Given that sustainability and combatting climate change have been topping off corporate agendas in recent months, it is no surprise that Virgin Mobile UAE has recently announced it has achieved carbon neutrality and is aiming to be carbon negative (investing in nature-based solutions and carbon technologies to remove and offset more carbon than it emits each year) in the short-term.
To do so, the wireless communication brand is investing in local sustainable and environmental initiatives, thereby creating the added benefit of raising community awareness on climate change.
“I think it’s really important that we focus not only on global initiatives, but also on local initiatives that mean something to, to the community here in the UAE, and also that shows that we’re putting investment back into the UAE as well to help it achieve its overall goal of net zero,” said Rob Beswick, managing director for Virgin Mobile UAE.
“Local initiatives speak more customers as well; it’s identifiable and people can get their heads around it. Of course, one of the things that we want to do is try and inspire people to take more responsibility for climate change and to get actively involved,” he continued.
Virgin Mobile UAE worked with Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, first to put a number on its carbon emissions, and to identify the local initiatives that the company could invest in. Examples of such local initiatives is a startup that is transforming landfill emissions into renewable energy and one that is focused on growing more indigenous mangrove trees to offset carbon emissions.
Virgin Mobile UAE has worked with a number of organisations including the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence.
“There are a few good local initiatives, undoubtedly, and they’re the ones that are accredited by the United Nations. But what we can see is this a lot more coming online. As we grow this initiative, we’ll be able to relocate our investment from the global industry back into more and more local initiatives,” said Beswick.
“It’s important that we try and give these initiatives a bit of a voice and give them some awareness in the market, so that consumers and the wider community can see that there’s so much good stuff happening here in the UAE,” he added.
Virgin Mobile UAE is also aiming to use biodegradable SIM cards, thereby reducing and eliminating the use of single use plastics. The company is also engaging its local customer-base, through its app, and encouraging them to lead a sustainable life.
“We want to be one of the first companies that actually actively engages its customer base because we believe that customers are already demanding that the businesses and brands they interact have a stance on climate change. It’s already happening: I talk to my teenage children and they are actively engaged in this subject and looking to see how can we make a positive change for the planet,” explained Beswick.
Rob Beswick, managing director for Virgin Mobile UAE.
“I can see that the employees within the company are fully engaged in this so it’s actually helping to build our culture as well, which is really exciting. We see this as a major roadmap for the business in the same way we would view improving the products or launching new plans or devices and a way of making a contribution to the overall story,” he continued.
Beswick acknowledged that offsetting carbon emissions comes at a cost but said that “the return on that investment will be brand resonance. We believe that customers will appreciate Virgin Mobile more as a brand because we take a stand on these issues, and therefore the investment is justifiable.”
“As more and more initiatives come on board in the UAE, it’ll open up accessibility for other companies to also start making these types of moves. In a small way, we would then act as a bit of inspiration to others and make a difference,” he added.
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