There was a good turn out for the third UAE Strathclyde Dialogues session of 2012-13. Taking place on May 28 at SBS's Abu Dhabi centre, about 45 Strathclyde Business School alumni, students, and community members gathered for the event entitled: 'Triple Bottom Line at a Crossroads: People, Planet, Profit & Multiplying Modern Measures'.
The Dialogue panel was composed of a combination of experts in the fields of environmental, social, and economic sustainability from a mixture of academic, government, and corporate backgrounds.
Mr Ibrahim Dani, one of Strathclyde UAE's local counsellors and a highly accomplished trainer and IT/Business Leader, delivered a thoughtful presentation subtitled 'The Triple Bottom Line: People, People, People'. He made the case that while economic and environmental measures are important and inextricably linked components of the circular traditional triple bottom line, they can be seen as by-products of one main driver: people. Referencing relevant case studies, he demonstrated the vital role of developing talented and socially intelligent human capital to enable the achievement of organisational goals.
Ms Huda Mohd Al Houqani, Director of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) in affiliation with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, shared with the audience a comprehensive overview of how ADSG and its member organisations are promoting sustainability within government, private, and public sectors. Having grown exponentially in membership since 2008, ADSG encourages education, understanding, open dialogue, capacity building, and cutting-edge management and reporting practices across all aspects of economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
Ms Sandra Anani, Communications and Sustainability Advisor at ADSG, further elaborated on the organisation’s role in facilitating sustainable management practices and reporting. Using captivating international cases, she also emphasised the value and relevance of sustainability and the importance of engaging multiple bottom lines.
Ms Nermeen Hassan, Co-Founder of Vivid Life, a company that focuses on holistic and sustainable development of human talent, shared insights from her educational and corporate backgrounds in telecommunications engineering, logistics, holistic health, leadership development, and social enterprise. With a range of fascinating facts and figures, her thought-provoking perspective focused on the importance of incorporating dynamic and preventative health models and measurements on both personal and organisational levels to enhance employees' physical health, mental wellbeing, and overall productivity across multiple bottom lines.
The event concluded with a lively extended discussion between the panel of speakers and the audience, followed by networking among the event participants.
The Strathclyde Dialogues series is currently in its third year; the Dialogues aim to bring together panels of experts who exchange views to promote understanding and knowledge-sharing in various fields of global interest that have particular application to the UAE.
For more information about the Strathclyde Dialogue series, contact the Strathclyde academic in charge, Dr Katerina Nicolopoulou.