Volvo Group has announced the creation of a dedicated business entity named Volvo Mining, designed to capture the growing global demand in the mining sector by unifying its extensive capabilities under a single integrated structure.

Scheduled to launch on January 1, 2027, and hosted within Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE), the new organisation aims to streamline how the group serves mining customers and contractors worldwide.

The establishment of this specialised entity comes as the mining industry enters a new phase of growth and transformation, requiring heightened focus on productivity, safety, and resilience. Volvo Mining is planned to sell Volvo trucks, construction equipment, and autonomous solutions directly to mining clients and their contractors, backed by dedicated financial resources and global portfolio management.

Strategic integration and leadership

The initiative seeks to bring together decades of industry experience and combine capabilities from across the entire group in collaboration with retail partners. Per-Erik Lindström, currently Senior Vice President Volvo Trucks International, has been appointed as the Head of Volvo Mining, effective January 1, 2027.

“As the mining industry evolves, customers are looking for partners who can help them improve productivity, strengthen safety and meet growing sustainability expectations. Our goal is to be a long-term partner in that transformation, helping customers create greater value through the combined strengths of Volvo Group. I look forward to working closely with customers and partners as we build this next chapter together,” stated Per-Erik Lindström.

Melker Jernberg, President of Volvo CE, emphasised the strategic significance of the move: “Mining has been an important part of the Volvo Group for decades, but the industry's growing significance calls for an even greater level of focus. With Volvo Mining as our center of expertise, we are combining capabilities from across the Group to further enhance customer value in collaboration with our retail partners. This will create new opportunities to strengthen our position in a strategically important and growing segment.”

Initial rollout and regional focus

Initially, Volvo Mining will concentrate its operations on mining customers and contractors located in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, with a clear ambition for phased expansion into additional international markets over time.

Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks, highlighted the long-term nature of client investments in the sector: “Success in the mining industry is built over time. Customers make long-term investments and value trusted partners that combine high performance, operational expertise, and a deep understanding of their business. By creating one organization focused solely on creating a world-class product and services portfolio for the mining industry, with an end-to-end perspective, we can better leverage the Volvo Group offer in a more seamless approach.”

Core advantages for modern operations

Modern mining operations require multiple machine categories and specialised vehicles to function in harmony across rigorous conditions. Key operational areas include:

• Excavation and rigorous ground-breaking tasks

• Hauling and heavy material transport

• Loading operations in remote sites

• Safe movement across challenging environments

Nils Jaeger, President of Volvo Autonomous Solutions, noted how advanced technology plays a role in this structure: “By combining our proven autonomous technology and operational experience with Volvo Group's broader expertise, portfolio and customer relationships, we can provide integrated solutions that also deliver measurable value for mining customers – improving safety, productivity and efficiency across their operations.”

Managing energy intensity, reducing emissions, and securing reliable freshwater alternatives are no longer peripheral goals but central pillars of operational resilience.

ENOC Group has announced significant milestones in energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainable resource management on the sidelines of the Water, Energy, Technology and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) 2026 in Dubai.

Operating under the exhibition’s theme, “At the Forefront of Sustainability”, the integrated global energy player is demonstrating how targeted investments in green technologies and responsible resource allocation are yielding substantial commercial and environmental dividends.

Driving energy efficiency and emissions reduction

Decarbonising energy-intensive processing remains critical to the region’s broader net-zero trajectory. Through sustained integration of its Energy and Resource Management (E&RM) initiatives, the group has fundamentally restructured its consumption patterns. Since 2014, ENOC has invested AED 156.05 million in these specific programmes, resulting in a structural transformation of its energy overheads.

Key performance benchmarks include:

• An improvement in overall energy intensity by 21.7 per cent since 2014.

• A reduction in scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 11.5 per cent.

• The avoidance of approximately 1.47 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e) in cumulative emissions.

• More than AED 478 million generated in cumulative financial savings across the group.

• Over AED 75 million in savings derived exclusively from renewable energy integration since 2017.

• A comprehensive waste recycling rate of 65.24 per cent achieved during the 2025 operational year.

Elevating industrial water security and circular reuse 

Beyond emissions mitigation, securing reliable water supplies represents a primary operational challenge in arid climates. Industrial operations across the region are increasingly aligning with the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036, which mandates a 21 per cent reduction in total water demand and an ambitious target to increase the reuse of treated water to 95 per cent.

ENOC is actively advancing these national targets by embedding water conservation deep into its value chain. In 2025, the organisation successfully recycled 688,785 cubic metres of treated water across its footprint—a volume equivalent to approximately 275 Olympic-sized swimming pools. This achievement secured a robust water recycling rate of 24.45 per cent. Concurrently, overall water intensity dropped to 0.0491 cubic metres per tonne of product, reflecting an approximate 20.4 per cent reduction compared to the 2014 baseline.

Highlighting the strategic importance of these initiatives, Hussain Sultan Lootah, Group Chief Executive Officer, ENOC Group, said: “Water security and responsible resource management are fundamental to the long-term resilience and competitiveness of the energy and industrial sectors, where water is essential to critical processes and operational continuity. As demand for energy and industrial output grows, so does the responsibility to use resources more efficiently, reduce pressure on freshwater supplies and integrate sustainable practices across the value chain.

“At ENOC, we are embedding this approach into our operations through practical solutions that expand water reuse, minimize waste and maximize resource efficiency. Our participation at WETEX 2026 provides an important platform to demonstrate how these efforts are translating into measurable progress, while contributing to the UAE’s long-term water security and sustainability ambitions.”

Tailoring recovery solutions across the value chain

Achieving these group-wide metrics requires engineering bespoke water and waste management schemes across specific midstream and downstream facilities. At the Jebel Ali refinery, for instance, approximately 72,389 cubic metres of treated wastewater was repurposed in 2025 for irrigation and industrial supply. This redirection significantly reduced freshwater demand and generated an estimated AED 812,107 in annual cost savings.

Similar circular principles are being deployed within the organisation's gas operations. Dubai Natural Gas Company Limited (DUGAS) treated and reused roughly 50,053 cubic metres of wastewater in 2025, securing an 18.2 per cent recycling rate. Meanwhile, Emirates Gas retains water from LPG bullet cleaning for subsequent washing cycles and recirculates run-off from cylinder-cleaning operations wherever viable.

At the retail level, water recycling systems integrated into the service station network recovered 527,043 cubic metres of treated car-wash water in 2025, reaching a dedicated recycling rate of 67.6 per cent. Furthermore, across terminals, aviation sites, and the ENOC Lubricants & Grease Manufacturing Plant (ELOMP), advanced oily-water separation systems enabled the transfer of 3,273 tonnes of recoverable slops to approved recycling contractors in 2025. Complementing these large-scale efforts, the Dubai Lubricants Processing Plant (DLPP) recently introduced a water purification system that drastically reduces reliance on bottled water, projecting an additional AED 15,000 in recurring annual savings.

Mangroves and coastal ecosystems are increasingly recognised as fundamental components of environmental resilience, functioning as vital habitats that sustain biodiversity and mitigate climate impacts.

In the United Arab Emirates, advancing science-led approaches to protect these ecosystems is a key national objective. Championing this cause, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) and ALEC Engineering and Contracting LLC - SPC (ALEC), a subsidiary of ALEC Holdings PJSC, have formally launched a pioneering three-year mangrove hydrological restoration pilot project. The initiative aims to determine whether reinstating the natural hydrological conditions of degraded mangrove areas can successfully guide the ecosystem back to long-term ecological health.

The science of mangrove hydrological restoration

Rather than focusing solely on traditional replanting methods, this collaborative three-year project prioritises the underlying environmental conditions necessary for mangrove habitats to recover and thrive autonomously. By examining how hydrological restoration interacts with ecological protection, the initiative seeks to deliver durable, nature-positive outcomes. The pilot is expected to establish crucial baseline data that will strengthen the scientific understanding of mangrove hydrology across Abu Dhabi. Ultimately, the insights gathered will be instrumental in shaping the planning and execution of future ecosystem restoration initiatives throughout the region.

Collaborative roles and project implementation

To ensure the project yields robust and actionable data, EAD is spearheading the scientific planning and practical implementation of the pilot. The agency's comprehensive approach includes several targeted phases:

• Conducting rigorous ecological and hydrological assessments.

• Managing precise site selection to identify areas in critical need of restoration.

• Identifying and executing the necessary restoration interventions on the ground.

• Monitoring and reporting on the project’s outcomes against strictly defined biodiversity indicators.

A corporate commitment to natural heritage

As a major engineering and construction group whose activities extensively interface with land and water resources, ALEC acknowledges the importance of enhancing natural habitats. Earlier in 2026, the organisation signed the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative Partners Pledge, cementing its dedication to conserving blue carbon ecosystems and minimising its environmental impact. This current partnership represents ALEC’s first flagship investment in nature restoration that features measurable biodiversity outcomes, further integrating environmental considerations into its broader sustainability strategy. The collaboration was formalised following the fourth annual Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative Partners Meeting, held on 8 October 2026 at the Rixos Saadiyat Hotel.

Institutional perspectives

Highlighting the environmental significance of the collaboration, Maitha Mohamed Al Hameli, Acting Executive Director, Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, stated: “We welcome ALEC’s support for this pilot, which reflects the kind of long-term, science-based commitment the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative was established to encourage. The findings will strengthen our understanding of how mangrove sites respond to restored hydrological conditions and will inform how we plan future restoration in the emirate. Through this pilot, we aim to build the scientific evidence needed for long-term solutions that safeguard Abu Dhabi’s mangroves, a defining feature of the emirate’s natural heritage.”

Furthermore, Sean McQue, Managing Director - ALEC, noted: “Abu Dhabi is a capital defined by extraordinary ambition, creating next-generation cultural and visitor experiences while protecting the natural heritage that gives the emirate its identity. For ALEC, this partnership is an important step in turning our commitment to nature into tangible action. As our first biodiversity restoration investment, the project enables us to contribute directly to the protection and restoration of Abu Dhabi’s mangrove ecosystems, while supporting a science-led approach that will generate measurable biodiversity outcomes. Through this pilot, we are supporting the development of the knowledge, evidence and practical understanding needed to help these vital ecosystems recover and thrive. In doing so, we are proud to support Abu Dhabi’s ambition to protect its natural heritage and contribute to a more resilient future for the emirate.”

Community engagement and future outlook

The initiative extends beyond scientific research, creating avenues for community involvement. Employees across the ALEC Holdings group will have opportunities to participate in environmental awareness programmes, educational workshops, and volunteering activities. Through citizen-science monitoring, this endeavour complements the UAE’s national climate targets and ensures that Abu Dhabi's blue carbon ecosystems are preserved.