a tipping point in the public consciousness," he continues. "Just then, I realized there was an opportunity to build a meaningful business as well as perhaps do something positive. It's very rare that you get the opportunity to combine both."

Although it will initially focus on carbon management, EcoVentures plans to offer its clients a full range of advisory services in order to help companies achieve sustainability goals. As a for-profit business, the company aims to guide customers towards deriving commercial and brand value by reducing their environmental footprint from all aspects of operation of their business.

"There are three segments of environmental services - renewable energy, carbon management, and water sustainability," explains Amiji. "How can we go about bringing a folio of international standards required and processes in place in the region? That led me to The CarbonNeutral Company (TCNC), which is the first of our partners, and will work with us on the carbon management advisory business.

Europe-based TCNC has been a pioneer in the provision of carbon management services to companies and governments for the last 15 years. The organisation will be EcoVentures' primary business partner in the region for the carbon management business, providing expertise, a system, and a brand for EcoVentures to market.

"To a certain extent, carbon management encapsulates all of the other aspects of the business, so that's why we identified it as our initial target," explains Amiji. "The target audience now is large local corporates, as well as multinational companies that already have an environmental policy in place, so we can help them meet those requirements locally.
EcoVentures' initial focus on carbon management is set to broaden into other areas of environmental impact management, again based on strategic partnerships with the world's leading environmental best practice organisations. Amiji adds that there are a number of announcements scheduled for the weeks following EcoVentures' launch.

"The types of people that we are recruiting have worked with some of the leaders in this space, and it is a quantifiable process," he says. "There is a methodology in place that you can use, so the type of people that we are bringing in here are bringing their skills into the region.

"We will have an environmental consultancy and scientific advisory team based in the Middle East, and then we will bring in the specialized expertise from our partners as and when it is required," he explains. "We'd like to develop an ongoing relationship with our clients, who we will work with on a project-by-project basis.

Partner TCNC already works with over 200 clients in the private and public sectors worldwide, helping companies to measure their carbon emissions, make changes to reduce those emissions, and acquire carbon credits from third parties to offset the remainder. This allows them to become carbon neutral, and TCNC sources carbon credits either from projects that meet its own CarbonNeutral Protocol standard, or have been certified under other globally recognized schemes.

"It's a question of demonstrating value," Amiji insists. "The first step is that you have to demonstrate a commercial or brand value for going down a carbon management policy path. That value can be in terms of consumers from a consumer brand perspective, or efficiency in terms of your business process.

"If a company is carbon efficient it usually means it is efficient in terms of its consumption of raw materials, so there is an efficiency from a cost perspective that we can demonstrate," he continues. "The third aspect is that it's a question of time before some sort of regulation will come in, in terms of businesses having to do some environmental assessment of their actions.

It is the issue of regulation that makes gauging the potential of green business models in the region notoriously difficult. While is likely that consumers will exert increasing pressure on businesses by becoming more discriminatory with regards to environmental policy, it is the region's governments that write the rulebook, and so represent the biggest variable.

"What will be interesting to see is how quickly the UAE government adopts some kind of environmental standards and enforces a regulatory framework for businesses operating in the Emirates," suggests Amiji. "In Spain, for example, you cannot have a water heater in your house unless it's solar powered. It's a minor example, but it represents an environmental agenda.

"Companies will drive change to a certain point, but in order to get people to make a massive change in their behaviour, I think the government will have to step in at some stage," he continues. "If we leave it to companies there will be incremental change pushed by people like us in terms of raising awareness and raising the issue in terms of what people can do, but if you want a massive change, then it's much easier for the government to mandate and force everyone to do it.
Of the industry's ‘three pillars', Amiji is convinced that renewable energies represent a lucrative, albeit long-term prospect for the Middle East and North Africa too.

"Renewable technology has still not reached a stage where it is commercially viable on a mass scale, to reduce a country's carbon footprint without having to make huge amounts of capital expenditure," he admits. "Look at a solar plant of medium size, for example, and you're talking a couple of billion dollars. You're also talking about more complicated regimes, because you're talking licensing regimes, tariff regimes with the local electricity boards, and so on.

"It is achievable though - in Abu Dhabi on the federal side they have already put in place a structure and process to allow independent water and power producers," he continues. "If you combine their embrace of renewable energies and liberalization, then that's a great start.

Amiji suggests that projects such as the Masdar Initiative - a global cooperative platform for open engagement on the issues of renewable and sustainable energy - and the establishment of EnPark in Dubai indicate a willingness to tackle the green issue in 2008 and beyond.

"There's a huge opportunity for solar energy in this part of the world, and I'm not just talking about the Gulf either, but North Africa as well, because the opportunity stretches across this whole region," he insists. "In terms of renewable energy, that is the form most accessible to this part of the world, so that will be the next focus for us.

"The Gulf wants to diversify its energy resources, as it can't put all its eggs in the hydrocarbon basket," he continues. "That's why Abu Dhabi has just signed a nuclear deal, and while that's not what I'm advocating, you can see them clearly diversifying their sources of power.

Amiji also points out that while oil prices are at US$100 a barrel, producers will naturally be looking to export every last drop they coax out of the ground. As such, there is a serious financial incentive for alternative fuels to sate domestic consumption. The UAE has recognized its comparative advantage in the energy field, and so it is bidding to build a business around all forms of the resource - be it renewables or alternatives as well as conventional energy sources.

Naturally, Amiji is aware that EcoVentures is likely to be joined by some stiff competition as the business potential of environmental consultancy and management becomes apparent. He does not seem too concerned.

"As any opportunity appears, it attracts attention," he shrugs. "This market, like any other market where there is a quantifiable opportunity, will attract new entrants. I think this is an opportunity that will only increase in size, and increase exponentially - and that's a good thing, because the more people that are talking about the environment, the better off we all are.