AW Rostamani Group and Arabian Automobiles employees take action and go green to mark Earth Day 2012

25 April 2012 (Dubai, UAE)

Employees of AW Rostamani Group and subsidiary unit Arabian Automobiles Company (AAC) got together last Sunday to celebrate Earth Day 2012 with a sponsored tree planting ceremony at AAC’s new mega showroom project which is currently under construction on the Emirates Road in Sharjah.

Speaking at the event, AW Rostamani Automotive division CEO Michel Ayat commented “As a major automotive distributor in the region both ourselves and Nissan Motor Company take our environmental responsibilities extremely seriously. As evidence of this Arabian Automobiles recently became the first automotive company in the UAE to be awarded ISO 14001 certification by Lloyd’s (LRQA) and we achieved this certification in only a year.”

The event not only marked Earth Day, but also pledged the entire team of 2500 employees across all 36 facilities of AWR Automotive in the UAE towards a commitment to act as responsible environmental citizens and to make a conscious effort to conserve water and electricity in both the work place and during personal time.

At the event, employees had the opportunity to personally sponsor the planting of a Damas tree at a cost of AED150 per employee, with the activity raising AED10,000 towards a charitable donation.

Mr. Neeraj Mahajan – Director Business Excellence & New Business at AWR detailed the enhanced commitment at AWR Automotive towards CSR and environmental activities and noted a major milestone in AAC’s efforts to support a greener environment in the UAE was its 2009 Dubai Award for Sustainable Transport (DAST) from the Road and Transport Authority (RTA). AAC was recognised in the environmental category for the use of the environmentally-friendly water-based paint mixing system at the company’s body and paint repair facilities in Dubai and Northern Emirates. Through the use of this water-based refinishing material, AAC has complied with the European EPA (Environmental Protection Act) laws relating to the release of harmful solvents into the atmosphere from the year 2007 onwards.

Mr. Mahajan also detailed the organisation’s on-going environmental initiatives noting the latest move to segregate various types of waste by using a comprehensive waste management system across the organisation. In the past 18 months, AWR employees have also donated blood through multiple blood donation drives as a CSR initiative. He emphasised that the success of these events is because of their cross-functional nature which ensures AWR’s diverse employee base feels able to contribute and make a positive impact all round.

Nissan Motor Company operates its own corporate environmental policy ‘Nissan Green Program 2016’. The program seeks to find a symbiosis of people, vehicles and nature, promoting and widening the development and application of green technologies and contributing to a sustainable mobility society.