Borealis, a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions, announced that the AED 500,000 contribution made to the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy in November 2010 will be used to support two environmental research projects, particularly water sustainability initiatives, across the UAE. The two researches will be conducted by Dr. Ahmed Murad on “Innovative Isotopic Approach to Groundwater Regions in the UAE”, and by Dr. Mohamed Mostafa about the “Groundwater Rise in Al-Ain: A Threat of Blessing?”.
Through their global ”Water for the World™” initiative, Borealis, together with Borouge, a leading provider of innovative, value creating plastics solutions based in the United Arab Emirates, supports understanding and knowledge related to the sustainable use of water and sanitation. These researches play a vital role within the UAE where the sustainable availability of safe and clean drinking water is a major challenge for the future.
“The contribution made by Borealis to the Emirates Foundation is in line with our corporate social responsibility and is part of our Water for the World portfolio of activities,” said Mark Garrett, Chief Executive of Borealis. “Aiming to enhance our investments in the advancement and growth of the UAE economy and its people, we partnered with the Emirates Foundation due to its leading role in supporting the social and environmental improvements in the country.”
“We believe that Borealis’ appreciative donation to the Foundation will help in understanding the current groundwater condition in the country and thus will contribute to innovative options in addressing the water challenges,” says Dr. Lamya Faisal, Head, Environmental Development Programme at the Emirates Foundation for Philanthropy. “Supporting applied research into local environmental issues, such as clean water sustainability, is one of the most significant areas in which we can apply Borealis’ contribution.”
Dr. Murad points out that a relevant previous studies and estimation of reservoirs quantities has been made in the past years revealing that groundwater condition is still far away from a realistic balance between recharge and discharge. This imbalance could threaten the socio-economic infrastructure through inadequate estimate of future changes in the reservoirs (aquifers) productivity. Dr. Murad uses isotopic methods to investigate groundwater properties collected from different aquifers in UAE. The research will present a preliminary overview of using radioactivity as a potential new approach for fingerprinting different groundwater sources in the UAE.
The aim of the second research that will be performed by Dr. Mohamed Mostafa about the groundwater rise in Al-Ain is to improve the management of groundwater resources in Al- Ain in order to alter current and future threats into strategic storage. Dr. Mostafa pointed out that identifying the sources contributing to groundwater rise as well as the current damages and risks associated with it are part of the solution. This resulted in the formation of a current ground level map of Al-Ain, showing hot zones in terms of closeness of groundwater levels to the surface. This research will assist in identifying locations and storage size of these hot zones areas within Al Ain. The resulting map will contribute to saving resources and a great value to decision makers.
The two ongoing researches form part of Borealis’s and Borouge’s global Water for the World programme initiated in 2007 to address the fresh water access and proper sanitation challenges that embody their values and manifest their commitment to social responsibility. Since its launch, Water for the World has directly reached around 260,000 people all over the world and has built a platform for partnerships with stakeholders from the plastics industry, water and sanitation companies and NGO’s.
Through this programme, Borouge is helping people in Northern Pakistan whose villages were severely affected by the flooding in mid-2010. Borouge replaced water distribution networks at these villages with the help of Pakistan's HEED Association and local polyethylene pipe and fittings producer Sun International. Borouge is a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s major oil and gas companies, and Austria based Borealis, a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions. Borouge is a groundbreaking international partnership at the forefront of the next generation of plastics innovation.
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For further information, please contact:
Kerstin Meckler, Director Communications, Borealis
Tel. +43 122 400 389
kerstin.meckler@borealisgroup.com
Craig Halgreen, Vice President, Global Communications, Borouge
Tel. +971 2 6070807
craig.halgreen@borouge.com
Borealis is a leading provider of chemical and innovative plastics solutions that create value for society. With sales of EUR 6.3 billion in 2010, customers in over 120 countries, and 5,100 employees worldwide, Borealis is owned 64% by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi and 36% by OMV, the leading energy group in the European growth belt. Borealis is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, and has production locations, innovation centres and customer service centres across Europe and the Americas.
Through Borouge, a joint venture between Borealis and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), one of the world’s major oil and gas companies, the company’s footprint reaches out to the Middle East, Asia Pacific, the Indian sub-continent and Africa. Established in 1998, Borouge employs approximately 1,600 people and has customers in more than 50 countries and its headquarters are in Abu Dhabi in the UAE and Singapore.
Building on Borealis’ unique Borstar® technology and their experience in polyolefins of more than 50 years, Borealis and Borouge provide innovative, value creating plastics solutions for the infrastructure (pipe systems and power and communication cables), automotive and advanced packaging markets. In addition, Borealis offers a wide range of base chemicals from melamine and fertilizer to phenol and acetone.
Today, Borealis and Borouge have a manufacturing capacity of over 5.4 million tonnes of polyolefins (polyethylene and polypropylene) per year of which 26% are the result of a recently completed capacity expansion in Abu Dhabi. An additional 2.5 million tonnes per year is scheduled for completion by mid-2014, creating the world’s largest integrated polyolefins plant. The companies continue to invest to ensure that their customers throughout the value chain, around the world, can always rely on superior products and security of supply.
Borealis and Borouge are committed to the principles of Responsible Care® and proactively contribute to addressing the world’s water and sanitation challenges through their Water for the World™ initiative.
The Emirates Foundation is one of the UAE’s foremost philanthropic organizations. It offers financial and technical support to projects that enrich the lives of people in the Emirates, particularly in the areas of youth development, knowledge creation, and society and culture.
The Foundation facilitates links between commercial businesses and the public sector to devise new projects and strengthen existing nonprofit initiatives throughout the country. Its funding comes from programme-rated contributions and a capital reserve supported by the Abu Dhabi government and private companies.
Launched on April 12, 2005 by H.H Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, its Board of Directors is chaired by Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Learn more about
Borouge at www.borouge.com
Borealis at www.borealisgroup.com
Emirates Foundation at www.emiratesfoundation.ae
Water for the World at www.waterfortheworld.net, it is a trademark of Borealis and Borouge.
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