Bee'ah, AUS And The Wharton School Launch Large Scale Consulting Project

Bee’ah – the Middle East’s award-winning and leading integrated environmental and waste management company – has signed an agreement with the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and American University of Sharjah to develop a large scale consulting project under the title of the Wharton Global Consulting Practicum (GCP).

The Wharton Global Consulting Practicum (GCP) is a cross-functional course offered within the curriculum of the Wharton M.B.A. program. The program pairs teams of Wharton M.B.A. students and faculty with teams from partner universities (such as their partner university in the United Arab Emirates, American University of Sharjah) to consult with a client company (either profit making or non-profit social impact) interested in entering or expanding its position regionally or in other world markets.

Bee’ah was identified as a strategic client company for the GCP project to work on, given its unique position in the region as a leader in environmental and waste management solutions, as well as its plan to regionally expand its operations into other sectors. Following the announcements made during the Green Middle East exhibition in October, 2013, Bee’ah has begun its regional expansion by opening its first office outside the UAE, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the same exhibition, Bee’ah also announced that it is entering different sectors within the environment with the launch of a city-wide Air Quality Monitoring project which will help identify the strategy required for the city of Sharjah to improve its ambient air quality.

The GCP project consists of a team of ten M.B.A. students, five from the Wharton School, and five from the American University of Sharjah. The objective of the GCP project is to conduct an operational, strategically sound, fact based study which will add substantial value to Bee’ah. The goal of the program is two-fold: to provide students with hands-on and innovative learning opportunities and deliver recommendations that add value to the client.

The study will be conducted under the guidance of the faculty of The Wharton School and American University of Sharjah (AUS), in addition to benchmarking against other leaders in the field, expert interviews, identification of emergent technologies, evaluation of opportunities in other environmental sectors (e.g., air and water pollution) and preliminary exploration of other markets in the region. An overall guidance will be provided by two faculty members and at least one teaching assistant.

“With our strong belief in future generations to achieve environmental change, we played a global environmental educational role through the Bee’ah School of Environment, the world’s first and largest digital learning initiative aimed at educating future generations about environmental issues. Bee’ah has also invested, in partnership with AUS, in establishing the Gulf Ecosystems Research Centre, the region’s first environmental research centre that aims to position Sharjah as a hub for environmental thought and leadership in the Middle East. Today, Bee’ah is proud to be selected by the GCP as a client company with the aim of the GCP helping Bee’ah map out a next-stage strategy that will establish the company as the Middle East’s undisputed leader in environmental management.” said Khaled Al Huraimel, Group Chief Executive Officer of Bee’ah. “The project is more likely to be successful with the management at Bee’ah having a primary responsibility for acting on the decisions resulting from the study that will inevitably enhance Bee’ah’s operations and improve its profitability” he added.

The project is constituted of three stages in which the first stage is dedicated to the preparation of a detailed operational consulting proposal defining the project’s objectives, scope, methodology, deliverables and time line. As part of this preparation, the team of students from AUS and the Wharton School working on the GCP program will meet with Bee’ah’s representatives and visit Bee’ah’s sites and facilities.

During the second stage, detailed studies will be undertaken, based on the objectives of the project that have been defined and reviewed on a mutually agreed periodic basis. At the end of the study, the team accompanied by their faculty mentors will prepare the operational steps and strategic conclusions based on their analysis.

The final stage consists of a 2 – 3 day seminar, held at the Wharton School campus, Philadelphia, USA, with the participation of Bee’ah representatives and the entire Wharton- AUS team. During the seminar, the GCP team is given the opportunity to present their research findings and submit their operational plan and strategy to Bee’ah.

Dr. Leonard Lodish, Wharton GCP Leader and co-Founder, said, “We are extremely pleased to be working with AUS and Bee’ah this year towards a zero waste-to-landfill goal. We anticipate this to be a rewarding experience for all constituents involved and of course addresses a highly important goal for the future.”

Dr. Thomas J. Hochstettler, AUS Acting Chancellor, said, "This agreement is a testimony of our university’s continued efforts to become a global institution of higher education." He said “I am very pleased to sign this agreement with Bee’ah and the Wharton School. We have always planned to partner with the leading institutions to create ties that play a positive role in society.” He said, “I strongly believe this significant relationship will prove to be truly valuable for all.” Dr Hochstettler added, “This agreement will build and strengthen the ties between AUS and the two institutions. Such agreements come as part of the AUS strategic initiatives planned to meet the vision of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah who is also the President of AUS.”

The Emirate of Sharjah is focussing heavily on recycling waste as it aims to achieve zero waste to landfill by 2015, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah for Sharjah to be the leading environmental city in the Middle East. By achieving this goal Sharjah will be the first Arab city to divert 100% of its waste from landfill. Bee’ah aims to fulfil that goal in an effort to contribute towards Sharjah being recognized as the Environmental Capital of the Middle East. 

Emirate:  Sharjah

Date: Dec 10, 2013

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