Masdar Institute's iEnergy to Launch Global Partnership in Waste Management at 3GF2014 in Copenhagen

Initiative Aims to Sustainably Manage and ‘Unlock Value of Waste’ for All Stakeholders

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 12 October, 2014 – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, today announced that its Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy) will join several stakeholders to launch a new global partnership in waste management during the fourth Global Green Growth Forum (3GF2014).

The forum will take place on 20-21 October 2014 in Copenhagen, where a select high-level group of 250 green growth leaders and decision-makers will convene. Themed ‘Changing Production and Consumption Patterns through Transformative Action’, each of the plenary sessions at the forum is designed to examine global trends, big picture issues and provide deeper thinking into the new directions of the green growth agenda and what it entails for public and private stakeholders.

The new initiative, ‘Unlocking the value of waste’, to be launched at the forum aims to holistically and sustainably manage waste and create value for all stakeholders – those responsible for waste collection, separation, treatment and disposal such as governments, cities, municipalities, NGOs, service users and technology providers.

This partnership aims to match partners with the problem of managing municipal solid waste with solution providers to join forces to unlock the value of waste. Titled ‘Turning Waste Into a Resource: Integrated Sustainable Waste Management Partnership’, the partnership aims to leapfrog existing techniques and long standing approaches to waste treatment and the processing of organic solid waste into biofuels and bio-chemicals.

Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute, said: “Leading the development of sustainable solutions, as supported and directed by the UAE leadership, remains one of the key principles of Masdar Institute. We are delighted to join other stakeholders in this global partnership for waste management to usher in an era that will help tap the potential of waste. We believe the new initiative will provide further momentum to other waste management efforts across the sustainability spectrum.”

Masdar Institute will be represented by Dr. Steven Griffiths, Executive Director of Institute Initiatives, Professor of Practice, Chemical Engineering /Engineering Systems and Management, Dr. Jens Ejbye Schmidt, Head of Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy), and Professor, Chemical Engineering, Dr. Mette Hedegaard Thomsen, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, and Dr. Alejandro Ríos Galvan, Director of the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium and Professor of Practice, Engineering Systems and Management. 

In the near-term, this partnership will offer roadmaps for implementing ISWM of municipal solid waste (MSW) from an integrated technical, political, social, financial and environmental perspective. It will also explore best practices and pursue innovation for the different stakeholders within the area.

The launch of the partnership in Copenhagen will be followed by a workshop to be hosted during the World Energy Future Summit during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January 2015. The workshop will present the expansion of the partnership including new members. The next step will be real life demonstrations of ISWM in two countries –Ghana and the UAE. These demonstration plants will illustrate how ISWM solutions can be implemented and adjusted to different contexts.

A center for integrated sustainable waste management will then be established. The final goal of this initiative will be to see ISWM used globally, turning waste in a resource, supporting green growth worldwide.