Unilever KSA Announces Winners of Nationwide Environmental Research Award

Award launched in collaboration with the Saudi Society for Environmental Sciences - King Abdulaziz University sees participation from over 120 students across the Kingdom

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, May 11, 2016:  Binzagr Unilever Limited, the Saudi Arabian arm of one of the world’s leading FMCG companies, has announced the winners of its Environmental Research Award, an initiative that was launched in collaboration with the Saudi Society for Environmental Sciences - King Abdulaziz University.

The research award was promoted to Saudi universities and colleges in an attempt to increase the awareness about the importance preserving the environment, as well as engaging the students in the environmental activities to unleash their talents and potential. The award consisted of three categories which are: Water reduction, Waste Recycling, and Energy Reduction.

Out of 120 participants, six students emerged victorious in the three categories. Winners of the Water reduction category were Ms. Ghada Fuad and Ms. Munira Mazrooq. In the Waste Recycling category, Mr. Yazid Alsoleye and Mr. Khalid Barqi topped the list, while in the Energy Reduction category, the first place went to both Mr. Ali Abduljalil Almaa and Mr. Mujaihid Rafique.

Commenting on the announcement, Engineer Khalid Fayed, Managing Director and General Manger, Binzagr Unilever said, “We congratulate the winners and all the students who participated. The level of engagement and the innovations that we saw are a sign of a bright future ahead of us.”

“When we launched the Environmental Research Award in collaboration with the Saudi Society for Environmental Sciences - King Abdulaziz University, all over the Kingdom, we had a clear objective to engage the future generation in the environment preserving topic, a topic that the whole world is currently discussing and working on finding ways to tackle. The results were very encouraging, as students from all over the Kingdom exemplified their talent, logical thinking, and sense of responsibility towards the environment through their innovations,” added Engineer Fayed.

Professor Rukaia Gashgari, Head of Saudi Society for Environmental Sciences - King Abdulaziz University, expressed her delight with the initiative and the participation from the students. “We launched this initiative, in collaboration with Binzagr Unilever, to encourage the students to research and innovate ways to preserve the environment,” Professor Gashgari said. “Our role revolves around leveling up the environmental sciences and develop the scientific thought in fields of environment, and it also extends to spreading environmental awareness among the youth who will be leading the change in the near future. We are very proud of the students who participated, very optimistic with the researches that we received, and we look forward to working further towards organizing more initiatives of this kind to bolster environmental awareness in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” she added.

Most recently, Binzagr Unilever scooped the King Khalid Award in the “Responsible Competitiveness” category for 2015 as a result of exceptional performances in scoring categories such as “Innovative Social Development and “Environmental Management.” Moreover, the company has been named a leader in the 2015 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the Food, Beverage and Tobacco Industry Group, joining 23 other companies on the high achievers’ board.

Moreover, the company’s plant is the first in Saudi Arabia that has reached “zero waste”. With this achievement, Binzagr Unilever joined more than 600 Unilever sites, in 70 countries, including factories, warehouses, distribution centers and offices. Having identified the different non-hazardous waste streams in its operations Unilever has now found alternative routes for the waste from these sites.

“It is in our culture as a company to embrace responsibility as a defining factor of our business, and we were successful in doing that through our Unilever Sustainable Living Plan, which was impactful both internally and externally. One of our three main pillars in the USLP focusses extensively on reducing environment footprint, promoting environmental friendly behaviors and encouraging scientific researched related to environmental issues.” concluded Engineer Khalid Fayed.