"At the heart of Expo City Dubai lies a core purpose to cultivate meaningful change that serves people and planet, delivering a sustainable future for all and helping drive the long-term goals of Dubai and the UAE."
Decarbonisation Progress
Combined Operational & Embodied Carbon Emissions
Actuals versus targets 2023-2025
(Combined operational and embodied emissions in a business as usual scenario)
(Decarbonisation Roadmap)
(including carbon credits & iRECs)
Percentage reduction against targeted value
Exceeding targets
decline
Total operational emissions declined by 32.4% in 2025 compared to 2024
tonnes of CO₂e Offset via Seeds of Change
Closing the loop on waste
From demolition and site clearance to daily city operations, materials are sorted, recycled, composted and recovered — keeping the vast majority out of landfill.
Diversion from landfill
(including energy recovery via Waste-to-Energy facility)
84% of all waste diverted away from landfill through recycling, sorting and recovery
Diversion from disposal
(excluding waste-to-energy)
80% of waste diverted from disposal entirely — recycled, composted or repurposed
Recycling leads the way — concrete, metals and mixed recyclables form the largest recovered streams
10+ material streams recovered by our newly appointed waste management partner
Composting, Refuse-Derived Fuel and waste-to-energy capture value from what can't be directly recycled
Waste Flow Analytics 2025
Where does waste come from?
Breakdown by generating source
Where does waste end up?
Final destination split
Performance in 2025
First Green Innovation District
Unveiled the UAE's first Green Innovation District at Expo City Dubai, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism
Asia Pacific Cities Summit
Convened the largest gathering of mayors and city leaders in history at the global cities summit (APCS 2025)
0 Visitors
Out of which 366,814 ticketed visitors were recorded in 2025 (visited an attraction, attended an event, participated in a workshop and other programming)
0 %
Recorded 90% visitor satisfaction with the sustainability of Expo City as a destination
0 %
Increased tenant occupancy by 34% in 2025 compared with 2024
First FemTech
The Women's Pavilion hosted the region's first FemTech Hackathon and completed the first phase of its Return to Work Programme
Launched Exposure
A real estate graduate programme for UAE nationals
0 %
Local suppliers scaled to 99% of total procurement spend in 2025
0 %
Increased staff training hours by 29% on average versus 2024 (up from 7.14 to 9.18 hours per person annually)
House Of Arts
House of Arts, Expo City Dubai's multidisciplinary cultural centre, opened its doors to spotlight regional art and celebrate local talent
Centre For Species Survival Fungi
The world's first global conservation hub dedicated exclusively to fungi was launched at Terra in partnership with the IUCN Species Survival Commission
0 Innovators
The Global Innovators Programme (GIP) has supported 191 innovators from 82 countries
Independently recognised
Expo City Dubai continues to scale its impact through strategic memberships and partnerships, combined with pursuing globally recognised certifications — reinforcing its commitment to building a resilient, future-ready community.
GSTC Certified Sustainable Destination
-
First city in the MENA region to earn the full GSTC-level certification
IBCCES Certified Autism Center™
-
Designation retained, reflecting our commitment to inclusivity
LEED for Cities and Communities
-
All buildings are LEED Gold as a minimum
-
4 LEED Platinum buildings
-
Master plan pre-certified at Platinum level — the highest rating available
WELL Community
-
Master plan pre-certified under the WELL Community standard, targeting Gold
ISO 20121:2024
-
Multiple event venues certified for sustainable event management following an audit by Bureau Veritas
BREEAM Infrastructure / CEEQUAL
-
BREEAM Infrastructure v6 — Strategy — rated Excellent
-
8 CEEQUAL infrastructure projects rated Excellent
Memberships
Awards
Convening the conversation
Expo City Dubai participated in several conferences and summits on environmental and sustainability initiatives — including the World Future Energy Summit, WETEX and the AIM Congress — and hosted key industry events, from high-level summits to specialised trade shows.
Cities in Action Forum
A key gathering for urban leaders, investors and innovators focused on sustainable urban development, heat resilience and climate-positive solutions for cities across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Asia Pacific Cities Summit & Mayors' Forum 2025
Global mayors and city leaders focused on sustainable urbanisation and smart city infrastructure — and the launch of the UAE's first Green Innovation District.
Sustainable Destination Forum
Global leaders, innovators and experts came together to shape new pathways towards more resilient and responsible tourism.
How we report
This year’s report data includes Expo City subsidiaries and joint ventures. We consolidate and report 100 per cent of sustainability data for all wholly owned companies using a control approach, adjusting metrics for subsidiaries based on equity share and operational control to accurately reflect proportionate impact.
GHG Protocol & GPC aligned
We follow the Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emission Inventories (GPC) in principle and fully comply with the GHG Protocol — equity-share reporting for Scope 1 and 2, full value chain for Scope 3.
Externally assured
Selected ESG metrics are subject to limited external assurance in line with recognised international standards, including ISAE 3000 (Revised).
Equal protection for all
For critical areas such as health and safety, we gather data based on operational control instead of equity — ensuring the same worker protections for everyone.
Board-level accountability
Sustainability disclosures are reviewed by executive management and approved by the Chief Executive Officer, ensuring accountability at the highest governance level.
Download the Sustainability Report
Dive into the complete data, methodology and case studies behind this summary — plus our full report archive back to 2019.
Sustainability Report 2025 (PDF)