Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.78
Liaison Julia Carlow
Submission Date July 25, 2024

STARS v2.2

American University of Sharjah
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Julia Carlow
Acting Head of Sustainability
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
UAE Alliance for Climate Action (UACA)

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:

The UAE Alliance for Climate Action (UACA) was launched at COP27 by Emirates Nature-WWF (ENWWF) to create a multi-stakeholder alliance for climate action. Its vision is to increase momentum for near- and long-term net-zero targets and foster non-state actor collaboration to create a policy environment that supports entities’ decarbonization efforts aligned with the Paris Agreement. UACA engages sub-national and non-state actors and is endorsed by MOCCAE. AUS is an inaugural member of UACA and sits on the UACA Advisory Committee. The committee’s role is to provide high-level strategic, technical, and funding advice to advance UACA's objectives, inclusively gathering leaders twice a year and representing a whole-of-society approach to enhance domestic action towards the Paris Agreement. In this function AUS represents higher education's role in advancing climate action in the UAE.


More information about UACA can be found here: https://www.uaca.ae/


https://www.aus.edu/media/news/aus-strengthens-climate-commitment-through-uaca-advisory-committee-participation


https://www.aus.edu/media/news/american-university-of-sharjah-becomes-the-first-university-to-join-the-uae-alliance-for-climate-action-reinforcing-its-commitment-towards-decarbonization-and-net-zero-targets


 


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
UN Global Compact UAE Local Network

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
Not Sure

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):

The School of Business Administration (SBA) is a member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and sits on the Steering Committee of the UNGC Local Network for the United Arab Emirates.


The school is also an Advanced Signatory of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) and co-chair PRME's Business for Peace Working Group.


https://www.aus.edu/sba/un-global-compact


https://www.aus.edu/media/news/aus-faculty-member-appointed-global-compact-network-uae-board-member


The UAE network aims to root the 10 principles and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within a national context and to be a leading platform for the development of sustainable corporate practices through collaboration, consensus and partnership. The ten principles of the UAE Local network, which incorporate initiatives on human rights, fair labour, anti-corruption, and environmental issues are highlighted below: UAE Local Network - The Ten Principles 1. Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights. 2. Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses. 3. Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining. 4. The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour. 5. The effective abolition of child labour. 6. The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. 7. Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges. 8. Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility. 9. Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies. 10. Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery. In order to help further the cause of traditionally underrepresented groups, the UNGCUAE focuses on women's rights with the Women's Empowerment Principles initiative. The initiative is supported by a WEPs task force that is coordinated by a group of women board representatives. Further to being supportive of the organization as a board member, the UNGC Network UAE runs a Youth Program that is supported and represented by multiple members of the AUS student community. 


https://www.unglobalcompact.org/engage-locally/mena/united%20arab%20emirates


 https://globalcompact.ae/


 


 


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
EAD Sustainable Campus Initiative

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):

In 2014 The Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi (EAD), in partnership with Borouge, launched the Sustainable Campus Initiative, an initiative to have university students in the UAE take responsibility and contribute to Abu Dhabi's green growth strategy and sustainable development plans. The initiative is supported by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Department of Energy, Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center, Tadweer, and the Department of Transport. Students first measure the ecological footprint of their campus, then work on strategies to minimize it. Teams work on priority areas, such as water use, waste, energy, climate change and the sustainable use of land. Students also get the opportunity to gather at regular Green Youth Majlis meetings to discuss the most significant environmental issues. So far, 21 campuses have joined the initiative, SCI is open to all colleges and universities in the UAE.


A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:

Emirates Environmental Group Membership: EEG is a professional working group devoted to protecting the environment through the means of education, action programs and community involvement. Since 2016 AUS has been an active participant in EEG's participate Waste Management and Recycling Campaigns, regularly winning the glass recycling category.


Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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