Need for the initiative
Currently, several stakeholders in the United Arab Emirates are interested in pursuing sustainability but few have implemented any projects to back this interest. In other words, there is no shortage of rhetoric concerning the environment in Dubai. What organisations require is support to turn their sustainability ideas into reality. Kaye (2012) reports that Dubai city is designed in a way that increases energy consumption.
For instance, one would need to make several u-turns on a road in order to get to a destination. Additionally, few residents make use of available railways. Emiratis also rarely recycle their waste, reduce their water consumption or utilise solar energy for their power needs. Nonetheless, expatriates and residents alike are aware of their responsibility towards the environment, and many of them want to do something about it.
Several top leaders in Dubai are also showing that a need for sustainable initiatives is necessary. A case in point was the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy of 2030 supported by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy. The chairman of this entity, His Excellency Al Tayer, is trying to attract foreign investment in sustainable businesses.
Clearly, several stakeholders must step in and support the 2030 vision. Dubai already has a decarbonising initiative managed by the Dubai Carbon Centre for Excellence, and all it requires are partners that can assist in achievement of this goal (Dubai Chronicle 2012). This initiative will be one of the partners.
The plan is also needed because businesses stand to save a lot of resources if they participate in it. For instance, they are likely to reduce the materials they and the waste they produce. Furthermore, the amount of oil or water they require for production will reduce, and this will translate into cost savings.
Organisations such as BP have saved $650 million as a result of sustainable energy use (Rettab & Rahman 2012). Many firms in the UAE are looking for ways of staying in business by cutting costs; environmental sustainability is one way of achieving it.
A description of the business and its objectives
The main objective of this business is to assist Dubai companies to meet their sustainability agenda. It will do this through four minor objectives: to help companies minimise use of non renewable resources, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce carbon emissions or other forms of pollution.
This company will be providing support services to Dubai firms that are interested in being environmentally sustainable. It will offer them advise and resources to integrate and hence reduce the environmental impact of their suppliers and partners. The initiative will also assist firms to minimise the effect that their transportation costs have on energy use.
Aspects such as packaging will also be examined in order to ascertain that they are recycled, reused or redesigned to utilise fewer materials. Clients will also benefit from waste management assistance as well as energy emission reduction. Water management will also be part of the service offerings as companies will learn how to employ best practices in management of their businesses (Neves 2009).
Within the office setting, businesses will learn how to reduce paper dependence by going digital and also how to reuse other forms of materials at the workplace. Start-up projects or construction companies will also receive support on building and maintaining green buildings. This will involve a change in consumption behaviour and a serious commitment to matters of environmental sustainability.
British legal and organisational structure of the business
Since this firm will entail expatriate partners, then the most suitable structure will be a Limited Liability structure. The UAE has severe restrictions’ when it comes to other company structures like partnerships and public companies. Therefore, the most plausible one would be an LLC. This method comes with a series of advantages that range from access to the UAE economy to unlimited profit and loss sharing.
The latter issue is quite advantageous because although foreign ownership cannot exceed 49%, profit sharing can be negotiated among the parties so as to account for a greater level of return from certain partners. Furthermore, investors do not have to come up with a certain amount for capital as there is no minimum value.
The organisation would also be able to carry out several activities without being restricted. An LLC structure would protect the foreign partner because assets are in the company name and not the Emirati partner’s name (UAE-EU 2012).
The organisational structure will be a flat structure. It will have a managing director who will head a number of departmental managers that include the finance manager, administrative manager, industries and plants manager, construction and green buildings manager, office and equipment manager, and marketing manager.
All the above managers will have employees working under them. This structure was selected because it allows for specialisation among the various departments. It also empowers individuals to make decisions and thus find fulfilment in their positions.
Marketing plan
The four P’s of the marketing plan will revolve around informing business entities about the need for the company’s services. With regard to product, the company is offering a service that does not exist in the present form within the UAE.
Most sustainability initiatives only offer a small aspect of environmental service support. This particular business will offer a comprehensive package for all sustainability needs in a company. Marketing will focus on the all-inclusive nature of this service. It will also inform buyers about the relevance or usefulness of sustainability in business.
Pricing decisions will also revolve around bundling. The more services a company buys from the initiative, the more discounts they get. Overall, buyers will pay a relatively low price for the product in order to penetrate into the untapped market.
After building demand for the services, then prices will be increased gradually. The initiative will also offer a lot of flexibility in pricing so as to build partnerships with organisations (De Stricker 2007).
The firm’s offices will be located around key industrial and commercial hubs. This will increase proximity to clients and thus ensure that they do not have to travel long distances to consult with the firm. It will also ascertain that sustainability suppliers are close by in order to minimise logistics and supply chain costs for the company’s clients.
Advertising will be a key strategy for promotion. This will be done through the internet, key business and daily newspapers as well as posters. On the internet, the firm will target websites that talk about sustainability. It will also place banner ads on key commercial business websites in Dubai.
Posters will be located in commercial and industrial hubs and only highly circulating newspapers will be selected for advertisements. The company will also do public relations by sponsoring major events. It will rely on personal selling through marketing representatives in the organisation (Kotler and Lee 2006).
References
De Stricker, U. 2007, ‘My Pleasure to Serve You: Client Service Marketing’, Journal of Feliciter, vol. 53 no. 3, pp. 130-133.
Dubai Chronicle 2012, Dubai to reduce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. Web.
Kaye, L. 2012, ‘Can Dubai ever be sustainable?’, The Guardian, p. 15.
Kotler, P. and Lee, N. 2006, Marketing in the public sector: A roadmap for improved performance, Wharton School Publishing, Philadelphia.
Neves, M. 2009, 4 P’s for sustainability planning. Web.
Rettab, B. & Rahman, S. 2012, Businesses, catalysts of change in the middle east. Web.
UAE-EU 2012, Legal structures for Dubai business. Web.