The Zero Waste Ramadan Initiative has been launched by Sharjah Sustainable City

The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and Diamond Developers have launched a new campaign called Sharjah Sustainable City with the goals of reducing food waste, fostering a culture of generosity and sharing, and fostering more conscious consumption, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.

Sustainable Ramadan is a programme that aims to reduce food waste by educating the public and encouraging participation in community initiatives to do so.

The campaign's main focus is on changing people's habits in order to reduce food waste, and one of its main actions is teaching them how to properly store, share, and utilise uneaten fresh food.

The initiative involves a partnership between the city and Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), the UAE's charitable and humanitarian branch so that people can participate in ERC's Preservation of Grace project and donate their leftovers to those in need.

"Food waste means wasting precious resources, including water and energy that have been used in producing it," said Yousif Ahmed Al-Mutawa, CEO of Sharjah Sustainable City. Our goal as a sustainable city is to foster a green neighbourhood where people not only practise what they preach about taking care of the planet by adopting sustainable lifestyles.

Therefore, we are overjoyed to roll out this targeted campaign to educate our community, and particularly our young residents, on the significance of minimising food waste and the damage it causes to the environment, both now and in the future. I'd like to express my gratitude to Emirates Red Crescent for collaborating with us on our goal of zero waste, which has allowed us to increase public understanding of the problem and foster a culture of generosity, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.

"We are happy to see Sharjah Sustainable City joining our humanitarian initiative aimed at combating wastefulness," said Sultan Al Shehi, manager of the Preservation of Grace project of Emirates Red Crescent. The city has come a long way in terms of sustainability and understands the importance of trash reduction. As we enter the holy month of Ramadan and the UAE's Year of Sustainability, we have joined forces to utilise the power of generosity and sustainability.

Our mission is to spread the word about the life-changing effects of trash reduction and sharing. As a group, we hope to encourage people everywhere to make ecology and kindness a way of life.