Several sustainability initiatives promoted by Qatar University during Qatar Sustainability Week 2022

During its participation in the 2022 Qatar Sustainability Week, Qatar University (QU) highlights its green initiatives and its efforts to promote a culture of sustainability. The Qatar Sustainability Week will be held from October 8 to 15.

Qatar University (QU) said that its participation in this annual event stems from its leading role in sustainability in the country, offering consultancy to organizations and decision-makers in sustainable planning and development in various fields.

Over the past few years, QU has launched several green initiatives to promote a culture of sustainability, such as initiatives to minimise food waste, reduce gas emissions, recycle paper, as well as convert food and other waste into biofuels. In addition, QU actively raises awareness on the subject of sustainability and has contributed vastly in fields such as engineering, medicine, and environmental science, all of which have helped to drive its mission forward.

In a statement, Director of Communications and Public Relations at Qatar University, Dr. Hitmi Al Hitmi, said, "QU, in its role as Qatar's most prominent and sole national institution of higher education, holds a hefty responsibility in achieving comprehensive development and environmental sustainability, spreading and promoting this culture. The University also feels a great responsibility to help various institutions avoid outdated technologies, which can be environmentally harmful and do not make sense in the digital age. " He added that QU has updated its business cards to be digital as part of this transition, to move towards digitisation of its services and in order to implement the requirements of the new strategy. 

"QU is the first government institution of higher education to utilize digital business cards, which is of particular importance as it reduces carbon emissions through paper consumption, compacts expenses and resources, and is a much better alternative for the good of the environment than paper or plastic. A key pillar of the Qatar National Vision 2030 is the management of the environment and its protection," Dr Al Hitmi said.

He added that QU's Agricultural Research Station is currently working on a project to reduce food waste by converting it into a natural fertilizer, aiming to achieve food security, which has become a national priority.

"Under the umbrella of the QU Holding Company, there will be an organisation, with a specialized field of converting food into fertilizer to achieve zero food waste. "

Dr Al Hitmi noted that QU will also cooperate with a number of ambitious local youth clubs and initiatives.