Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) recently unveiled its ‘KOM in Green’ initiative dedicated to waste paper collection and recycling. The initiative will conclude on January 11 under the auspices of Mohammed bin Salim bin Said al Toobi, Minister of Environment and Climate Affairs.
"As the Sultanate's flagship technology park, we recognise our responsibility to create a greener park and grow our eco-friendly initiatives in order to eliminate environmental hazards," emphasised Engineer Mohammed bin Hamad al Maskari (pictured), Director-General of the Knowledge Oasis Muscat.
Al Maskari added, "In order to keep our KOM community environmentally friendly and to coincide with the Oman Environment Day which is observed on January 8 each year, we are glad to initiate this one-month campaign that aspires to preserve the eco-friendly environment in the Knowledge Oasis Muscat. In fact, KOM has always been taking the lead in undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility activities. Through the ‘KOM in Green’ Campaign, we are aiming at sharing all the concerns of the Omani government to spare our natural resources and preserve our precious environment for the future generations."
According to Al Maskari, "KOM has initiated the campaign to blaze a trail in disseminating awareness on environment sustainable development and building awareness among the KOM community. Since its inception, KOM has considered environment as a key factor in attracting investments."
He added, "This is only a start-up campaign on waste collection. We are mainly concentrating on the two colleges based in KOM; namely Middle East College of Information Technology and Waljat College of Applied Sciences. The students involved in the initiative are impressively cooperative as they have taken the initiative to the high level. The students have been disseminating information among themselves on the importance of serving the environment.
Besides, we are spreading the initiative to all our companies in order to enhance awareness on the actual magnitude and the benefit of paper loss."
Mazoon Environmental and Technological Services LLC has taken the charge in shaping the whole agenda of KOM in Green initiative.
Al Maskari said, "We will continue creating a healthy and innovative environment and attracting green technology. In 2010, KOM launched the new generation of the photovoltaic solar panel which evaluates the Omani environment in terms of its efficiency. This project also created a platform for R&D with over a year of data been collected."
“KOM would like to continue in the same line of efforts to support the environment and we assure to continue our responsibilities in this aspect. However, we will continue investing more in green landscaping, stressing on the green technology and environment, expanding the infrastructure development, and further enhancing renewable energy."
The 30-day campaign of ‘KOM in Green’ endeavours to educate the public especially youths on various environmental issues. The two leading colleges hosted in the park, Middle East College of Information Technology and Waljat College of Applied Sciences, are the key players of the campaign.