UAE-Born Palmade Is An Example Of How Family Businesses Can Lead The Sustainability Wave The World Needs Today An Emirati entrepreneur and a family business next-gen discuss the inherent strengths of family businesses in leading the battle against climate change.

With the UAE hosting COP28, the 28th edition of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), in December 2023, it's more critical than ever that family businesses act as a unifying agent for discussions on this theme, and collate and leverage information and action across various stakeholders.

Family businesses have a long-term perspective as well as a sense of responsibility to pass on the business to future generations. Leadership tenures spanning multiple decades and featuring inter-generational overlap situate family businesses towards a proactive pursuit of environmentally-friendly practices that bear long-term benefits.

The key to inducing efforts that address climate change lies in governments, industries, and businesses, recognizing long-term plans to mitigate climate change that ultimate align with their future strategies and goals.

Over the last decade, I have worked towards uplifting family businesses to showcase their potential as epicenters of our economy, and their ability to be effective changemakers. During this time, I have interacted with numerous family businesses that consider it their moral obligation to do good for the society. Across generations, I have been humbled to hear about the commitment of family business owners towards protecting the environment, and caring for the natural resources their community relies on.

Many such inherent strengths have emerged that demonstrate why family businesses maybe so incredibly well suited to lead the conversation on combating climate change, which include the possession of a long-term mindset, a multi-generational leadership team, a tendency to be risk-averse, being cost-conscious, rooted in society and local culture, and bearing commitment and responsibility towards community, staff, and the environment.

Lamis Al Hashimy is a first generation family-business owner, an Emirati entrepreneur who co-founded Palmade alongside her husband, Yusuf. Palmade is a range of eco-friendly disposable cutlery made from natural materials, including discarded leaves from the date palm tree. What distinguishes Lamis's approach to innovation is how she and her husband joined forces with young Emirati students to make significant breakthroughs in the world of bioplastics.

Image courtesy Palmade.

In the following interview, Lamis discusses the role of family businesses in fostering sustainability, and how local resources can be leveraged, why families need to switch away from single-use plastics, the value of longevity among family enterprises, and how families can harness cultural learning to innovate and grow.

Palmade is such a unique, path-breaking product, and it is grounded in local sourcing. How did you and your husband Yusuf come up with this idea?

Thank you for your kind words! My husband, Yusuf Caires, and I are passionate about sustainability and social impact. We were inspired to start Palmade after seeing the amount of plastic waste that was being generated in the UAE.

I grew up under the shade of a date palm tree; as we all have here in the UAE. This bountiful tree is known for its giving nature from food, shelter, and medicine, and, thankfully, we were able to find one more benefit where it could help shape a more sustainable future for our society.

There are more than 40 million date palm trees in the UAE, and each year we trim their leaves, which generates approximately 1.4 million tons of green waste. This waste ends up in green landfills, or, worse, gets burned, and so we felt we needed to find a way to recycle this waste somehow.

We wanted to find a way to use date palm waste to create something that would benefit the environment and the community. We came up with the idea of making biodegradable cutlery from date palm waste. By blending the date palm leaves with other bio polymers, we have created a new material that works like plastic, but is in fact certified biodegradble and compostable. It is with this material, that we create our first line of products– the forks, the knives, the spoons, that are now being sold inthe UAE market and abroad.

Every time someone uses one of our cutlery, not only are we avoiding the negative impacts of plastic in our environment, but we are also enabling a form of circular economy around the date palm tree. From the palm leaves, to a spoon, to compost that can go back to the earth, for a new date palm tree.

We are excited to be working on Palmade, and we are committed to making a positive impact on the environment and the community. We believe that Palmade is a product that can make a difference in the world.

During our conversations, you often speak about the importance of reducing packaging and single-use materials. Can you tell us how Palmade is addressing this?

At Palmade, we are committed to providing alternatives to single-use plastics. We believe that these materials are a major source contributing to environmental pollution, and we want to do our part to reduce their impact.

Here are a few of the ways that we are addressing this issue:

• We use minimal packaging for our products. Our cutlery is packaged in a small, recyclable cardboard box.
• Our products are locally produced and manufactured, thereby resulting in a low carbon footprint
• We offer a bulk discount for our products. This encourages customers to buy more at once, which reduces the amount of packaging waste.

We believe that these steps are a small but important way to reduce our environmental impact. We are committed to continuing to find ways to reduce single-use plastics, and we hope that institutions can lead the movement in transitioning away from plastics.

Image courtesy Palmade.

Climate change has become an important topic for millennials and next-gens around the globe. What can we do in the MENA region, as family-business owners, to give the next-gens a seat at the table?

We have a responsibility towards our future generations to address the climate crisis, and instill within them the importance of living sustainably and responsibly towards our environment. I can see that the next-gens are more aware of the challenges of climate change than previous generations, and they are more likely to be interested in taking action. By giving them a seat at the table, family businesses can tap into their creativity and energy to develop innovative solutions to climate change.

We need to create a mentorship program to bridge the gap between the generations, and give the next-gens the opportunity to learn from the experiences of the previous generation. We could also consider a multi-stake holder sustainability committee that can create and implement a sustainability strategy across businesses. The committee would have representations across all generations, including the next-gens. Most of all, it is crucial that we encourage the next-gens to take on leadership roles within family businesses through participation in decision-making, project leads, and representation at conferences and events.

Palmade is a family-business, launched by you and your husband. How has this experience made you feel about the true potential of family businesses in leading the climate change conversation?

Needless to say, I am so proud of what Yousuf and I have been able to achieve in the last few years. We could not have gotten here without the support of our families and friends who have encouraged us and continue to believe in our story.

Creating a business that is impactful towards our environment enables us to do more than just build a financially viable business; it gives us the opportunity to create partnerships with institutions that are leading the transition towards a more sustainable UAE.

I believe that family businesses have a unique opportunity to lead the climate change conversation. We have a long-term perspective, which allows us to make investments that may not pay off in the short term, but will be beneficial for our planet in the long run.

Taking a leap of faith with Palmade has shown me that family businesses can be an instrumental force for good in the world. Our story has been pivotal in shifting the mindset towards our reliance on plastic, and realizing the importance of conducting business responsibly.

As a family-owned business here in the UAE, we are able to leverage our resources and support from our community to create the positive impact we are seeking in our environment. I am committed to using my voice to raise awareness about climate change, and to encourage others to join me on this mission.

Image courtesy Palmade.

One of the many things I appreciated about your product is how fast it has grown and how overwhelming the market response has been. Can you share some highlight developments with Palmade over the last year?

Priyanka, I am humbled by the response and support we have received thus far, as it is nothing short of overwhelming. Our growing customer base continues to be driven by forward-seeking organizations, which is a testament to the fact that there is a growing demand for sustainable products.

You can find Palmade when you fly on airplanes, to many hotel chains in the UAE, to food courts and several stores. We have received support and recognition by various organizations and we have recently been named the Most Creative People in Business 2023 in the UAE.

Truly, we are excited about the future of Palmade, and we are committed to continuing to grow our business and to make a positive impact in the UAE and beyond.

Related: The MENA Needs To Empower Its Young Entrepreneurs To Create Sustainable Economies