Ministry of Economy and Tourism, Expo City Dubai and partners launch UAE’s first Green Innovation District – a catalyst for sustainable growth

Green Innovation Districts are designed to support eco-conscious businesses and drive sustainable industrial growth. The Green Innovation District at Expo City Dubai is the first in the UAE.

The UAE’s focus on clean energy and other sustainable industries has always been a priority. With investment in these sectors expected to increase three-fold over the next 10 years, the UAE can play an important role in providing products and services aimed at helping the region decarbonise.

The core mission is to drive sustainable industrial growth in the UAE – demonstrating that economic progress, care for the environment and social responsibility go hand in hand. This also contributes to the nation’s Net Zero by 2050 Strategy and its diversification goals.

It offers a dedicated free zone platform for businesses committed to decarbonising their operations, carrying out sustainable manufacturing, encouraging innovation in sectors such as clean energy, circular economy and green technology, which are critical to meeting national climate targets.

The Green Innovation District welcomes any business that commits to its core mandate of sustainable manufacturing and operations and growth. It is particularly focused on those involved in renewables, circular economy and green tech, as well as urban farming.

This requires integrating sustainability into the core model by actively focusing on:

• Reducing energy and water consumption
• Implementing advanced waste management aligned with the circular economy
• Demonstrating a clear, measurable path toward decarbonisation

The Green Innovation District is being launched in collaboration with an initial set of four founding partners:

• European banking group Intesa Sanpaolo is a pioneer in circular economy funding
• Majra, the UAE’s National Corporate Social Responsibility Fund, will direct environmental projects and innovative enterprises to the District
• Nestlé, is supporting through the transfer of knowledge and technical expertise
• Palmade, whose date palm-derived products are helping replace single-use plastics, is relocating its operations to the District

Many companies focused on clean energy and decarbonisation – including ENGIE, Siemens Energy, Nestlé, DS Energy, Carbon Assurance, Carbon Standard and DNV – have already established operations in the city.

Expo City Dubai city’s ready-built sustainable infrastructure provides a host of benefits to tenants, including LEED-Gold certified buildings and an ‘Excellent’ rating under BREEAM Infrastructure for eight existing projects. Its master plan is pre-certified Platinum – the highest possible rating – in LEED Cities and Communities standard; it has also achieved pre-certification for WELL Community – a standard that emphasises health and wellbeing – and is targeting WELL Gold.

Tenants also benefit from Expo City’s advanced infrastructure, solar panels and smart city technologies to optimise energy use. All buildings are designed to consume around 30 percent less energy and 50 percent less water than typical international benchmarks.

Expo City puts people and wellbeing first, with walkable districts, shaded pathways, bike and e-scooter rentals and ample green spaces for relaxation, reflection and connection.

Companies gain access to an ecosystem of like-minded partners, financiers and researchers focused on green tech and climate action, including Terra. Located in a LEED Platinum-certified building, designed to be net zero for both energy and water, Terra exemplifies best practice in sustainable building design.

Yes, the Green Innovation District is designed to encourage innovation and support green business growth. It will offer a dedicated Green Licence to enable companies involved in clean technology and circular economy activities to set up and operate seamlessly.

As a catalyst for sustainable economic growth, the Green Innovation District will attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into high-value green sectors. It creates future-proof jobs, enhances skills and boosts the competitiveness of UAE businesses through sustainable practices, supporting the nation’s ambitious economic diversification and climate action goals.

Expo City provides a real urban ‘testbed’ to trial and scale nature-first ideas with global impact. This creates huge competitive advantages for businesses by boosting resource efficiency and supporting collaboration. This will be complemented by an Intellectual Property (IP) office, which will be set up by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, to compliment research and innovation.