Living Business Programme

Living Business Programme 2021

Would you like to make your business ESG ready?

Evolve your sustainability agenda and strategies

Help to identify opportunities for positive action

Access to a panel of industry experts who will work with you to get projects done

Participate in a graduation event to be held at the UK Pavilion during Expo 2020

Winners receive the opportunity to send staff on a Sustainability online course at Cambridge university

Register to join the Living Business Programme 2021 today.

REGISTER TODAY

Registrations close on April 30th 2021

Last October, HSBC set out an ambitious plan to prioritize financing and investment that supports the transition to a net-zero global economy – and helps to build a thriving, resilient future for society and businesses.

At the heart of the plan is a pledge to reduce financed emissions from HSBC's portfolio of customers to net-zero by 2050 or sooner, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

To do this, HSBC is intensifying its support for customers to switch to more sustainable ways of doing business. HSBC wants to play a leading role in advising companies on their journey towards net-zero and has the ambition to provide between USD750 billion and USD1 trillion of finance and investment by 2030 to help companies achieve this goal.

With the support of HSBC, the Living Business programme is supporting companies to develop and implement business plans for the planet.

The Programme runs in four phases

1. Registration

Sign up for the launch event and/or to participate in the programme.

To qualify you must have an active business in Bahrain, Egypt, Oman, Qatar or the UAE and implement, during 2021, a project which will have a significant:

Environmental Impact or
Social Impact or
Governance Impact

Not sure what to do? No worries. Register today and we will work with you to find the right project.

Register as a participant

2. Coaching

We arrange a one-on-one coaching call with one of our experts who will take time to understand your business, ambitions and opportunities. Once we have an overall understanding of where you are and where you’d like to get to during 2021, we can assist by, for example:

Working with you on a sustainability strategy
Measuring aspects of your environmental impact
Putting in place a reporting framework
Introducing you to third parties with technical expertise in: energy-saving, renewable energy generation or waste recycling.

3. Implementation

You implement the agreed project(s). We are available if you need further support or if you need introductions to other third-party experts.

4. Showcasing

We ask you to tell us what you’ve achieved and results. We will be inviting our companies to a final event at the UK Pavilion during Expo 2020.

Winners will be showcased via social and have the chance to attend an ESG-linked virtual course at The University of Cambridge.

Dates for your diary

24th March 2021

Launch event

Virtual Launch Event
Understand the Living Business Programme
Hear from last year’s winners

May-Jun 2021

Support phase

One-on-one strategic coaching
Evaluating your ESG opportunities and targets
Connecting you to our strategic partners and our network

30th April 2021

Registrations close

May-Sep 2021

Implementation phase

Companies implement the agreed project
The Living Business team remains available for support

Oct-Nov 2021
Showcasing &

Graduation phase

Data collection on project outcomes
Shortlisting best projects
Public Voting
Ceremony at the UK Pavilion during Expo 2020

Showcasing the leaders

We are looking for businesses and projects which are having or will have a significant:

Best environmental impact

Best social impact

Best governance implementation

We will be inviting the companies which show the most promise in each category to pitch at the Get In the Ring final event at the UK Pavilion during Expo 2020.

Each winner will receive a place on an online course at the Institute for Sustainability Leadership at the University of Cambridge which they can nominate one of their staff to attend.

Places are available on one of the following courses:

Evaluation criteria

The business must, during 2021, implement or commence implementation of a change which:

Reduces the business’s or industry’s environmental footprint (e.g., saving of water, energy or waste or the introduction of a transformation innovation) and/or

Enhances the social capital of the business including the health, safety, wellbeing or skills of its staff or improves the wellbeing of its customers.

Creates a sustainable governance framework, including engagement, reporting and transparency.

Register here for Living Business

REGISTER TODAY

If you have questions about the Programme or would like more information please contact:

Keith Bradley keith@globally.ae
Melvin Visser melvin@globally.ae

Case studies from the 2020 Programme

More information about the 2020 Programme

Taweelah Aluminium Extrusion

A major manufacturer of aluminium profiles diverted 500MT of waste from landfill to the cement industry to be used as a raw material. Living Business helped obtain regulatory approvals.

Emirates Transformers and Switchgear

A manufacturer of transformers for the power industry implemented changes in their manufacturing process which resulted in a reduction of 120MT of steel waste. The simplest but most impactful changes were to slow the speed of the cutting machines.

Metin Mitchell and Company

A leading professional service has made substantial and permanent cuts in local and international travel, leading to a 60% reduction in their carbon footprint. They have partnered with a local business which captures methane from a Dubai Municipality landfill to buy carbon offsets for the balance of their emission, so they are now carbon neutral.