DUBAI, 7 October 2026. The Clean Energy Business Council MENA (CEBC) and Kai Kata FZE today launched the MENA Climate Initiative with the first forum in the Degrees in Action series, hosted at the EGBC Lounge on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Forum 01, Building Circularity, brought together manufacturers, developers and green building bodies to discuss practical pathways to circularity in materials, manufacturing and the built environment. An estimated 10–15% of building materials are wasted during construction in the UAE, and construction and demolition waste makes up 70–75% of the country's total solid waste.
The programme opened with a keynote from Dr. Abdullatif Al Bitawi, CEO of the Emirates Green Building Council, followed by a panel with Nadia Ibrahim (EcoVista Sustainability Advisors), Dr. Firas Fayssal (WCS-UAE) and Vineet Sharma (Arabian Gulf Steel Industries), moderated by Sufiya Sheikh of RAK Ceramics, and a case study on circularity with AGSI.
Insights from the forum will inform CEBC's Circularity Working Group and future programming. The series continues on 18 November with Forum 02, Capturing Carbon, and on 9 December with Forum 03, The Compliance Imperative.
About the MENA Climate Initiative
A CEBC platform in partnership with Kai Kata that convenes business leaders, technical experts and policymakers around focused, solutions-oriented climate conversations across the MENA region. It builds on the Degrees in Action forum format and maps onto CEBC's strategic pillars: clean energy, water, hydrogen, mobility, climate finance, the built environment and circularity.
About CEBC
The Clean Energy Business Council MENA has provided policy, advocacy and private-sector convening across the region since 2012.
About Kai Kata
Kai Kata FZE, Ras Al Khaimah: climate leadership and convening, bringing strategy into the rooms where decisions are made.