By ; Adel Farig
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) won the Sustainable Excellence certificate from the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). This new achievement enhances DEWA’s global leadership. The EFQM develops standards of sustainable excellence and recognises organisations and companies who have reached high levels of excellence.
DEWA won the certificate after a visit by a team of experts from the EFQM to its head office. They evaluated the standards of sustainable excellence, conducted research and intensive meetings, and direct interviews with a number of DEWA employees and managers. The evaluation process included five pillars: the management and employees; the environment; the society; the partnerships and customers. The five pillars consist of 20 topics.
The evaluation included the most important projects, data, and indicators of the smart initiatives, renewable energy, efficiency, and cutting emissions as well as the latest developments of excellence in customer service and happiness of stakeholders. It also included the laws and strategies to provide a suitable and safe environment for employees, and invest in their professional development. The team of experts also evaluated DEWA’s efforts in achieving the three pillars of sustainable development; the economic, social, and environmental. This is in addition to the partnerships, risk management, the most important awards and certificates locally and globally. The EFQM team evaluated DEWA’s strategy and operations as per the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and DEWA’s efforts to enhance the social objectives and achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.
“We strive to enhance the competitiveness of the UAE, which has become a model for governments seeking to improve their performance and achieve the happiness of their people. At DEWA, we are proud to be part of the UAE’s global achievements, in line with the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who identified the basic features and proactive approach for future governments. This achieves the UAE Centennial 2071 to make the UAE the best country in the world by 2071,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.
“At DEWA, we are guided by the words of His Highness, ‘In the race for excellence has no finish line.’ We do not rest on our laurels but we take the lead in anticipating the future: innovating its technologies, and consolidating the foundations for excellence. Sustaining excellence is the responsibility of every one of us. It is our duty to make excellence a daily practice according to comprehensive quality standards. This is part of our efforts to keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and develop disruptive technologies, Artificial Intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and other innovative technologies. Our achievement today adds to DEWA’s record of outstanding achievements. The UAE, represented by DEWA, has maintained its first global ranking, for the third consecutive year, in all Getting Electricity indicators in the World Bank's Doing Business 2020 report,” added Al Tayer.
“DEWA has put in place the mechanisms to implement the system to innovatively upgrade government work. Receiving this prestigious certificate is a result of our hard work to enhance and consolidate excellence in all aspects of our work. I would like to thank DEWA employees for their active participation in our journey towards sustainable excellence, which is a cornerstone for developing our work system and achieving the wise leadership vision to enhance government excellence in the UAE,” said Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Excellence at DEWA.
In 2017, DEWA won the highest award in the EFQM Excellence Model, becoming the first organisation outside Europe to receive this prestigious award, and the first in the Award’s history to win it from the first application. In June 2019, DEWA participated in updating the pilot model of the EFQM 2020.
