Agthia Group, one of the UAE's leading food and beverage groups, has announced the opening of its new packaging technology centre in Al Ain city of Abu Dhabi. This comes as part of its commitment to sustainability and innovation.

The facility was inaugurated by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment in the presence of senior officials.

The new facility aims to develop more sustainable packaging technologies to make a positive impact on the food and beverages industry and reinforce Agthia’s commitment to sustainability and innovation.

Speaking at the opening, Dr Al Zeyoudi said: "R&D is integral to the UAE’s transition to a competitive knowledge-based economy under the guidance of its visionary leadership that aims to build a better future for current and next generations."

"In addition, it is key to addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges we face today, particularly climate change – the greatest threat to the world as we know it. To maximise its effectiveness in addressing climate change, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment works relentlessly to promote productive synergies between the public and private sector that drive R&D," he stated.

He lauded Agthia Group for going the extra mile to achieve a positive impact on the environment through the use of sustainable packaging technologies, smart production processes, and through leveraging science and innovation to meet the diverse health requirements of UAE consumers.

At Agthia, 99 per cent of packaging is recyclable and 100 percent of secondary packaging across all its categories is biodegradable, said senior officials.

The Emirati group aims to achieve zero landfill waste by 2020 and has made a commitment to use 10 percent of polyethylene terephthalate, PET, from recycled sources and five percent of plant-based sources by 2021.

As part of his visit to Al Ain, Dr Al Zeyoudi also toured Agthia’s other facilities to learn about various sustainable practices adopted by Agthia and gain first-hand insights into the various innovations and technologies utilised by the group across new and existing products.-TradeArabia News Service