ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - Averda … · 13 million citizens under our “cleaning and collection” contracts in Gabon, KSA, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, the Republic of the Congo, South Africa

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A V E R D A . C O MPe

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Averda is the leading provider of waste management services to emerging markets. For over 35 years, Averda has been continuously improving living and working environments for millions of people by providing effective and transformative city cleaning and waste management services. Averda was built on the idea that clean streets are one of the cornerstones of growth and prosperity, delivering safer, healthier environments for communities to flourish. As urban populations continue to boom across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, Averda is uniquely placed to work with fast-growing countries to develop long-term and sustainable waste management solutions for cities and expanding urban centres.

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02 At a glance04 Chairman’s letter 06 Our story10 Our services12 Our business model14 Our industry16 Corporate governance

18 Board of Directors

20 The way we do business

21 Anti-bribery and corruption

22 Message from our CEO

24 Executive Committee

26 Our strategy

28 Operational highlights

30 Regional reviews32 United Arab Emirates

34 Sultanate of Oman

36 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

38 State of Qatar

40 Republic of South Africa

42 Republic of Congo

44 Republic of Gabon

46 Kingdom of Morocco

48 Our people50 The way we work

52 RESPECT

56 Diversity and inclusion

60 Corporate Social Responsibility

70 Health & Safety

76 Audits and certifications78 Financial statements

80 Financial highlights

85 Consolidated financial statements

“Averda now has more

than 14,000 employees of 62 different

nationalities”

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A V E R D A A T A G L A N C E

Delivering Solutions Across the Emerging World

34

2,565

62

336,910

13 million

4.1 million

14,455

127,397 6,849

C I T I E S

E M P L O Y E E S A N D G R O W I N G

T O TA L A N N U A L T O N N E S O F W A S T E C O L L E C T E D

K I L O M E T R E S O F S T R E E T S C O V E R E D D A I LY

A V E R A G E R O U T E S D I S P A T C H E D D A I LY

T R U C K S A N D V E H I C L E S C O N TA I N E R S

N A T I O N A L I T I E S C I T I Z E N S S E R V E D

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Revenue by Sector Revenue by Service (US$mn)Revenue by Geography

We are a leading waste management services provider in the Middle East and in certain markets in Africa by revenue, offering a

comprehensive suite of waste management services across Morocco, Qatar, the UAE, the KSA, Oman, South Africa, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. We operate across the waste management value chain, including the collection, treatment, processing, sorting and disposal of waste and recyclable materials and have further expertise in the production and sale of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and recovered commodities such as paper, glass, metals and plastic.

We own and operate approximately 1,800 revenue generating trucks, employ over 14,000 people and serve approximately 10,000 sovereign, quasi-sovereign, large corporate and SME clients. We serve over 13 million citizens under our “cleaning and collection” contracts in Gabon, KSA, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, the Republic of the Congo, South Africa and the UAE. Our cleaning and collection contracts are mostly with the public sector and municipalities, range from five to 15 years in duration and contain protections against early termination, resulting in a strong order backlog and significant cash flow visibility, while some of these contracts also carry protection against cost increases.

For our private sector clients, who are mostly large industrial corporates and small medium enterprises, contracts range from one to three years. Although shorter in duration, these private contracts benefit from high renewal rates and thus add incremental visibility to our business. Since our international expansion, we have successfully diversified our revenue streams, with the cleaning and collection segment accounting for 78.3% of revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018, from having represented our sole source of revenue prior to commencing our international expansion in 2009. The remainder of our revenue is generated by waste processing and disposal services and waste-to-energy services, which are typically characterised by higher entry barriers, lower competition and higher margins.

We also utilise technology to enhance our operational performance, including our “3D” programme, which enables real-time monitoring and optimisation of our cleaning and collection services across the Middle East and Africa from a control centre located in the UAE. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the Group generated revenue of US$349.2 million, and EBITDA from continuing operations of US$82.3 million. The Group generated an EBITDA margin of 23.6% and 21.5% for the year ended December 31, 2018.

We are geographically diverse, with operations spanning eight countries across two continents. In the Middle East, our operations in the KSA, Oman, Qatar and the UAE generated 11.4%, 10.0%, 3.5% and 15.1%, respectively, of the Group’s revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018. In Africa, our operations in Gabon, Morocco, South Africa and the Republic of the Congo generated 5.6%, 14.1%, 19.9% and 19.5%, respectively, of the Group’s revenue during the same period.

68.2% – Public

▪ 31.8% – Private

US$349.2mn

40% – GCC ▪ 60% – Africa

$273.4mn (78.3%)– Clean and collect $35.7mn (10.2%) – Energy and disposal $9.8mn (2.8%) – Process and recycling $27.1mn (7.7%) – Technical services

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+ U K ( O F F I C E )

Q A TA R

U A E

O M A NK S A

S O U T H A F R I C A

G A B O N

M O R O C C O

R E P U B L I C O F C O N G O

Ranked 25th in Forbes Middle East - 50 Biggest Private Companies in the Arab World (2018).

Corporate Leadership Awards 2018 – Most Innovative Waste Management Services in the Middle East from Capital Finance International (CFI) magazine.


A W O R D F R O M O U R C H A I R M A N

In 2009 we embarked on a transformation journey in our company from a local to a regional player with a steady expansion scheme. Today, I am proud to say that our operating

and financial metrics are heading in the right direction. We have the processes, systems and people in place to ensure we have performance discipline and operating leverage into the future. We are seeing increased business development opportunities. Our customers tell us that the quality of our work is good and getting better.

Having undergone a significant level of change across the business, we now have a solid platform to better service our customers. We have changed how we operate internally as well as how we service our customers. We have shaped our business to meet the highest environmental standards and deliver the quality services we offer in each of the markets we operate in.

Our acquisition of companies has added to our specialisations and technological competency, creating a global front-end differentiator for Averda. It enables us to provide expertise to our customers as they develop their waste needs through projects with higher standards and expectations.

We are all challenged daily in business. We all want to be part of a team that leaves a legacy and is remembered for years for what we have accomplished.

So, we made a commitment to pursue the highest quality for our products, services and operations; to attain the highest levels of customer satisfaction; and to engage the community to be the provider of highest social value. We keep abreast of new and emerging technologies and continue to innovate. We contribute to the welfare of communities and are building a truly trusted company.

Achieving Global Scale

“I am proud of what we have accomplished across the emerging world. It is our mission to continue shaping this industry through technology, innovation, and delivering on our promises, to respect the environment we all share and lead by example.”

As a result, the Averda group of companies has established a reputation for excellence and reliability for the services it provides globally.

The most valuable asset of our company has always been its people. We nurture the careers of our employees, while fully relying on their skill and helping them to live out their individual and collective potential. Our goal is to make sure that every team member has access to opportunities to prosper and succeed. Our people have demonstrated enormous commitment and dedication to the company over the past few years through a challenging period. The last 12 months have been no exception, with the positive attitude of our people being instrumental to the company’s continued upward trajectory. The Board is acutely aware of the fact that the company’s success is underpinned solely by its people and the Board and shareholders express their deep appreciation for your contributions during the year.

I would also like to thank the company’s leadership for their contribution in a year where we have begun to see the rewards of a lot of hard work put in over the past few years. Significant progress has been made by Averda in 2018 and I would like to take this opportunity to thank our stakeholders for their continued support and I look forward to realising our future together.

Finally, on behalf of the Board members and myself, we are all very proud to be together within an excellent team that strives to reach further success and greatness.

Maysarah Sukkar,Chairman

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“The most valuable asset of our company has always been its people.”


O U R S T O R Y

Our current chairman, Maysarah Khalil Sukkar, founded our business in 1964 under the name Sukkar Engineering, offering engineering services to the Lebanese market. Sukkar Engineering grew steadily, becoming the leading designer and supplier of industrial systems in Lebanon. In 1970, Mr Sukkar expanded our services offering to provide waste management research in the KSA. In 1994, we put our knowledge into practice, providing waste management services in the city of Beirut under our Sukleen subsidiary. Over the next 11 ten years, our waste management services grew to cover 50% of Lebanon and, in 2001, Sukkar Engineering changed its name to Averda International.

Following our success in Lebanon, we gradually expanded our waste management operations internationally through a mix of acquisitions and organic growth. In 2008, Growthgate Capital acquired a 33% stake in our business, providing the capital necessary for us to expand into the GCC through the 2009 acquisition of Ghadeer Waste Collection, Hotline Waste Management Services and WasteCo in the UAE and Technique Waste in Oman. In 2010, we expanded into the KSA and also acquired New Wave Cleaning in Qatar and, in 2012, we entered the Moroccan market through the award of the Nador and Berkane city cleaning concessions. In the same year, we expanded beyond the GCC region and into the European market through our acquisition of a majority

stake in Irish waste management company The City Bin and, in 2014, we entered the Jordanian and Gabonese waste management markets, the latter being our first foray into Sub-Saharan Africa. We simultaneously acquired Ecoverde, an Angolan business operating in cleaning and collection. In 2015, we entered the South African market through a majority stake acquisition of Wasteman Holdings Pty, a hazardous waste processing and storage company. That year we also began operating in the Republic of the Congo with the award of the Brazzaville city cleaning concession.

By 2016, following the success of our international operations in the Middle East and Africa. the Group decided to divest its operations in Lebanon to focus on higher growth markets, selling its shares in Sukleen in 2017 (although we are continuing to acquire assets from our former operations in Lebanon at an arms-length basis). In the same year, we exited Angola, transferring our assets there to the Republic of the Congo in order to serve the Pointe Noire municipality under a newly-won concession, and acquired Solid Waste Technologies, a medical waste business in South Africa. We also exited the Jordanian market. In 2018, we divested our majority stake in The City Bin, again to focus on higher growth markets in the Middle East and Africa, and over the next year we will begin new city cleaning concessions in Morocco and Oman. We view these divestments as opportunities to improve our capital allocation to enhance returns through the pursuit of more promising contracts elsewhere, but these divestments do not necessarily represent permanent exits from these jurisdictions; we remain open to operations in these jurisdictions if promising opportunities were to arise.

Where it all began

1964W E B E G I N A S

E N G I N E E R S

1970W E M O V E I N T O W A S T E

M A N A G E M E N T

“What’s fuelling our expansion? Our spirit. The spirit of getting the job done. Being at the forefront of environmental progress and change.”

“We began as engineers. And we still are.”

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2009W E B E G I N O U R

G R O W T H J O U R N E Y O U T S I D E L E B A N O N T O

T H E G C C

2012W E G R O W B E Y O N D

T H E M I D D L E E A S T F O R T H E F I R S T T I M E – T O I R E L A N D & M O R O C C O

2015W E E X P A N D F U R T H E R I N T O A F R I C A , T O T H E R E P U B L I C

O F C O N G O , T O G A B O N , A N D T O S O U T H A F R I C A


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O U R S T O R Y

Since 2009, Averda has expanded internationally with a focus on the GCC market, through a mix of acquisitions in UAE, Oman and Qatar and organic growth in KSA and UAE.

In 2012, Averda stepped into Europe with the acquisition of a majority stake in The City Bin, a prominent commercial waste collection service provider in Ireland. This acquisition fuelled Averda’s growth of commercial services offerings across its operations. Averda also began its expansion into Africa starting with Morocco and Angola.

In 2014, the Lebanon contract was extended for a period of one year and for a further period of two years and Averda expanded into Jordan.

By 2015, Averda had established a sizeable international business, which was larger than its Lebanon business, after completing the acquisition of Wasteman – a leading waste management group with more than 35 years’ experience in South Africa. There we designed, built, and now operate a landfill that can hold 6.5 million cubic metres of hazardous waste to superlative standards of safety. Averda also expanded organically in Africa with contract wins in the Republic of Congo and Gabon.

Averda’s international business was on a path of strong growth with new countries and cities being added every year. Public contracts were bid for and won in the consequent 3–4 year period.

In 2016 the company began divestment of its Lebanon, Angola and Jordan businesses as it backfilled the entire revenue by further winning contracts in the GCC, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Operations stabilised in 2017 and turned profitable as the company achieved significant scale with a focus on the emerging world, and it completed its investment in Ireland in 2018 and grew exponentially in the Middle East and Africa.

After a period of only 10 years, Averda now stands as an international organisation with technical expertise across a multitude of waste service lines and numerous geographies.

International Expansion & scale

20081964 1994 2001

1. Build Company Expertise

• UAE entry• Growthgate

Capital acquires a 33% stake in Averda

• Founding of Sukkar Engineering by Maysarah Khalil Sukkar

• Sukkar Engineering becomes Averda International

• Beginning of waste management activity through award of a World Bank tender under its new subsidiary Sukleen

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2009

International Revenue Development (in US$mn):

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

2. International Expansion: Capture New Growing Markets3. Platform for Growth 4. Portfolio Optimisation

• Acquisition of Ghadeer Waste Collection, Hotline Waste Management Services and WasteCo in UAE

• Acquisition of Technique Waste in Oman

• KSA entry• Acquisition of New Wave

Cleaning in Qatar

• Morocco expansion• Gabon & Jordan entry• Acquisition of Ecoverde

in Angola

• Acquisition of Wasteman in South Africa (Hazardous Waste)

• Republic of Congo expansion

• Rabat contract won

• Acquisition of Solid Waste Technologies (healthcare medical waste) in South Africa

• Pointe Noire contract awarded

• Jordan exit

• New KSA, Morocco Oman contracts

• Abu Dhabi and Morocco expansions

• Acquisition of a majority stake in The City Bin in Ireland

Lebanon

International

2 . 6 X G R O W T H

• Lebanon operations divesture

• Al Ain expansion• Abu Dhabi renewal• Oman expansion• New KSA contracts won • Angola exit

• New KSA contracts (RCJ, Tabuk and Khouzam)

• Divestment of majority stake in The City Bin in Ireland

144 137148

163 170 171

251

152

199

293

349

251

137

87

61

3524

4


O U R S E R V I C E S

Our services

Municipal

Corporate

Small‑Medium Enterprises/Household

Operations & Maintenance

Build‑Operate‑Transfer/

Public‑Private Partnerships

Own/Operate

Client Model

Cleaning and Collection• Door to door

collections• City cleaning &

mechanical sweeping• Commercial & on-site

collections

Technical Services• Pipeline inspection,

cleaning & analysis• Industrial vacuuming• High pressure

industrial cleaning• Other on-site cleaning

services

Processing and Recycling• Manual and

mechanical sorting• Composting• Recycling• Hazardous waste

treatment • Materials Recovery

Facility (MRF)

Energy and Disposal• Landfilling• Hazardous waste

storing• Hazardous waste

disposal• Refused-derived Fuel

(RDF)• Waste-to-Energy

Division

C&C T P&R E&D

Services provided by our cleaning and collection segment include cleaning, collection, processing and recovery services relating to a variety of waste, including general waste (municipal, green and bulky), non-hazardous and hazardous industrial waste and medical waste. These services also entail, among others, sweeping, drainage, industrial cleaning and business parks cleaning services.

Our technical services segment provides a variety of services, including pipeline inspection, cleaning and analysis, industrial vacuuming and high-pressure industrial cleaning to public and private sector clients in South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Our processing and recycling segment provides a variety of services in South Africa relating to general and industrial waste, including manual sorting of co-mingled and source-segregated waste, mechanical and biological waste treatment, composting, recycling and transformation and hazardous waste treatment, blending and stabilisation. Additionally, our processing and recycling segment sells both recovered materials and unrecovered but recyclable materials.

With the exception of waste disposal under our cleaning and collection contracts, our energy and disposal segment is responsible for storage and disposal of general, industrial (hazardous and non-hazardous) and medical waste at landfills and incinerators in KSA, Morocco, Oman and South Africa.

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Africa

17.1%

60%

GCC

31.8%

40%

Revenue CAGR ’16 – ’18

% of Revenue (2018)

C&C T P&R E&D

78.3%

20.3%

7.7%

9.9%

2.8%

32.8%

10.2%

58.5%

Averda’s Service / Markets Matrix

Regional contribution

“A clean city is the start of a transformation.”

Africa

% of Revenue (FY18)

EBITDA Margin (FY18)

GCC


O U R B U S I N E S S M O D E L

Integrated Waste Management Across the Value ChainWe offer a full suite of waste management services through our cleaning and collection, technical services, processing and recycling and energy and disposal segments and are one of the leading waste management companies in the regions where we operate.

We have developed our waste services offering in order to maximise the various revenue generating opportunities that arise across the value chain. We believe this allows us to deliver integrated services and to propose and implement customised solutions for our customers’ waste management needs, with the aim of becoming a preferred multi-service provider for all types of solid and semi-solid waste streams.

Averda’s Fully Integrated Business Model

Our broad service offering provides clients with a “one stop shop” for waste management solutions, differentiating us from our competitors. For example, we possess the relevant equipment, facilities and expertise to collect, treat and dispose of medical waste. Similarly, many of our clients rely on us not only to collect, process and dispose of hazardous and non-hazardous industrial waste, but also to provide specialised technical services including pipeline inspection, cleaning and analysis, industrial vacuuming and high-pressure industrial cleaning. As a result, we benefit from significant opportunities to cross-sell our services.

Municipal Solid Waste

City Cleaning

Selection & Sorting Centre

Composting plant

Recycling plant

Waste‑to‑Energy

Landfill

Inert

Inert

Inert

Organic Fraction

Waste Derived Fuel

Sorted Waste

Unsorted Waste

Hazardous waste storage facility

Unsorted Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste plant

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As one of the leading waste management firms in the areas in which we operate, the scale of our operations enables us to cost-effectively procure commodities, equipment and third-party services by capitalising on economies of scale. In certain instances, we are able to deploy our existing fleet to new markets, making best use of our assets and creating sizable efficiencies in deployment time and cost of mobilisation. In addition, we routinely enter into exclusivity arrangements with fuel wholesalers, reducing costs across our operations. We have exclusivity agreements with some of our soft solutions service providers.

Averda’s Core Strengths

Local Knowledge• On-the-ground presence• Cultural awareness• Strong in-house business

development

People and Execution• Relevant expertise and

market coverage• Agility & speed• Sophistication• Customer satisfaction

Technology• Know-how in treatment

and incineration • Digital proficiency in

delivering services

Risk Management• Profiling, diversification

and asset allocation • Resilience and

follow-through • Solid pipeline

management

How Averda Develops its Waste Management Platforms:

Hig

her C

APE

X, M

argi

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nd R

OIC

Hig

her B

arrie

rs to

Ent

ry

Contract Duration in Years

5‑7 Public 1‑3 Private

5‑7 Years 10‑20 Years

CleaningTreatment

Disposal

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

• Build critical mass• Growth mainly through

tenders and bolt-on acquisitions

• 20.3% margin

• Create incremental demand, moving up the value chain to offer treatment solutions

• Liaise and build network with legislators, the public, corporates

• 32.8% margin

• Create B2B solutions (e.g. oil industry, manufacturers)

• Complement offer with disposal services

• 58.5% margin

Finally, as a result of the scale of our operations and the breadth of our service offering, we continue to develop our expertise across the waste management value chain, creating opportunities to offer new services in existing markets or enter new markets. In doing so, leverage our previous experience entering new emerging markets, as well as our expertise in operating incinerators and other refuse-derived fuel (“RDF”) facilities. Once we establish a foothold in a new market, we are then able to broaden our service offering, seeking synergies with our operations in other markets.


O U R I N D U S T R Y

Fully Integrated & Focused on the Emerging World

S O U T H A F R I C A

• Avg Real GDP Growth 2017–23E (%): 5%• 2017 Population (mn) / Growth2: 57mn / 2%• Urbanisation rate 2015 / 2030E: 65% / 72% • MSW in tonnes 20,103

R E P U B L I C O F C O N G O

• Avg Real GDP Growth 2017–23E (%): 3%• 2017 Population (mn) / Growth2: 4mn / 3%• Urbanisation rate 2015 / 2030E: 43% / 52% • MSW in tonnes 894

G A B O N

• Avg Real GDP Growth 2017–23E (%): 7%• 2017 Population (mn) / Growth: 2mn / 1%• Urbanisation rate 2015 / 2030E: 88% / 93% • MSW in tonnes 404

M O R O C C O

• Avg Real GDP Growth 2017–23E (%): 6%• 2017 Population (mn) / Growth: 35mn / 5%• Urbanisation rate 2015 / 2030E: 64% / 69% • MSW in tonnes 7,126

O M A N


Unparalleled Exposure to High Growth MarketsWith a footprint spanning eight countries and over 50 cities, Averda is focused on the high-growth Middle East and Africa markets, an exposure offering an attractive mix of stable growth and outsized returns.

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Q A TA R


K S A

• Avg Real GDP Growth 2017–23E (%): 4%• 2017 Population (mn) / Growth2: 33mn / 2%• Urbanisation rate 2015 / 2030E: 87% / 83% • MSW in tonnes 16,455

We have operations in the KSA, Oman, Qatar and the UAE in the Middle East and in Gabon, Morocco, the Republic of the Congo and South Africa in Africa. Due to the geographical diversity of our operations, we are not dependent on revenue from any single country.

Additionally, as a result of population growth and urbanisation, the countries in which we operate are likely to require significant investment in waste management services in the future. According to the World Bank, between 2017 and 2023, the populations of

Gabon, Morocco, the Republic of the Congo and South Africa are expected to grow by 15.5%, 7.3%, 16.2% and 7.8%, respectively, and the populations of the KSA, Oman, Qatar and the UAE are expected to grow by 9.8%, 16.0%, 11.2% and 7.1%, respectively. By comparison, the average population growth rate worldwide during the same period is 6.4%, with Europe and Central Asia (grouped together) and North America expected to grow by just 1.2% and 4.4%, respectively.

At the same time, the population of the countries in which we operate are expected

to become increasingly urbanised. The United Nations (UN) estimates that, between 2020 and 2025, the average annual urbanisation rate of Gabon, Morocco, the Republic of the Congo and South Africa will be 2.3%, 1.9%, 3.2% and 1.7%, respectively. For the KSA, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, the average annual urbanisation rate is estimated to be 1.7%, 2.3%, 1.7% and 1.5%. By comparison, during the same period, the UN estimates that Europe and North America will urbanise at an average annual rate of just 0.3% and 1.0%, respectively.

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Industry growth in the MEA region underpinned by long-term fundamentals: increasing urbanisation, strong population growth, environmental awareness and increased demand for waste management services

Industry Trends in Emerging Markets

Growing population expected to reach c.2.9 billion in MENA and Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050 (vs. c.1.6 billion in 2019)

Increased urbanisation, with the global urban population expected to multiply by 1.5x in 2019-2050, and almost triple in Sub-Saharan Africa

Underserved waste management needs, making future investments a necessity in order to upgrade infrastructure

Increased private sector involvement, mainly global waste management and environmental players

Improving waste disposal systems, with the construction of landfills and closure of dumps

Recycling, composting and waste-to-energy solutions gaining traction

The increase in waste production per capita is driven in part by the higher urbanisation rate expected in our markets, but also the higher GDP growth anticipated which is expected to increase disposable income and thus consumption and subsequent waste generation. The World Bank in its Global Economic Prospects report from June 2019 estimates that economies in Sub-Saharan Africa and MENA are expected to experience an increase in annual GDP growth of 2.9% and 1.3% in 2019 to 3.5% and 2.7%. By 2021, respectively. At the same time, GDP

opportunities for waste management companies to help implement proper landfill and recycling systems.

With our existing footprint in the Middle East and Africa, our significant experience providing MSW solutions under our current public sector contracts and our expertise across the waste management value chain, we are well positioned to expand our services in these markets with potential for high growth.

As a result of these trends, the World Bank estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa will nearly triple its annual production of household waste to over 500 million tonnes by 2050, from 174 million tonnes in 2016. Similarly, MENA is expected to double its annual production of household waste to over 225 million tonnes, from 129 million tonnes in 2016. In Gabon, Morocco,

per capita (U.S. dollars) in these regions is expected to rise from 0.2 and (0.4) to 0.9 and 1.4, respectively.

Furthermore, Africa and the Middle East suffer from poor waste management practices and infrastructure, contributing to sanitation and health problems and making future investment in waste management solutions a necessity. Currently, 69% of waste in Sub-Saharan Africa and 53% of waste in the MENA region is disposed of in open dumps, creating significant

Waste Generation Rates (2016)

0.55

1.19 1.271.40

1.60

0.81

Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)

14%

26% 33%3%

12%

82% 66%

15%1

30%2

0.48 0.56

0.98

0.46

Oman Qatar KSA UAE MENAMorocco Republicof Congo

Gabon SouthAfrica

SSA

Average MSW market share1,2

(kg/capita/day)

Expected Waste Volume Growth

(Total growth 2016-2030)

Waste generation growth in Averda’s regions of focus are the highest and expect to outperform the other regions

SSA Europe andCentral Asia

North America

LatAm and East

Caribbean

Asia and Pacific

South AsiaMENA

37%

55%

12%18%

26% 29%40%

Republic of the Congo and South Africa, waste production per capita is estimated to increase from 0.56, 0.55, 0.48 and 0.98 kilogrammes per person per day in 2016, respectively, to 0.61, 0.68, 0.57 and 1.15 kilogrammes per person per day, respectively, in 2030, with an implied average growth rate during the period of 17.2% for the aforementioned countries.

Likewise, in the KSA, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, waste production per capita is estimated to increase from 1.40, 1.19, 1.27 and 1.60 kilogrammes per person per day in 2016, respectively, to 1.46, 1.26, 1.35 and 1.69 kilogrammes per person per day in 2030, respectively, with an implied growth rate during the period of 7.4% for the aforementioned countries.


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1 6 A V E R D A . C O M

18 Board of Directors 20 The way we do business21 Anti-bribery and corruption22 Message from our CEO24 Executive Committee26 Our strategy28 Operational highlights


O U R B O A R D O F D I R E C T O R S

Committed to

Excellence

Maysarah Sukkar Chairman & Non–Executive Director

Mr Maysarah Sukkar currently serves as Chairman and a Director of the Group having initially founded the Group in 1998. Mr Maysarah Sukkar set up his first engineering company in Beirut in 1968. During the civil war in Lebanon he moved his company to Saudi Arabia. He established a reputation as a turnkey contractor, with projects in bakeries, dairy plants, and petrochemicals plants, among others. Whilst working in Saudi Arabia, Mr Sukkar also bought and operated some UK companies. In 1992, with peace restored to Lebanon, he brought the company home to aid in the country’s reconstruction. Mr Maysarah Sukkar’s role as Chairman is by agreement between Envirohold Limited and Growthgate Capital Corporation BSC(c) and he is father of Mr Malek Sukkar, the current Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Group. Mr Maysarah Sukkar holds a BSc degree in Telecommunications Engineering from the San Jose State University, California, U.S.

Mikael Grahne Vice-Chairman & Non–Executive Director

Chairman of Nomination and Compensation Committee

Member of Audit and Finance Committee

Member of Risk Committee

Mr Mikael Grahne serves as Non-Executive Vice-Chairman and Director of the Group. MrGrahne served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Millicom International Cellular from March 2009 to October 2012. He joined Millicom in February 2002 as Chief Operating Officer from his previous position as President of Seagram Latin America. Prior to joining Seagram, Mikael was Regional President for a division in the EMEA region of PepsiCo and also held various senior management positions with PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble. Mr. Grahne has an MBA from the Swedish School of Economics in Helsinki.

Malek Sukkar Chief Executive Officer & Director

Member of Nomination & Compensation Committee

Member of Audit & Finance Committee

Member of Risk Committee

Mr Malek Sukkar is the current Chief Executive Officer of Averda, joining in 1992 as the Vice President of Services with responsibility for all non-operational aspects of the business. Mr Sukkar led the Group’s expansion from a single country entity to a multinational group operating in eight countries across the GCC and Africa. Mr Sukkar holds a BSc degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Boston University and is currently a trustee at his alma mater, as well as a member of the board of directors of Growthgate Capital and of Boston University.

1 8 A V E R D A . C O M

Karim Souaid Non–Executive Director

Chairman of Risk Committee

Member of Nomination & Compensation Committee

Mr Karim Souaid serves as a Director of the Group. Mr Souaid is the founder and Managing Partner of Growthgate Partners. Prior to forming Growthgate Partners and taking the role of Managing Partner from 2007, Mr Souaid was Managing Director of Global Investment Banking at HSBC Bank (Middle East) from May 2000. Mr Souaid’s experience in the Middle East started in 1995, and has encompassed most MENA markets, covering various sectors including banking, telecoms, minerals & mining and oil & gas. Prior to joining HSBC, Mr Souaid was Managing Director of Corporate Finance at Middle East Capital Group, a regional merchant bank. Between 1990 and 1994, Mr Souaid started his career as a corporate finance attorney in New York working at Gordon Hurwitz Butowsky Weitzen Shalov & Wein a leading Wall Street law firm specialized in M&A and securities offerings. In addition to his roles with the Issuer and its affiliates, Mr Souaid currently serves as Director at Roots Group Arabia (KSA) (since 2008), Roots Group UK (since 2018), Emirates Lebanon Bank (since 2009), Rubicon Group Holding Limited (BVI) (since 2010), IrisGuard Ltd (UK) (since 2010), International Food Services (Saudi Arabia) (since 2010), Retail Holding (Morocco) (since 2016) and Label Vie (Morocco) (since 2016). Mr Souaid holds an LLB from the Jesuit School of Law at St. Joseph University (Lebanon) and an LLM from Harvard Law School. Mr. Souaid is member of the New York State Bar Association.

Haythem Macki Non–Executive Director

Chairman of Audit and Finance Committee

Mr Haythem Macki currently serves as a Director of the Group. He is also a partner at Growthgate Partners. Mr Macki brings with him seventeen years of experience in banking, corporate finance and management. He started his career in 1991 with the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) in the Treasury & Investment Department. In 1998, Mr Macki moved to Oman Arab Bank and was in charge of the Investment Banking Division. Between 2001 and 2003, Mr Macki held the position of Executive Director in Al Mawarid Securities Company in Oman, where he was responsible for reengineering/strategising in order to re-focus the company in a new direction. In 2003, he was instrumental in making a tripartite merger with Al Mawarid Securities Co. and two other firms, which resulted in the formation of FinCorp. On formation of FinCorp, Mr Macki assumed the responsibility of Chief Executive Officer until 2006. In 2006, Mr Macki resigned from Fincorp as a CEO but assumed the role as member of the Board of Directors until July 2008. In the summer of 2006 he helped set up Growthgate Capital and became a Partner of Growthgate Partners. In addition to his roles with the Issuer and its affiliates, Mr Macki currently serves as Director at Gulf Hotels Oman Co. Ltd. SAOG (since 2006), Al Fajar Alamia Co. SOAG (since 2011), Irisguard (since 2010), Rubicon (since 2009), Retail Holdings (since 2016), Muriya Tourism (since 2012) and IFS (since 2010). Mr Macki holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Arizona (USA).

Averda’s Board has regular meetings during the year. In 2018 it met formally four times, with additional Board conference calls held between the scheduled Board meetings when circumstances required it to meet at short notice. The Board reviews an annual calendar of agenda items to ensure that all matters are given due consideration and are reviewed at the appropriate point in the regulatory and financial cycles. Directors are provided with appropriate documentation approximately one week in advance of each Board or Committee meeting. Members of the Group Executive

Team are invited as special participants to attend each Board meeting each quarter to present an update on the performance and forward focus of their specific area(s) of responsibility. Directors also have access to the advice and services of the Company General Counsel who is responsible for advising the Board and shareholders on all governance matters and ensuring that Board procedures are complied with.

“We all want to be part of a team that leaves a positive legacy and is remembered for years for what we have accomplished.”MAYSARAH SUKKARCHAIRMAN


C O R P O R A T E G O V E R N A N C E

The Way We Do BusinessA

verda believes that consistent and proper business conduct creates loyalty and trust, enables us to operate our business in an ethical and responsible manner and

allows us to manage risks to our business.

The How We Do Business guide is Averda Group’s global code of conduct and Averda employees are trained and sign off on this guide every year. This guide contains our principles and standards of conduct which must be followed in every country where we do business. How We Do Business does not stand alone: it is inspired by our values (Deliver, Care, Inspire) and is supplemented by our company policies & procedures, as well as local laws.

Our How We Do Business guide is not designed, nor is it possible, to include every situation. It provides guidance to help apply Averda’s values and gives direction for putting our code of business conduct into practice every day. Where differences exist between our How We Do Business guide and local customs, norms, laws or regulations, then the higher standard of behaviour must be applied.

We believe that the principles in How We Do Business are universal, so in our dealings with suppliers, joint venture partners and non-controlled companies, we will make efforts to ensure that they too either adhere to or have similar standards of conduct to those in How We Do Business. Any reference to Averda in How We Do Business applies to any Averda Group holding company and its subsidiaries, related companies and other legal entities in which an Averda entity holds a controlling interest.

Averda’s Board of Directors has overall responsibility for this guide, and for reviewing the effectiveness of actions taken in response to concerns raised under this policy.

Averda’s General Counsel has day-to-day operational responsibility for this policy, and must ensure that all managers and other staff who may deal with concerns or investigations under this policy receive regular and appropriate training. The General Counsel, in conjunction with the

knowledge, experience and diversity) of the Board and making recommendations with regard to any changes as well as succession planning for Directors. The Nomination and Compensation Committee identifies and nominates our key personnel and our senior management. It also identifies and nominates, for the approval of the Board, candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. In doing so, they evaluate the balance of skills, knowledge, experience and diversity (including gender). Meetings are held at least once a financial year and as often as the chairman considers appropriate.

The Nomination and Compensation Committee also is responsible for reviewing and approving, on behalf of the Board, the amount and types of compensation to be paid to each member of the Board and executive management. The remuneration policy lays down the principles governing remuneration, and provides general guidelines for incentive pay to the members of the Board and senior management. The overall object of the remuneration policy is to attract, motivate and retain qualified members of the Board and senior management, as well as to ensure that the Board, senior management and shareholders have common interests in achieving the Issuer’s goals. Members of the Board receive an annual fixed remuneration. The remuneration must be reasonable considering the amount of work required by the Board members and the extent of their liability and should reflect market terms. The remuneration paid to the chairman is usually higher than the amount paid to the ordinary board members.

Risk Committee Members of the Risk Committee are appointed by the Board and the Risk Committee consists of at least three and not more than five directors. Only members of the Risk Committee have the right to attend Risk Committee meetings. However, other individuals such as the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive, Committee Chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee, other directors, the heads of risk, heads of other relevant departments of the Issuer and technical compliance may be invited

Board, reviews this policy from a legal and operational perspective at least once a year.

GovernanceThe Board acknowledges the importance of good corporate governance and has established committees to assist its decision-making and overall management and oversight of the Group, including an Executive Committee, an Audit and Finance Committee, a Nomination and Compensation Committee, and a Risk Committee.

Details on the composition of each committee are set out below. The members of the committees are members of the Board and are appointed by the Board. Each committee produces regular reports on its deliberations, findings and recommendations and has its own rules which are approved by the Board.

Audit and Finance Committee The Audit and Finance Committee is appointed by the Board and consists of a minimum of three non-executive Board members. The current members of the Audit and Finance Committee are set out above. The chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee is appointed by the Board for a period of one year. The Audit and Finance Committee meets on a quarterly basis and holds a meeting with the external auditors at least once a year. The role of the Audit and Finance Committee is to assist the Board with regard to internal control of the Issuer’s operational and financial activities.

Nomination and Compensation Committee The Nomination and Compensation Committee is appointed by the Board and consists of a minimum of three Board members. The current members of the Nomination and Compensation Committee are set out above. The main responsibilities of the Nomination Committee are reviewing the structure, size and composition (including the skills,

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Anti-Bribery and Corruption Our Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy includes guidance to employees on the giving, receiving and recording of business gifts and hospitality. Averda upholds all laws relevant to countering bribery and corruption in all the jurisdictions in which we operate. It is our policy to conduct all of our business in an honest and ethical manner. We take a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption and are committed to acting professionally, fairly and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships wherever we operate, and implementing and enforcing effective systems to counter bribery and corruption.

The policy sets out our responsibilities, and of those working for us, in observing and upholding our position on bribery and corruption; and provides information and guidance to our employees on how to recognise and deal with bribery and corruption issues. This policy applies to all persons working for us or any Averda Group company or on our behalf in any capacity, including employees at all levels, directors, officers, agency workers, seconded workers, volunteers, interns, agents, contractors, external consultants, third-party representatives and business partners, sponsors, or any other person associated with us, wherever located.

The policy also strictly enforces governance with regards to facilitation payments, gifts, hospitality & expenses, donations and procedures for identifying red flags that may be an indication of such activity.

Averda keeps financial records and appropriate internal controls in place which evidence the business reason for making payments to third parties. It is mandatory for every Averda employee to declare and keep a written record of all hospitality or gifts given or received, which are subject to managerial review. All expenses claims relating to hospitality, gifts or payments to third parties are reported to the accounts department and record the reason for expenditure. All accounts, invoices, and other records relating to dealings with third parties including suppliers and customers are prepared with strict accuracy and completeness. No accounts are kept “offbook” to facilitate or conceal improper payments.

Averda is committed to ensuring no employee suffers any detrimental treatment as a result of refusing to take part in bribery or corruption, or because of reporting in good faith their suspicion that an actual or potential bribery or other corruption offence has taken place, or may take place in the future. Detrimental treatment includes dismissal, disciplinary action, threats or other unfavourable treatment connected with raising a concern.

This zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption is communicated to all suppliers, contractors and business partners at the outset of our business relationship with them and as appropriate thereafter.

The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for ensuring this policy complies with our legal and ethical obligations, and that all those under our control comply with it. The General Counsel has primary and day-to-day responsibility for implementing this policy, monitoring its use and effectiveness, dealing with any queries about it, and auditing internal control systems and procedures to ensure they are effective in countering bribery and corruption. Management at all levels are responsible for ensuring those reporting to them understand and comply with this policy and are given adequate and regular training on this policy.

Five‑year strategic plan

Annual report

Quarterly business review (QBR)

Monthly reporting

Contract reports

Risks and Contingencies review

Budget

Reforecast

Directional Elements

Delivery Elements

Key Questions

Key Questions

• Which five-year strategic priorities, courses of action and financial targets maximise our value?

• What does this mean from a financial perspective over the next 12 months?

• What is the best estimate for year end in two different moments?

• How did we perform?• Have we complied with the corporate governance

principles?• What is our long-term performance outlook?

• Are we on track?• Did we deliver budget and strategy action items?• What factors are impacting the business?

• Have we performed to budget/plan?• What actions can be taken to achieve budget?

• How are key contracts progressing?

• Which are the main risks and contingencies?

Business Planning and Control

Jan

5 year strategic plan

Risk & contingencies

Risk & contingencies

Reforecast

Budget

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

JunJul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Monthly Reporting

Contract Reports

to attend all or part of any meeting as and when appropriate and necessary. All appointments to the Risk Committee are for an initial period of one year but are deemed to automatically continue thereafter for a further year unless not less than one weeks’ notice in writing is given by the Board to the member to terminate the appointment. The chairman of the Risk Committee is appointed by the Board. If any member of the Risk Committee is unable to act for any reason, the chairman may appoint any other director of the Issuer to act as his or her alternate.


M E S S A G E F R O M O U R C E O

ight across the group, 2018 proved to be an exciting year of delivery, with many customers receiving stellar service that went above and beyond expectations. Across our entire geographical footprint, we’ve been wowing, wooing and winning. We’ve got new customers, we’ve expanded the remit of others and we’re well on the way to landing many more.

Averda had a successful year in which we achieved the budget on revenue, secured our growth targets and managed to roll out three major projects across the world. We built further capability in our chosen markets to better serve our clients by diversifying our service offerings and improving the quality of delivery. We confront on a daily basis the trials of competition and the volatile world in which we operate. Our employees’ belief and resilience in the face of the challenges inspire the leadership team and shareholders.

Moving forward, post divestment of our shares in The City Bin, we continue on a mission with focus a on the emerging world. I would like to thank the team in Ireland for all their contributions to the Averda story and wish them the best on their own journey.

2018: Year of our PeopleOur people face daily challenges, externally within the environments in which we challenges and internally with the rapid growth and transformation of our organisation. Therefore, it is critical that we make the effort to rebuild our organisation and our processes with our people to enable today’s delivery and drive tomorrow’s growth. Taking this into consideration, we launched a people strategy that became our soaring symbol of growth and performance, ensuring that we deliver, care and inspire in every decision and action.

In 2018, Averda embarked on a journey to ensure that all our team members are clear on what we are trying to achieve and how we plan to do so. The aim of our people strategy is to grow Averda into a larger and better performing organisation. A larger Averda offers opportunity for us all to improve the lives of the residents within our targeted geographies as well as the opportunity to create new job opportunities. A better performing Averda will ensure that any service we offer is delivered in the same manner and at the same quality globally. It will also enable our people to be trained more effectively and perform in their jobs successfully through goal setting and clear expectations.

It brought me great pride to see that it has also been a year of great care. Many offices around the world put in place initiatives that have been exciting, exhilarating, relaxing and thought-provoking. From celebrating diversity across our global operations to exciting health and wellness initiatives, Averda has proven to be a better place to work for everybody. HR teams, across

Driving Growth

through Operational

Excellence2 2 A V E R D A . C O M

the network, have been working hard to put in place new training and career development

programmes that are already paving the way for ambitious

professionals to excel and achieve their professional goals.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our employees; especially our functional, operational and frontline teams across the globe for your hard work and for staying the course this year as we delivered to our clients, celebrated successes and carried out several initiatives under the Year of the Employee.

Operational MilestonesI want to share my belief that today we are better prepared and deliver in every market in which we operate across the globe. I am therefore confident that we together will continue to improve the quality of Averda in everything we do every day.

Achieving the status of One of the Best Places to Work is a remarkable milestone that not only reinforces the ability of the company to successfully engage its people, but also enhances our company’s brand reputation in a market where many options exist for one to build a career. I want to congratulate our team in Morocco for this incredible accomplishment and for ensuring Averda continues to drive careers and talent across the globe.

Another major milestone is achieving a Class 1 Certification in Saudi Arabia. This certification will remove any restriction for our business to tender for any project in the country, which will enable Averda KSA to grow at a higher rate. Thank you to our team in KSA for driving this certification and remaining focused on our growth story in Saudi Arabia. I look forward to seeing our business flourish with new contracts and solutions in this high-potential market.

Mobilisation & GrowthOver the course of 2018, we worked hard on building a greater sales engines and agile business development forces in each market that brought new opportunities and growth. I am proud of the superb work carried out by Group Tendering and Business Development in 2018, which played an instrumental role in a number of huge wins and securing the revenue to keep our growth story rolling.

I am pleased to see progress with regards to rollout and mobilisation on our new projects and I would like to commend the Oman and the tendering team that have worked hard in the first three months of the year to deliver a second win for Muscat with the contract for Lot 2. This new contract serves as a reinforcement of Averda’s focus on longer and more treatment and disposal-related contracts as well as our growth story in Oman.

Mobilisation is nearing completion for Qatif and Pointe-Noire projects and is now ramping up for our new Muscat and Tangier contracts. Both these projects present a lot of well-planned project milestones to deliver new services and I am confident our teams in these markets will deliver a systematic rollout.

Equally as important is the way that so many operational teams worked to inspire one another through bold thinking, tenacity and team work. We’ve seen the deployment of many inspiring ideas, including a new RFID-based asset and waste receptacle tracking system, innovative sorting technologies and brand new composting infrastructure. More importantly than the technologies are the brilliant minds and the commitment of those who have helped develop and deploy new ideas to help us win new projects and retain the valued customers we already serve.

To all those who have been working hard to develop new ideas and tackle things from a different angle, I salute you. You are an inspiration to all.

I want thank my Executive Committee for their hard work and steadfast dedication to this business and our Vice-Chairman Mikael Grahne for his invaluable advice and guidance over the years.

I also want to thank the true north of the organisation and my mentor, our Chairman Maysarah Sukkar for providing us all with leadership and direction.

Finally, I thank all our employees, partners and stakeholders for your dedication, engagement, guidance and feedback as we progress the next phase of our soaring future. I am confident that through alignment of our objectives under our strategy, by delivering these critical initiatives and by elevating our collaboration and communication we will ensure Averda’s transformational journey comes to fruition in 2019.

Onwards and upwards,Malek Sukkar,Chief Executive Officer


E X E C U T I V E C O M M I T T E E

Qualified & Dedicated Leadership

team“Together, in 2019, we will continue to deliver on our vision to build a company we’re proud of, transform our operating model with enterprise-wide programmes, streamline our productivity, enhance our profitability and continue our exponential growth - vertically and horizontally - into new geographies and service lines.” — MAZEN CHEBAKLO, CHIEF GROWTH & OPERATIONS OFFICER

We benefit from an experienced management team with extensive industry knowledge developed over years of operating in the increasingly complex waste management industry and in challenging markets. Malek Sukkar, our chief executive officer, Samir Sharma, our chief financial officer, and Mazen Chebaklo, our chief growth and operations officer, and Emma Dickie, our legal counsel have a combined 90 years of experience working on behalf of emerging markets based multinational companies, including a combined 46 years of experience with the Group.

Our management team has grown our business from a single-country operator into a leading waste management services provider, with operations spanning eight countries across the Middle East and Africa. Under our management’s leadership, our revenue from international operations has grown to US$349.2 million in 2018. Additionally, since 2009, our management team has pursued ambitious expansion into new high growth markets, including the KSA, Oman, Qatar and the UAE in the Middle East and Gabon, Morocco, South Africa and the Republic of the Congo in Africa. At the same time, management has strategically divested our operations in Ireland, Angola and Lebanon to focus on higher growth markets.

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Mazen Chebaklo,Chief Growth & Operations Officer

Mr Mazen Chebaklo is the Chief Growth & Operations Officer at Averda, joining in 2009 with the goal of leading Averda’s business development, mergers and acquisitions and tendering functions around the world. He currently is responsible for overseeing growth and operational excellence of the organisation across Africa and Asia, with over 24 years of experience in emerging markets and a large variety of industries. Mr Chebaklo graduated from Northeastern University and ESA Business School with a Master’s in Finance degree.

“Through our strategic targets, we defined in great detail what 2018 success should look like, and we can proudly check almost every box off the list. Seven out of our eight markets exceeded their revenue budgets with one market missing it by 3%. We enhanced alignment among and increased the working metabolism of our global operations through the PDC (People-Delivery-Client) framework. We drove greater feedback and engagement between our leaders and their employees and ran a more efficient operation. In deepening our relationships with clients, we stimulated organic growth in Oman, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. Our 2018 journey was not without growing pains, but as always, Averdians rise to the occasion at every obstacle!”

Mazen Chebaklo,Chief Growth & Operations Officer

Samir Sharma,Chief Financial Officer

Mr Samir Sharma is the Chief Financial Officer at Averda, joining Averda in 2017. Mr Sharma has extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of corporate and project finance, as well as business development. Prior to joining Averda, he headed the Project Finance Department at United Arab Shipping Company for ten years, where he led several transactions, including the merger of UASC and HAPAG Lloyd AG. Previously he has held other senior roles including Head of Corporate Finance at India’s largest private sector shipping company, Great Eastern Shipping, and Head of Middle East and Indian Subcontinent for KC Maritime. Mr Sharma is an engineer graduate and holds an MBA in Finance.

“As we came out of the year, the significant dedication and efforts made by the team have made major strides in setting the tone for 2019. An outcome-based approach has helped in rebuilding trust and reinforcing the importance of team collaboration and rigour in our daily work. Having been a new addition to the Averda family and witnessing the immense dedication that has been demonstrated by the finance team in 2018, I am confident that over the coming period we will continue to flourish in our everyday activities and initiatives and transform the capital structure that will facilitate the growth of Averda’s story for years to come. Thank you to the Finance team and our neighbouring functions for your support.”

Samir Sharma,Chief Financial Officer

Emma Dickie,General Counsel

Emma Dickie is the General Counsel and a member of the Executive Committee of Averda, joining Averda in 2013. Emma brings 15 years of experience working, in cross border corporate and commercial law, for top tier international law firms, leading multinationals and investment banks. She is currently studying her Masters of Laws at Berkeley University, USA (specialisations in US Business Law and Technology Law), is a Member of the Berkeley Law Dean’s Circle and is a Non-Executive Director of the Association of Corporate Counsel (MENA)

“Averda’s Legal Team: Small But Mighty: If you think you’re too small to make a difference…try sleeping with a mosquito in the room.” To take the words from an extraordinary leader, this quote sums up Averda’s legal team. While we are small in numbers, we work efficiently in order to serve Averda. As Averda is a numbers-driven organisation, and to give you a flavour of how we spend our days, here are some highlights from our team for 2018: Number of NDAs signed: 130+; Number of resolutions signed: 220++; Intercompany agreements signed: 65+; Other documents/agreements signed: 1,800++; Number of companies administered: 59. It has been a pleasure to serve you, Averda, and I look forward to 2019!”

Emma Dickie,General Counsel


O U R S T R A T E G Y

We believe that we are well-positioned to continue capitalising on the attractive growth opportunities in emerging and frontier markets across the environmental services industry. We are guided by four key strategic objectives to deliver growth and profitability:

1. Market share expansion in existing markets 2. Expansion to new markets3. Enhancing waste management capabilities4. Opportunities for margin expansion

We continuously explore opportunities to broaden our service offering in existing markets and to enter new markets, both through organic and inorganic growth. We carry out a three-pronged growth strategy comprising: (i) de-risking geographic and currency risk through a mix of frontier, emerging and developed markets acquisitions, (ii) leveraging existing core competence to acquire assets in hazardous waste treatment, landfills and waste collection and (iii) acquiring assets with synergies to existing businesses to diversify and derisk revenue streams while creating value for our shareholders.

We follow the ‘beach-head’ strategy for entry and expansion into new markets. Typically, we enter new markets through our cleaning and collection services offering. Once established in a market, we strategically target new clients and move into more profitable waste management services, such as treatment and disposal, which, while requiring significant capital expenditure, typically deliver higher margins.

Furthermore, we have formulated a clear and efficient process to develop new waste management platforms, which we are able to quickly and cost-effectively replicate in new target markets. Our process and implementation plan for each new country that we enter comprises three stages. First, once we develop an understanding of the target market and identify expansion opportunities, we build critical mass through winning multiple public cleaning and collection concessions and pursuing bolt-on acquisitions. Tenders for public cleaning and collection concessions are highly

competitive due to relatively low barriers to entry and, as a result, generate lower margins than our other service offerings. Second, we create incremental demand and move up the value chain to offer treatment solutions, while building our network with legislators, corporates and the public. Finally, we create business-to-business solutions for specific industries (for example, oil and gas and manufacturing industries) and complement our offering by providing disposal services, which requires specific technical expertise, producing higher margins and barriers to entry.

Given our scale, we are able to enter and exit new markets by incurring relatively low costs. While we maintain fleets of vehicles to service specific contracts, there are certain vehicles within our fleets which are not fully utilised. These ‘surplus capacity’ vehicles form a “strategic stock” and are typically spread across various

“The pursuit of our strategy relies on the dedication of our people, our stakeholders and our shareholders.”

Our Aim: Expand our presence in frontier, emerging and developed markets through a combination of organic and inorganic growth, focusing on profitable growth and a disciplined acquisition strategy.

Expanding our presence

2 6 A V E R D A . C O M

projects. We believe this strategic stock provides us with a competitive advantage by allowing us to mobilise faster than our competition as we can redeploy our strategic stock to service new contracts until a new fleet can be fully established, whereas our competitors may take several weeks to acquire new vehicles to deploy. In addition, cleaning and collection contracts in new jurisdictions may not require significant new investment in the short term due to our ability to use existing vehicles from other locations and rely on our central management structure to direct operations. Our scale therefore provides us flexibility to enter and exit new markets without significant long-term financial commitment in the event we are not able to grow profitably.

New regulations act as a key growth driver in emerging markets as they can significantly increase entry barriers and therefore, reduce competition. Often, new regulations also result in significant increase in the addressable market size and margin expansion. For example, in South Africa, increased regulation and government oversight has resulted in growing demand for specialised hazardous waste treatment and disposal services. We aim to move up the waste management value chain into this technical and high margin market.

WE IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE BY IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF THE ENVIRONMENT.

• We clean worlds to improve the future of our planet.• We work with educators to develop learning programmes around resource preservation

and waste management for schools and universities.• We advocate the safeguarding of the environment through policy and legislative

development and partnering circular economy initiatives.

Vision: Cleaner world; better lives

WE AIM TO BE THE LEADING PROVIDER OF WASTE MANAGEMENT SERVICES ACROSS THE EMERGING WORLD

• We will employ our scale in people, assets and footprint to leverage our capabilities to continue to grow and deliver in the developing world.

• We will build a digital platform across the whole waste management value chain to improve the quality and speed of our service delivery.

• We will continue to grow by attracting, retaining and developing effective people who thrive in challenging environments and conditions.

Mission: We are the largest, most innovative, most adventurous waste management company in the developing world

WE OFFER EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND TREATMENT FOR ALL

• We hold the health and safety of our people and the public to be paramount and accept no shortcuts nor compromise.

• We comply with the law and rules of the countries and communities in which we operate.• We do not tolerate any form of discrimination, harassment or prejudice based on

ethnicity, beliefs, gender or disability.• We will not perform any work that does not meet our environmental, sustainability,

security and quality standards.• We satisfy our contractual and customer obligations while ensuring that our rights and

dues are respected.

Non-negotiables: We are guided by simple rules and principles that ensure our standards are met every day

ROOTED IN EVERYTHING WE DO IS A SET OF VALUES THAT REFLECT AVERDA AS AN ORGANISATION AND STAND FOR EVERYTHING WE BELIEVE IN.

• WE DELIVER – OUR STANDARDS. This binds each team in Averda behind WHAT we commit to do. It means we deliver on our promises at all times, we act decisively, and we change with our environment.

• WE CARE – OUR PRINCIPLES. These are shared by us all, guiding HOW we do our work. It means we carry out tasks efficiently, we respect each individual’s contribution, and we adapt to the situation at hand.

• WE INSPIRE – OUR VISION. This helps all of us remember WHY we work at Averda. It means we support and trust each other, we unite behind a shared purpose, we encourage a creative approach, and we inspire others through our own actions.

Values: DELIVER

CARE

INSPIRE


14k

T O N N E S M E D I C A L W A S T E C O L L E C T E D

403k

T O N N E S I N D U S T R I A L W A S T E C O L L E C T E D

3.7mn

T O N N E S G E N E R A L W A S T E C O L L E C T E D

25mn

R O U T E S D I S P A T C H E D

46.5mn

K M C O V E R E D

4.1mn

T O TA L T O N N E S O F W A S T E C O L L E C T E D

97%

C O L L E C T D I S P A T C H

99%

S W E E P R A T E

87%

S W E E P D I S P A T C H

0.8%

M I S S E D L I F T S

19%

’ 1 7 - ’ 1 8 A R E V E N U E G R O W T H

24%

A V E R A G E E B I T D A M A R G I N

2018 Key Performance Indicators

Well-invested operations and industry expertise

O P E R A T I O N A L H I G H L I G H T S

2 8 A V E R D A . C O M

We benefit from well-invested operations, industry expertise and local knowledge in an industry characterised by significant barriers to entry. In particular, the waste management industry depends on substantial up-front investment in facilities, machinery, technology and know-how, as well as an understanding of complex regulatory environments and a strong reputation.

Since commencing our international expansion in 2009 after previously operating solely in Lebanon, our revenue from international operations has grown to US$349.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. For the same periods, our EBITDA from continuing operations grew from US$4.2 million to US$82.3 million. Furthermore, our profitability compares favourably to peers in similar business lines, reflecting our ambitious organic and inorganic growth strategy and our exploitation of synergies across our operations. Our average EBITDA margin was 19% for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Furthermore, we are well-positioned to enter new markets. Since commencing our international expansion in 2009, we have entered ten new countries (three of which we have subsequently left) and developed significant experience in mobilising employees, vehicles and equipment and facilities rapidly to satisfy demand for our services. Our relationship with key suppliers of vehicles, equipment and commodities enables us new markets seamlessly and cost-effectively.

Both our facilities and our equipment are state-of-the-art, contributing to our ability to efficiently execute existing cleaning and collection contracts and win new concessions. Most equipment that we operate is owned, although we lease equipment in certain countries, including Morocco, the Republic of the Congo and South Africa. All equipment purchases are controlled and cleared by specialised technical teams. Additionally, all collection vehicles are equipped with technologies to monitor vehicle, route and driver efficiency and use

of vehicle capacity. Every collection vehicle is tracked centrally by both a local dispatching team at local delivery service centre and a global control room located in Dubai and instructions can be relayed to drivers in real time. We also have a dedicated research and division centre.

By leveraging advanced facilities, equipment and technology, we are able to achieve significant operational efficiencies. For example, as a result of implementing end to end digitisation across our business, which we launched in September 2018, we have witnessed improvements across our operations. Data collected as part of the “3D programme” is used to improve network efficiency through route optimisation and reduction in operating expenses such as fuel consumed and manpower costs by deploying fewer vehicles. Staff delayering through redundancy of certain supervisory staff across projects due to digitisation and machine learning is also expected to improve our efficiency. Our group-wide focus on environmental sustainability and our aggressive support of projects to divert waste from landfills, which typically carry higher margins and require technical know-how, is also expected to improve our profitability.

“We benefit from our large scale of operations and a long operating history in certain

jurisdictions.”


32 United Arab Emirates34 Sultanate of Oman36 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia38 State of Qatar40 Republic of South Africa 42 Republic of Congo44 Republic of Gabon46 Kingdom of Morocco

3 0 A V E R D A . C O M

Regional reviews


City Cleaning & CollectionAbu Dhabi Averda has been serving the city of Abu Dhabi since 2010 through the award of various contracts for the main city as well as its adjoining islands. The scope of services includes waste collection, street cleaning, split collection of recyclables and special on-call services.

The services also called for a rigorous public awareness campaign to encourage the use of the double bin system deployed at households, commercial entities, schools and government buildings.

Al AinIn 2016, Averda launched its waste management services in Al Ain. Our work here includes waste collection, street cleaning, collection of recyclables, the operation of transfer stations and community collection points.

Dubai In addition to Averda’s private, commercial and industrial business clients in the Emirates, the company carries out a range of waste management operations as part of Dubai Municipality’s long-term ‘My City My Environment’ initiative. In addition to providing daily waste collection and street cleaning. Initiatives launched so far include a highly-targeted educational and awareness campaign. In addition, Averda provides daily door-to-door waste collection from residences, as well as the collection of bulky and green waste.

On-Site ServicesOffshore Islands Averda has been servicing the offshore islands in Abu Dhabi on behalf of its client, ADNOC, a state-owned oil company since 2014. The scope of work covers offshore waste collection, street cleaning and waste disposal services.

1 R E G I O N A L R E V I E W S

United Arab emirates

Operations Overview

10.6mnK M S C O V E R E D

720k T O N N E S W A S T E C O L L E C T E D

64kR O U T E S D I S P A T C H E D

8.9mnB I N S C O L L E C T E D

5xI N C R E A S E I N O P E R A T I N G E F F I C I E N C Y

12%C A G R I N R E V E N U E

A B U D H A B I

D U B A I

S H A R J A H

A L A I N

“ Against the backdrop of a challenging year that witnessed an extremely competitive environment continuing to keep pressure on prices, the heavy impact of deregulated fuel prices on our cost base, and the uncertainty surrounding the implementation of landfill levies in the region, it is with a lot of pride that we say that 2018 was a successful year for the Averda UAE team.”

Managing Director, UAE

3 2 A V E R D A . C O M

Partnering to Divert E-Waste from LandfillsFollowing 2017’s highly successful World Environment Day initiative, Averda UAE, Uber, Dubai Internet City and Dubai Science Park teamed up again to bring back the e-waste collection drive to their communities. This year, the campaign was extended to Dubai Media City to promote the recycling of audio and video products, such as radio and television sets and music players.

From June 20-21 2018, residents of Dubai were able to request a free pick up from Uber to collect their unwanted electronic items. A total of 11 business parks took part in the initiative, including Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Dubai Science Park. Residents of Dubai can still safely recycle their unwanted electronic goods by simply visiting one of Averda’s recycling collection centres around the city. Business partners and community members booked a ride via the Uber app using the request ‘UberRECYCLE’. Uber drivers then collected the e-waste from the specified TECOM business parks and delivered the items to Averda, which was responsible for the recycling and waste management.

We were thrilled to take part in the #eCycleDubai campaign with Uber for the third consecutive year. Tackling the issue of e-waste remains one of Averda’s key objectives in all of our markets. We are always looking for engaging ways to connect with the communities we serve and raise awareness about critical environmental issues, so we would like to thank all our partners and all those who recycled their unwanted electronics.

Tackling the issue of electronic waste is essential. On average, a UAE resident produces 17.2 kilograms of e-waste every year. In 2015, this amounted to nearly 600,000 tonnes in the region. By 2020, e-waste generation in the GCC is expected to reach a staggering 900,000 tonnes, a UN-sponsored research project found. If e-waste is not disposed of efficiently, it can have catastrophic events on the environment as it can release harmful toxins.

According to The Global E-waste Monitor 2017, a collaborative report of the United Nations University, the International Telecommunication Union and the International Solid Waste Association, experts foresee the global volume of e-waste rising to 52.2 million metric tonnes in 2021 – up from 44.7 million metric tonnes in 2016. This means electronic waste is the fastest-growing component of the world’s domestic waste stream.

Averda UAE leads the way in sustainabilityAverda UAE received the Certificate of Appreciation from Dubai Chamber’s Centre for Responsible Business in the event “Marking Sustainability Network Achievements 2018”.

The accolade was handed over by HE. Hisham Al Shirawi, Vice Chairman, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This certificate honoured the member organisations who have contributed to the Dubai Chamber Sustainability Network in 2018.

The event also covered topics such as “Private Sector Role Integral to Country’s Sustainable Development” and “Responsible Practices Shaping Business Sustainability” which were attended by representatives from varied industries and professions across UAE.



Sultanate of Oman

Operations Overview



545kT O N N E S W A S T E C O L L E C T E D

36mnB I N S C O L L E C T E D

2.5xI N C R E A S E I N O P E R A T I N G E F F I C I E N C Y


D H O FA R

M U S C A T

D A K H I L I Y A

Medical Waste TreatmentAverda has been operating medical waste collection and treatment services (including the construction and operation of treatment infrastructure) in Muscat since 2005. In 2014 Averda’s service scope was extended to include additional service areas and the operation and maintenance of a new medical waste treatment plant.

City Cleaning & CollectionAl Dakhiliya The project at the Al Dakhiliya Governate encompasses the solid waste collection and operation of waste transfer stations and an engineered landfill. The project was successfully launched in November 2016 with the supply of a wide range of bins, compactors and vehicles equipped with remote sensing devices for operational control and optimisation.

Dhofar Averda has an established operational presence in Dhofar, having implemented three waste management projects. The services include solid waste collection, green and bulk waste collection, on-call service s, the operation of transfer stations and engineered landfill.

Muscat Averda’s service portfolio in Muscat has been expanded to include a new waste management contract. The contract includes the development and implementation of an entirely new waste collection ecosystem, supported by a state-of-the-art fleet and a wide-ranging waste management and recycling strategy for the Governate.

This contract cements Averda’s position as a leading provider of environmental services in emerging markets. The contract includes the collection of municipal solid waste, market, bulky, green, construction, demolition, farm and livestock waste; recycling; and the operation and maintenance of a waste transfer station.

To deliver the service, Averda has hired and trained 275 local employees in new jobs and will prioritise working with local small and medium size businesses.

The Muscat contract builds upon Averda’s previous success in the country, where it has been operating since 2005, providing waste collection and disposal services for Al Dhakhiliya and Dhofar, and management of a medical waste treatment facility in Muscat.

3 4 A V E R D A . C O M

Oman: Expansion in the Land of FrankincenseAverda began deployment in Dhofar, Oman in early 2017 and, after one full year, is now fully mobilised. The collection project is spread over thousands of square kilometres and comprises daily waste collection from ten provinces, operation of transfer stations and an engineered landfill. Waste types include municipal, bulky, green and C&D (construction & demolition), as well as dead-animal waste.

The contract covers a diverse geographical area: four sandy provinces that belong to the empty-quarter desert, four mountainous provinces with steep roads and low visibility and two urban and coastal provinces.

This factor alone contributed to a wide range of lessons learned, including the many risk elements associated with driving skills required to navigate such diverse terrain. These risks were addressed on a provincial level, but the spread of unurbanised regions meant that some areas could not be found on modern maps; many settlements were seasonal and therefore could not be captured during the survey.

The fast development of Salalah city meant that new areas also emerged between the time of the survey and time of deployment; more than 1,000 bins had to be added during deployment as a result. This challenge could have been minimised by securing development plans from the government body, Bee’ah, upon bidding to be able to predict potential short-term infrastructural growth and forecast additional required assets and associated costs earlier on.

The project duration is seven years and can be extended for an additional two. Post-mobilisation priorities include improving fleet maintenance and utilisation and reducing the overtime ratio.

At a commercial level, Dhofar presents a significant growth opportunity for the private business. In brief, Dhofar and its unique qualities made us grow lean and more effective in managing our business; a quality that was appreciated and formally recognised by the client, and that played the biggest role in helping us secure our next win.

The new Averda employees will benefit from the company’s training and employee growth programmes, contributing further to the development of the local economy. Averda will also invest in a new Omani leadership framework in its dedicated training centre, in addition to local corporate social responsibility programmes and environmental monitoring initiatives.

“2018 was a remarkable year for Averda Oman and once again the team proved its unmatched resilience and achieved all our goals. The scale of the projects in Oman changed our dynamics and has allowed us to set new, exciting challenges. As we dive into 2019, hazardous waste, recycling, a massive mobilisation project, and a 2,500 tonne landfill are the next set of challenges.” Managing Director, Oman



Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Operations Overview







J E D D A H

M U H A Y E L A S E E R

O M R A N

A L Q A T I F & J U B A I L I N D U S T R I A L

TA B U K

R I Y A D H

City Cleaning & CollectionAverda works closely with municipal clients to develop targeted city cleaning and waste collection, recycling, treatment and disposal solutions to suit all requirements and budgets.

RiyadhKing Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) is a modern financial district in Riyadh. In 2018, Averda was awarded the waste collection, street cleaning, and pest control services, for this district.

Tabuk In 2016 Tabuk municipality awarded Averda two contracts to provide waste collection and street cleaning services. The project was efficiently launched, and robust plant and equipment were deployed on-time to deliver high quality services.

OmranSince 2016 Averda has been delivering a range of waste collection and street cleaning services in Omran, including the provision of vacuum tankers to extract storm water during rainy seasons.

Jeddah The waste collection and street cleaning services in the Al Khouzam area were initiated by Averda in winter 2017. Project operations cover daily municipal waste collection, street cleaning, pavement cleaning and removal of rain water during storm seasons.

Muhayel Aseer The services that were launched by Averda at the end of 2017 in the Aseer Municipality addressed a number of urgent waste management needs and included solid waste collection, street cleaning, operation of waste transfer stations and a disposal site.

Al QatifThis is one of Averda’s recent contract awards, which is currently in the mobilisation phase with operations scheduled to start in February 2019 for a period of five years. In addition to waste collection and street cleaning services, the scope includes pest control services and the operation and maintenance of a waste transfer facility.

Jubail lndustrialFollowing the award of the crucial sanitation and solid waste collection contract by the Royal Commission for Jubai land Yanbu, Averda completed the vehicle and equipment procurement stage. Since November 2017, the company has been providing municipal waste collection, manual and mechanical street cleaning, bulky waste services and the operation of engineered landfill.

3 6 A V E R D A . C O M

Stepping Up Delivery During Eid FestivitiesEid al-Adha, known as the “Festival of Sacrifice”, is the second of the two Islamic holidays celebrated worldwide each year (the other being Eid al-Fitr). So it’s no surprise that the period is marked by an exponential increase in the volume of waste generated in the cities we serve. Operations staff must take extreme precaution during this time not only to address the volume surge, but to ensure the increase in animal slaughter waste is safely and effectively managed.

Projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia deployed over 72 extra vehicles and 290 personnel on a daily basis during the Eid holiday to ensure that service delivery matched the client and residents’ expectations. Collection, manual and mechanical sweep, as well as rubble operations were the core elements of the daily operations during Eid, with special teams dedicated to the removal of waste generated from animal sacrifices.

More than twice the usual resources – 350 frontline and supervisory staff and 65 vehicles – were deployed to sustain the pristine appearance of Saudi Arabia, with special attention and care given to mosques and surrounding areas (a mechanical sweeper, a high-pressure water tanker and 20 staff were stationed there during the celebration phase). The palaces of the Crown Prince were all thoroughly power-washed, as well as the Corniche. A team of two

labourers and one driver were dedicated to monitoring slaughter accumulation inside the residential areas, where bins were emptied and sanitised regularly. Eight hundred and fifty tonnes of waste were collected in the three-day period.

To keep up with the celebratory demands and maintain a steady level of collection services, 44 additional 20-30 containers were deployed across the region to accommodate the slaughtered animal disposal. The containers were tagged with a notice that the disposal locations were temporary and exclusively available during Eid. A mobile application was launched highlighting the locations of the nearest dedicated containers based on the user’s location. Two helpers were stationed at each deployed container to direct and assist residents as they approached the dumping point. Signboards with directions were placed within 100 metres of the bins to eliminate the use of alternate containers.

Averda also handed out car waste bags in order to protect the environment during the holiday season. The community took the initiative on board and children were also excited to be involved with keeping the streets clean.

“What an exciting and challenging year 2018 was for Averda KSA, with three new projects reinforcing our footprint in the country as a major player in waste management. The first project is managing waste for the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, with a three year contract, giving us the upper hand to bid for contracts in the Kingdom as well as internationally. The second win is a two-year contract with King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) for waste management services. It’s a very prestigious win, as KAFD is recognised as one of the most important financial centres in the Middle East. Last but not least, Averda KSA won the contract for city cleaning in Muhayel Aseer for a five-year period.”Managing Director, KSA

On-Site ServicesKAUST Since the launch of the first project for King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) in 2009, Averda has been successful in the delivery of the complete cycle of waste management services for the residential and campus facilities.

Riyadh AirportIn March 2018, the Riyadh Airport Company awarded Averda the waste management services contract for the Riyadh Airport for the next three years. The solid waste collection service extends to both the land and air aspects of the airport. As part of the project scope, Averda will launch an awareness campaign aimed at encouraging the airport visitors and staff to recycle and reduce waste generation.


City Cleaning & CollectionDohaAverda Qatar operates private projects in Doha. The scope of services includes the collection of municipal and bulky waste and sweeping as well as industrial and domestic waste management and transport services for a portfolio of large and prestigious commercial clients in the country.

On-Site ServicesRas LaffanAverda provides waste management services to a range of state-owned companies in the oil and gas sector in Ras Laffan.One example includes RasGas Company Limited, which has been serviced by Averda since 2010. Averda is also responsible for the on-site waste separation, packing and labelling of hazardous wastes, in addition to loading and transport to disposal and treatment facilities. Recently, the Qatar Fuel Additives Company (QAFAC) has awarded Averda a call-off contract covering the handling, transportation and disposal of domestic and industrial wastes.


State of Qatar

“ We finished the year on a high, getting extra work from North Oil Company and winning Ezdan and GWC contracts. A few customer initiatives were completed for recycling training and beach clean-ups. Through a joint-venture between Qatar Petroleum and Total, the Qatar team secured a three-year multi million dollar contract. As part of the contract, they established a yard in Al Khor area – a prime location for oil and gas production facilities. This will now serve as a great stepping stone for further developing and establishing a presence in the oil and gas industry in Qatar as it establishes itself as a leading LNG supplier to the world.”

Managing Director, Qatar

Operations Overview




727kB I N S C O L L E C T E D

50%I N C R E A S E I N O P E R A T I N G E F F I C I E N C Y


D O H A

R A S L A F FA N

3 8 A V E R D A . C O M

Growing Revenue through Extraordinary DeliveryAverda has serviced NOC (North Oil Company) by transporting, storing, disposing and treating its domestic, hazardous and inert waste since July 2017. Averda took up the challenge and supported the client with this complex work. The teams on the ground aided the client in identifying safety and environment gaps within their own operations – they advised NOC to limit filling up the skips to 70% to avoid spillage during transportation and were recommended to adopt practices such as vessel aeration and water dilution to reduce concentration of H2S in the sludge.

The additional work increased NOC’s projected revenue by 120%. It also helped Averda Qatar establish itself as a strategic partner in waste management services in the oil & gas industry, with NOC.

The short notice and limited resources at the start did not stop us from seizing this opportunity. We saw it as an exciting challenge and an opportunity to expand our operational expertise to better position us for future bids. We are proud that we have been able to complete the work at a level above the required standards.

MMG Recognised Averda Qatar for Exemplary Facilities ManagementMaintenance Management Group (MMG) Qatar chose Averda Qatar as one of its top three suppliers, a true credit to the local team. MMG Qatar is certified by the Bureau Veritas Certification for its integrated management system. The company provides preventative and corrective maintenance services, management of hard and soft facility management, indoor services and value added engineering.

Each vendor is scored and evaluated according to the following five categories;

• Site performance• Site PPM performance• Innovation• Reporting• Management participation & leadership

With a total score of 1060, this shows Averda’s commitment to its compliance and capability to service an MMG site. Individual scores for each category are divided according to the importance and are rigorously evaluated by the Facilities Managers.


Collection & On-Site ServicesAverda South Africa is responsible for the on-site waste collection, cleaning, separation, packing and labelling of hazardous & non-hazardous solid waste, industrial waste and medical waste, in additional to the loading and transport of these waste streams to sorting, recycling, disposal and treatment facilities for a large portfolio of municipal, commercial O&M, industrial and healthcare clients across the nation.

Hazardous & Medical Waste TreatmentAverda is one of the largest operators in end-to-end services including collection, sorting and treatment facilities for medical and hazardous waste streams across South Africa. We also operate and manage a one of the nation's largest treatment plants, where these waste streams are safely & securely transported and disposed of.

Disposal & Landfill Management Averda owns and manages three world-class landfills across South Africa, including two active landfills, one of which is suitable for hazardous waste disposal, and one inactive landfill.


Republic of South Africa

“ Inspire through, above and beyond service and quality – this was illustrated in 2018 where we made a clean sweep of the PMR DIAMOND awards for a second year in Hazardous Waste, General Waste, Industrial Cleaning and Medical Waste Management. This achievement is a recognition of our strategy, great management team and the hard work of our employees. We have made impressive progress in the quality of our operations, development of our solutions offering and management of our risk, all while raising our profile and prominence in the industry.”

Managing Director, South Africa

Operations Overview



2.2mnR O U T E S D I S P A T C H E D

>90%B I N S C O L L E C T E D



G A U T E N G

K W A Z U L U -N A TA L

E A S T E R N C A P E

W E S T E R N C A P E

4 0 A V E R D A . C O M

South Africa: Innovating Through Hazardous Waste TrackingAverda TruTrak – an innovative and first-to-market track and tracing system for the healthcare industry successfully launched at the Africa Health exhibition in May. Africa Health is the largest healthcare forum in South Africa which attracts approximately 4,000 delegates.

Averda was prominently on display as the headline sponsor for the Hospital Build conference at the exhibition where Head of Healthcare, Eugene Barnard, delivered a white paper presentation on technology as an enabler for healthcare institutions to fulfill their legal duty as caretakers of hazardous waste.

The system makes use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking tags which are attached to the containers that hold high risk waste. The scanners on scales, collection vehicles and at treatment facilities automatically record information including collection and delivery weight, time, date and location details.

Clients are given access to the tracking process via the portal which allows waste transportation to be monitored in real time. This also provides them with access to delivery notes, invoices and disposal reports detailing the nature, quantity and disposal methods for each waste consignment. These are automatically stored and can be printed off as and when required, in line with the waste generator’s auditing requirements. This data is also automatically captured and uploaded to an online client portal. Our key clients will be the first to receive the benefit of this system, and thereafter it will form part of Averda’s healthcare offering to the entire market ensuring 100% compliance in the disposal of healthcare risk waste.

The automation of this process eliminates the risk of inaccurate or incomplete reporting as well as enhancing

transparency and boosting data integrity for record keeping purposes.

AVERDA LAUNCHES TRUTRAK AT #WASTECON2018 IN JOHANNESBURG

Averda South Africa scoops three Diamond Arrow Awards and ranks top in the industryThe 2018 PMR.africa Awards recognised Averda with Diamond Arrow Awards in the Industrial Cleaning, Medical or Healthcare Risk Waste, and Hazardous Waste categories, as well as a Gold Arrow Award in the Non-Hazardous Waste category.

Leading up to the awards, respondents judged Averda on attributes such as the Company’s compliance with regulatory requirements, environmentally-friendly practices, and overall value for money.

The acknowledgement confirms that our strategy to deliver a premium service, commitment to safety and compliance and continual innovation to evolve our offering through technology is reaping rewards and meets the needs of our clients.

“It makes me proud to reward industry giants such as Averda on the work done in building sustainable companies. The contribution to business and the economy is important and we need to support these businesses as they continue to grow, innovate and build the South African landscape,” says the CEO of PMR Johan Hattingh.

The purpose of the PMR.africa Awards is to serve as an acknowledgement of excellence in various industries. They set a benchmark for service and quality, as well as supporting those companies that strive continuously for more.

The awards also serve as an acknowledgment to staff and personnel that their hard work and dedication do not go unnoticed. The awards are true indicators of a company’s competency within its industry, and this is all thanks to the teamwork and the effort put in by the employees.


City Cleaning & CollectionBrazzaville Averda’s scope of work includes not only waste collection and city cleaning services in Brazzaville but also the design, construction and operation of a modern engineered landfill facility over a period of 15 years. The project also calls for the integration of waste sorting facilities aimed at an overall reduction in the volume of landfill waste.

Pointe Noire Averda is responsible for waste collection and transportation services in Pointe Noire, which cover city, river, gutter and beach cleaning. The project also includes the design, construction and operation of a landfill and treatment facility for the whole city.


Republic of Congo

Operations Overview

929kK M S C O V E R E D




7%I N C R E A S E I N O P E R A T I N G E F F I C I E N C Y


P O I N T E N O I R E

B R A Z Z A V I L L ETEN OF OUR FRONT LINERS WALKED

AMONGST THE CROWD ACCOMPANIED BY THE BLUE TRUCK OF THE COMPANY.

“ 2018 was a great year for Averda Congo. One of the major successes was the trust we built with the citizens in the cities we serve. We managed to deliver our services to society in most caring and inspirational way, strengthening our brand image in the country. Today, Averda has become the image of cleanliness and hygiene in the Republic of Congo.”

Managing Director, Congo

4 2 A V E R D A . C O M

Rising to the Challenge in a Time of Celebration To prepare for the Independence Day parade and half-marathon events in Brazzaville and Pointe Noire, 70 frontliners and seven vehicles were deployed and used to clean the areas surrounding Alfred Raoul Boulevard, where the main parade took place. During the half-marathon, Averda Congo’s sweep operation ensured the access points, which participants were crossing during their run, remained clear and safe for passage.

Congo’s Independence Day parades are performed exclusively by military and government association staff, with His Excellence, the President of the Republic of Congo also present. In Oyo, a small town situated very close to the capital city, Averda was invited by the mayor to participate in the parade.

Ten of our frontliners walked amongst the crowd accompanied by the blue truck of the company. We care deeply about our environment and being the “go-to” waste management provider. Such milestones have a huge importance for Congo’s society and we are happy to support such causes.

Averda Congo Awarded for Excellence On 15 May, Averda Congo received the “Award of Excellence for Cleanliness and Environmental Protection” from the NGO UNR-2PDH, the Messengers of Peace for Human Rights. The management of Averda Congo and five other winners received the award at the Prefecture of Brazzaville.

The project coordinator, on behalf of the MD, gave a speech in which she stated that all Averda’s projects are managed and controlled in accordance with the company’s strategy, which combines efficiency and sustainability. Averda Congo committed to maintain the successful partnership with the municipalities and the Government, to deliver a high quality of services and to inspire the citizen to take care of their city.


City Cleaning & CollectionLibreville and AkandaThe collection and transportation of waste services provided by Averda in Gabon include the use of special equipment and vehicles. The cleaning services comprise manual and mechanical sweeping, gutter cleaning, river cleaning and beach cleaning.


Republic of gabon

“ In 2018, Averda Gabon reached its peak efficiency in resource utilisation. Over six lugger bins were fabricated by the local reshop team to support operational demands. The procurement department also teamed up with the workshop to globally procure the best quality parts for only one third of the local market prices. Employee initiatives were also around the clock with Labour Day awards, frontliner spot-check awards and many more initiatives. Finally the year was closed in an intimate office end of year celebration with some Averda gifts and greetings.” Managing Director, Gabon

Operations Overview




890kB I N S C O L L E C T E D



L I B R E V I L L E

A K A N D A

4 4 A V E R D A . C O M

Fabricating Lugger Bins from Recycled MaterialsFollowing a period of operational complexities, the majority of which were caused by the landfill’s structural challenges, the local team discovered a large shortage of bins. A meeting took place between all department heads in Gabon to explore solutions and this is where a creative approach was initiated by the workshop staff. The repair of four roll-off containers and the production of six large bins from recycled materials was decided on to accommodate the operation’s needs. The idea was to replace points that require several eurobins with either a lugger bin or a roll-off.

In mid-July Averda Gabon’s Project Director provided the workshop team with security and quality guidance on lugger bin fabrication, in addition to roll-off bin welding.

Driven by the spirit of team work and dedication, the workshop managed to produce six lugger bins and execute a total renovation of four roll-off containers within the remarkable one-month timeframe. The Project Director verified and signed off

the design and welding, confirming they adhered to the necessary standards. As a result, operations were able to access bins at ten major collection points and reuse them in other areas throughout the city. This resulted in efficiency optimisation, as the heavily saturated zones are now collected once a day instead of twice and with greater ease. Production of the recycled assets took four days on average per lugger bin and three days for roll-off repair per unit.

The regular market cost for a new lugger bin in Libreville is almost double to what we spent on materials, excluding in-house labour cost, and the total saving we made was around $2,500 per bin, which is noteworthy.

Once again, intense departmental collaboration demonstrated how teamwork harvests solid

outcomes.


City Cleaning & CollectionSince 2012, Averda has operated in Morocco, Casablanca, Rabat, Nodor and Berkane, offering cleaning and waste management services.

Casablanca Averda has been providing waste collection and city cleaning services to two of the four lots of the city of Casablanca since 2014.

RabatAs part of its long-term contract with the Moroccan capital Rabat, Averda is responsible for the collection of inert materials and green waste in addition to city cleaning services for the entire city.

NadorThe initial service contract awarded to Averda covered the collection of waste and city cleaning services for two lots in Nador. The scope of work has been extended to include the operation and management of a municipal landfill.

Berkane A long-term project for the collection of waste and city cleaning services for the city of Berkane was introduced to Averda’s project portfolio in 2013.


Kingdom of Morocco

“ 2018 was an exceptional year for Averda in Morocco in every aspect. Despite the challenges and complex situations, the perseverance and resilience coupled with hard work and dedication of the whole team have allowed us to successfully meet our targets and expectations. In a nutshell, Averda has further confirmed its position as the market leader, expanded its presence to new regions of the country and extended its services to include waste sorting and valorisation. Being the Year of the Employee, getting the “Best Place to Work” award was an assurance of the appreciation of all employees of the different projects and activities that took place during the year. Finally, client appreciation of our service quality is essential, and is reflected through the Casablanca contract renewal for another seven years with much more favourable conditions while preserving the whole area currently served.”

Managing Director, Morocco

Operations Overview







C A S A B L A N C A

N A D O R

B E R K A N E

R A B A T

TA N G I E R

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Managing Operational Efficiency While Tackling Green Waste DisposalThe city of Rabat prides itself on maintaining an image of cleanliness. That’s why when the city saw an uptick in green waste volumes being dispersed haphazardly in small quantities, Averda immediately found a solution to address the problem with minimal impact on operational cost.

Averda identified an opportunity to revamp and re-brand previously deployed 3cbm containers from the Casablanca project and, as a result, deployed 40 units in December and January. The refurbishment cost of $35 per unit was minimal and was ten times more cost-effective than purchasing new units. In the long term, an additional 60 recycled units will be deployed across the city by the end of 2019 Q1 to address the growing disposal volumes.

We typically used 30cbm bins at our green waste collection points, but using the smaller bins reduced the need for heavy equipment (loaders) in those additional areas where we now use cranes to remove the containers. This change reduced our overall operational cost per route and optimised quality.

Tangier Treatment ProjectIn 2018, Averda was awarded a 20-year contract by the Al Boughaz group of municipalities to design, build and operate an integrated waste management facility for a period of 20 years. The project includes a sorting facility with multiple lines to extract organic content and recyclable materials.

A team of local and international engineers is guiding the conception, construction and management of an ultra-modern site including the installation of a new waste treatment facility. The team will also lead the deployment of a new organic waste composting centre, sanitary landfill and gas recovery and leachate treatment units.

The innovations that we are deploying on the site will allow us to reach a waste recovery rate higher than 25% from the second year of the contract. It will also generate electricity and be the first in the region to be energy self-sufficient.

In addition, Averda aims to increase the awareness of the benefits of recycling practices and waste management, within and for the community. The development of the new site is set to meet all global environmental standards and benefit all the local communities. It will also help develop the city of Tangier and boost the local economy.

Averda Morocco holds the title for one of the “Best

Places to Work” in 2018! Averda Morocco proudly holds the title and certification for one of the ‘Best Places to Work’. This placement is an internationally recognised award judged against eight different criteria including: HR practices, leadership and workplace environment. The programme is based on employee interviews, data analysis and then a final assessment.

We are in good company with businesses like DHL, Coco-Cola and Siemens and over 60 international programmes for this award around the globe. The award in Morocco is a great demonstration of our capability when we team up and collaborate across the company to Deliver. Care. Inspire.


“Averda believes that a diverse workforce with unique and different perspectives adds value to the way we do business.”

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OURPeople

50 The way we work52 RESPECT56 Diversity and inclusion60 Corporate Social Responsibility70 Health & Safety


O U R P E O P L E

The way we work

As Averda looks to grow our client base and revenue in the emerging markets, it is critical that we ensure our people perform to world-class standards by developing our services, capabilities, processes and assets, and providing them with the training and tools to meet these standards.

2018 marked the ‘Year of the Employee’, which meant ensuring the utmost priority on keeping our people engaged and performance driven. We wanted to be ready for the challenges a waste management industry can face, externally from the environments we operate in and internally within an organisation which is agile and transforming rapidly.

As part of our organisation’s strategy, the objective is to ‘Enable our People to Perform Better’ by receiving RESPECT (Recognition, Engagement & retention, Security, Pay & incentives, Education & career growth, Conditions and Truth) in exchange for delivering on performance expectations.

14,455G R A N D T O TA L

209C O R P O R A T E

233Q A TA R

134I R E L A N D 2,152

U A E

2,151S O U T H A F R I C A

996O M A N3,487

M O R O C C O

2,729K S A

1,879C O N G O

600G A B O N

Headcount by Country

5 0 A V E R D A . C O M

Keeping a Pulse on our PeopleAverda objectively measures employee engagement, culture and feedback using an online Engagement Tool across all markets where our employees anonymously respond to the weekly Pulse surveys and we get to know their current thoughts. It measures engagement levels based on 10 key engagement metrics. Our leaders are encouraged to respond to employee feedback on a real time basis and to implement suitable action plans as part of our culture.

Every month we announce the Top 3 Engagement & Participation Champions with the highest Engagement Score & Participation % on Yammer to harbour a healthy competition between the business units and to benchmark internal best practices. This helped increase the participation rate, enabled us to get more reliable engagement scores, and encouraged stakeholders to take action in the areas which require improvement.

Based on the feedback received from our employees, we formulated a strategy for addressing all the improvement areas and to continue doing what we are good at. Also, this helped to kickstart many new initiatives and programmes which are beneficial to the growth and retention of our people.

And today, Employee Engagement is in everything we do! This is how Averda’s people principles called “RESPECT” was formulated. Our Employee Engagement strategy is modelled around the RESPECT model with the aim to strengthen our collective performance by ensuring each and every employee receives RESPECT in exchange for delivering on performance expectations.

Headcount % by Tenure (Years)

Headcount % by Gender*

Headcount % by Age (Years)

Headcount % by Nationality

E N G A G E M E N T S U R V E Y

P A R T I C I P A T I O N

E M P L O Y E E E N G A G E M E N T S C O R E

55%

6.9 <1 1-2 3-5 5-8 8-10 10+

Female Male

*excludes frontline labour

Europe & the Americas Middle East & North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Asia & Oceania

<20 – 0% 20-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 60+

34%

39%

19%

7%

1% 0%

19%

20%38%

9%

1% 13%

39%30%

32%

37%

1%

61%

Recognition

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

R E S P E C TEngagement & Retention Security Pay & Incentives

Education & Career Growth Conditions Truth

A well-equipped workplace that is physically comfortable, safe, diverse and socially inviting.

Opportunities to develop skills over the course of a productive career.

Fair compensation in exchange for delivery on fair expectations.

Confidence that solid work and a well-managed organisation lead to greater job security.

Work that is interesting, challenging and fun.

Acknowledgement for a job well done.

Frank, honest, frequent and transparent communication.


O U R P E O P L E

1. RecognitionYou Rock ProgrammeThe Averda You Rock programme is a peer-to-peer recognition initiative to celebrate success and acknowledge staff achievements. Employees appreciate each other by nominating each other through certain categories.

Our leadership champions this programme using #YouRock for real-time recognition to recognise employees publicly for the exemplary work they do on a daily basis.

Long Service Awards Averda recognises the employees who have completed long service with Averda in terms of positions handled, number of years of loyal service and their evolution with Averda over the years.

Long Service Awards also take place as formal annual recognition ceremonies at which we celebrate individuals who have stood the test of time in their contributions to Averda.

PRIDE ProgrammeAverda PRIDE ‘Personal Responsibility In Delivering Excellence’ is a monthly recognition programme for our frontline staff that acknowledges them for their excellent performance.

Labour Day is celebrated globally to acknowledge the hard work and achievements of workers. In 2018, Averda Gabon recognised the contribution of 15 frontline staff (drivers, helpers and technicians) by presenting them with trophies for their exemplary performance.

The Centre of Waste Management also partnered with Averda to honour Averda Abu Dhabi and Al Ain employees on Labour Day. The event was held in Abu Dhabi in the presence of their senior management and strategic partners.

Customer Centricity AwardsAverda Customer Service is the group that manages our client relationships with the utmost care and professionality. An awards programme for the Customer Centre team (semi-annual and monthly) takes place to identify and recognise the Best Agent, Most Reliable Agent, Most Efficient Agent and Best Quality Agent.

The recipients are given Certificates of Recognition, gift cards and gifts as a reward to promote excellent customer service.

2. Engagement & RetentionEmployee engagement remains a key process for Averda. We have benefited greatly from year-on-year improvements in our engagement levels. Currently at 68%, we are equivalent to the Middle East average and within 11 percentage points of the upper quartile threshold.

Each year, we identify areas in which we can improve engagement levels through a number of business-wide and local-level action plans developed by our network of Employee Engagement Champions. Last year, we focused on creating the Year of the Employee as a way of prioritising programmes and initiatives for our people.

We hold annual management townhalls, workshops and tours for our employees where we share our

progress over the year and strategic priorities for the forthcoming year. Our employees actively

participate in volunteering activities and raising money for charities of their choosing and commemorate sporting and special events, holidays, birthdays and National Days together as a family.

International Happiness DayAs part of the United Nations International Day of

Happiness on 20 March, our colleagues came together to share happiness as one Averda family. The happiness moments from across our markets are captured in events, initiatives and videos shared on our internal media outlets.

Dream BigA video series highlights our frontline staff who relentlessly work hard to make their big dreams come true! The programme was introduced to give them a platform to share their personal success stories from building a home for their loved ones to providing better education for their children.

FIFA World Cup ChallengeAs FIFA World Cup football fever gripped our team across Averda in 2018, the company followed suit by organising global challenges and activities:

A year of RESPECT

WORLD CUP FIFA CHALLENGE

PRIDE PROGRAM: THE CENTRE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT PARTNERED WITH AVERDA TO HONOUR AVERDA ABU DHABI AND AL AIN EMPLOYEES ON LABOR DAY..

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Recognition

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

R E S P E C TEngagement & Retention Security Pay & Incentives

Education & Career Growth Conditions Truth

- In the FIFA World Cup Challenge, Averda employees joined hands across the markets to support our favourite teams and the finalist who predicted the World Cup champion was gifted with an Averda Champion jersey.

- The FIFA World Cup Trivia Quiz challenged our colleagues’ knowledge on FIFA facts and figures. The winners were given some exciting sporting gifts.

- The Penalty Shoot-out was an exhilarating game where our leadership team competed along with our employees.

The Averda Sail TeamAverda Oman Sail was established in 2008 to rekindle Oman’s maritime heritage, promote the Sultanate of Oman around the world through sailing and provide long-term opportunities for the youth of Oman. This was the third year that Averda has partnered with Oman Sail. Every year, we conduct several beach clean-ups, events, and work with the youth to help protect the coastline.

Team Averda performed brilliantly this year, finishing in third place. Big congratulations go to our Olympians who not only put all their hard work in finishing the race in the top three, but also safeguarded Oman’s beautiful coastline through a series of beach clean-ups and events. The prize giving ceremony was held at Muscat’s National Museum of Oman and attended by guest of honour His Excellency Sayyid Saud Bin Hilal Bin Hamad Al Busaidi, Minister of State and Governor of Muscat.

3. SecurityAverda is committed to fostering a high-performance culture and each employee deserves to have clear objectives, ongoing feedback and coaching.

Performance ManagementUnder our centralised global ERP tool, each employee receives clarity on what is expected of them each year, and to ensure their objectives are aligned with those of the organisation. Performance Management at Averda is not an annual activity but an ongoing and continuous process of goal review, frequent meaningful conversations between employee and manager and exchange of positive and constructive feedback.

Enabling our people to perform better is a critical priority for our business. Averda’s Annual Goal Setting & Performance Management Cycle aids employees to gain clarity on what is expected of them each year,

ensuring objectives are aligned to our strategy. Local HR representatives conduct learning sessions across the business to explain this approach at the commencement of year and provide a demo of the online system which has been built in-house and customised to our requirements.

With 2018 as the “Year of the Employee”, it was the perfect opportunity during workshops to launch tools and training to drive this initiative forward across every

market. Under the framework of RESPECT, leaders receive a high-level overview on some of the great

people initiatives that are already underway, as well as a glimpse into new programmes

to come.

Career Planning & Internal Movements

At Averda, we believe that employees shape their own careers with adequate support

from their leaders and the organisation. Employees are given opportunities to discuss

their short and long-term career aspirations with their line managers in addition to

performance objectives and identify their strength and developmental areas through a structured Career Development Plan.

Averda also believes in the upskilling, development and training of our people.

Our vacancies are published first on the Averda Intranet to promote internal

promotions or lateral movements within the organisation. A detailed job description is shared with our employees across the globe. Any employee with the required skillset is encouraged to apply with priority and goes through a just selection process.

4. Pay & IncentivesAverda offers a competitive reward package which encourages high individual and team performance and helps us attract and retain key talent.

Drive Right IncentiveAverda recognises our frontline employees as the key to ensuring efficiency is delivered in our service delivery with a local flavour. The Drive Right incentive lays out measurable KPIs to recognise and reward our frontline contributions in achieving Averda’s standard service delivery. It also aims to enhance adherence to quality, health and safety standards in their daily tasks.

Monthly Frontline IncentivesThe top 10% of drivers and helpers are entitled to incentives based on performance, which is evaluated through scorecards and reviewed by the Operations team. The frontline staff are assessed based on including customer ethos, team ethos, vehicle condition and reliability.

AVERDA OMAN SAIL WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2008. TEAM AVERDA PERFORMED BRILLIANTLY THIS YEAR, FINISHING IN THIRD PLACE.


O U R P E O P L E

Pay Right We refer to trusted third party sources, tools and data for market salaries, benchmarks and expat movements to ensure we are aligned with similar sized organisations. This enabled us to take a more confident stance on our monetary provisions and focus package negotiations around non-monetary benefits such as additional home leave days, flexible pay, delivery set-ups etc.

Refer & EarnTo address some of the manpower supply challenges, we introduced this programme to all our helpers (frontline) to refer their family or friends. The referred employees display performance and discipline due to our existing employee’s accountability. The referee feels engaged as we encourage their input and reward them when they recommend the most promising candidates. It also helps in “building a home away from home” as the employee feels at ease knowing someone from their home country is joining Averda.

5. Education & Career GrowthAverda is committed to providing opportunities for personal growth and development throughout each employee’s career.

Averda Master ClassMaster Class is a peer-to-peer learning series to help employees share knowledge with each other. Averda organises training on MS Office, Communication, Awareness on Safety Management Systems and Security Awareness, conducted in-house by employees who volunteer to share their knowledge in their area of expertise. Over 100+ hours of learning have already been completed through this knowledge sharing programme.

Learn English ProgrammeAn initiative launched for our frontline employees to give them an opportunity to improve their English language skills. This six-month programme is in collaboration with Smart Life NGO which aims to help employees communicate better on the job, improve their long-term employment prospects and help them integrate better in the community they live and work in. Since the beginning of the year, 18 of our frontline staff have gone through the English classes and now graduated to the next level of classes. The NGO recognised the students with top marks and attendance in front of dignitaries and guests and conducted panel discussions to showcase the students’ improved English language skills.

We are proud to say that Averda was represented by our staff across all levels and the entire event was inspirational as we heard our frontline employees speaking confidently and displaying their English language skills.

The new batch of students started their classes September and we will be seeing many more come through with flying colours in 2019.

‘All on the Ground’ InductionsAll on the Ground provides an opportunity to our office staff to experience the realities of Averda

Operations and learn about our core business through a series of fun and

informative sessions and job shadowing covering the following:

• Site tour & overview of operations• Safety overview • Introduction to fleet and maintenance• Vehicle dispatch demonstration• Participant activity such as sorting, waste collection,

sweeping, bin washing etc.

International Assignments & Global MobilityAverda adopts a “70-20-10” rule of thumb as our leadership development philosophy, which emphasises that the most significant and effective form of professional development (70%) occurs through on-the-job shadowing (formal mentorship accounts for 20% and in-class training contributes 10%). As our assignees are groomed for senior positions, it is the exposure and visibility to top leadership and diverse work experiences that uniquely position them to serve as the future pipeline to our key roles.

6. ConditionsAverda is committed to providing a healthy working environment and improving the quality of working life for all our employees. Our wellbeing strategy aims to support our core values and we believe that the integration of wellbeing in all work activities and practices means a positive environment and culture can be created that is compatible with promoting employee engagement, performance and business success. Our ultimate goal is to improve the health and wellbeing of all our employees and to prevent work-associated ill health, for the overall benefit of our employees and the organisation.

Medical Check-UpsComplimentary medical check-ups are organised for our employees in collaboration with medical clinics every quarter. General (blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure check) & specialised screenings (peak flowmeter check, eye screening) are conducted for employees who participate in the programme. They are also given medical reports about their health condition and highlight any specific concerns that they should address.

Global Wellness DayWellness has always been a priority at Averda. To celebrate Global Wellness Day in February and to promote healthy eating habits, Secret Wellness Buddies shared healthy food with their colleagues over the course of two weeks leading up to Wellness Day. The buddy names were revealed and some helpful health and wellness tips were shared during the celebrations attended by our colleagues across the world. It is an excellent way to bring our Averda families together under a healthy mandate across all our markets.

ALL ON THE GROUND PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO OUR OFFICE STAFF TO EXPERIENCE GROUND REALTIES OF AVERDA OPERATIONS THROUGH A SERIES OF FUN AND INFORMATIVE SESSIONS AND JOB SHADOWING

MEDICAL CHECK-UPS

GLOBAL WELLNESS DAY

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Averda Fitness Challenge 2018Our everyday choices help us become healthy and fit and we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to be healthier by participating in the fitness activities organised in each market. Averda annually launches a month full of fitness or wellness activities across our global operations to bring focus to wellness activities as an organisation.

Moreover, this initiative is successful because of leaders’ and employee readiness in sponsoring the activities and as a result we are a happier and healthier workplace with this exciting challenge.

7. TruthInternal NewsletterAverda publishes an internal newsletter both daily and monthly that highlights the People, Delivery and Client stories from across our markets. The daily content also includes relevant macro, industry and country news to ensure our people are up to date with the latest developments and keep a ‘pulse’ on our business on a real-time basis.

HR HourHR Hour at Averda is exclusively devoted to address the concerns of our frontline staff primarily related to salaries, overtime, medical insurance claims, reimbursements etc. HR representatives visit the sites every month on a designated day for a 1-2-1 with the frontline staff to ensure speedy resolution of their queries.

Employee VoiceAverda dedicates a day on an annual basis for every office employee to catch-up with HR outside the office and discuss any issues, or concerns or to share any ideas or suggestions for improvement to make Averda a better place to work.

CEO Focus GroupsAverda has grown quite rapidly over the last few years, and with that growth we’ve faced many challenges. For our leadership, one challenge has been getting to know our employees and remaining in touch with the realities that they face in the business. Therefore during our market visits, Averda’s CEO conducts focus group discussions with a mix of tenured employees and new joiners.

The sessions enable insights to be gathered about our people and the realities they face in their daily work and fuel discussions with the executive leadership and the Board to ensure Averda remains a place where we are all proud to work.

Leadership Communication GuidesAverda’s leaders are equipped and ready to face the day with a communication guide that helps them to have a more effective conversation with our employees around

People, Delivery & Client. All our leaders are encouraged to use this guide when they engage in conversations with their people.

Each business leader is given a Manager Toolkit to guide and support them in the

RESPECT implementation process. We have achieved the below stated objectives through the

People session and launch of the RESPECT model:

• Aligned understanding of what it means to RESPECT an employee at Averda

• Provided necessary tools to achieve RESPECT with their team members

• Helped business leaders understand how to take suitable actions for RESPECT implementation depending on the feedback from their team members

We believe that employee engagement is not just an HR job. It is a shared responsibility with all business leaders. This helps make engagement a priority and a non-negotiable gene at Averda.

Annual HR SummitAverda conducts an annual HR summit inviting all global HR representatives from across our markets. Each HR representative showcases their local business achievements, highlights challenges they face, identifies creative solutions, and gathers cross-border learnings.

We use this event as a platform to launch Employee Engagement strategies and implement the RESPECT framework and initiatives across Averda. The summit also highlights the HR Team’s strategic role in ensuring we follow the model across the business around the globe.

Quarterly Business WorkshopsQuarterly, Averda holds an operations workshop

under the guidance of our CGO, Mazen Chebaklo – and his vision for operations leadership across our business. The workshop is a way of bringing Averda’s global operations leaders together to discuss challenges, exchange ideas and realign local objectives against the company's strategy.

The operations workshop for 2018 comprised operations leaders from the CBUs (Country Business

Units) and Corporate Functional Units. The agenda included presentations from each country’s leader highlighting recent achievements, market challenges, and 2018 priorities. Themed breakout sessions focused on the three core pillars of our business – People, Delivery & Client – giving participants a platform to discuss, in depth, the challenges and opportunities within each area, while workshop hosts (the corresponding functional leaders) presented their 2018 plans to transform the company’s performance in these areas.

It is an opportunity to step away from the day-to-day pressures they face and spend valuable time on strategic alignment and professional development.

AVERDA FITNESS CHALLENGE 2018: EACH YEAR AVERDA FOCUSES ON THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF ALL ITS STAFF WITH A MONTH OF FITNESS ACTIVITY

QUARTERLY, AVERDA HOLDS AN OPERATIONS WORKSHOP

CEO FOCUS GROUPS

ANNUAL HR SUMMIT


D I V E R S I T Y A N D I N C L U S I O N

verda believes that a diverse workforce with unique and different perspectives adds value to the way we do business. To achieve our business objectives, it is essential to have a productive environment, representative of and responsive to different cultures and groups, where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. Therefore, we all have a responsibility to embrace and support this vision and must continue to challenge behaviour and attitudes that prevent us from achieving this.

Averda is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and to avoiding unlawful discrimination in the workplace or against customers. Averda will not discriminate directly or indirectly in recruitment, employment or post-employment practices on the grounds of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, race (which includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), sexual orientation, religion or belief, or because of marital or civil partnership status.

Diversity & Inclusion PolicyAverda understands that one of its most powerful tools for achieving sustained success is its ability to recruit and retain a high-performing workforce that embraces diversity and promotes inclusivity as a catalyst for new ideas and innovation. Our diversity, respect and inclusion policy is to create and support a diverse and inclusive workplace and embrace the benefits of diversity to achieve a competitive business advantage.

We are committed to providing a work environment which is diverse, inclusive and recognises that people from different backgrounds, experiences and abilities bring fresh ideas and innovation to improve our business and practices. We want to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded in our culture, and reflected in our people and behaviours which will help us to better serve our customers. Our focus is to ensure we recruit, retain and develop people from diverse backgrounds, treat them fairly and protect them from discrimination, bullying or harassment and to take appropriate steps when complaints arise.

Ramadan & Eid GatheringsAverda families across the globe gather together annually to commemorate the holy month of Ramadan. Our Executive Team visits every market during this time and invites all employees across our multiple projects to join in breaking their fasts. The gatherings bring the Averda family together annually to “break bread”.

Diwali: the Festival of LightsDiwali, a traditional Indian festival, symbolises the triumph of good over evil and light over darkness. Averda commemorates the occasion by dressing in their best Indian costume and engaging in activity to celebrate the festival with our employees of Indian descent.

Celebrating Diversity at

Averda

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The Holiday SeasonAverda families every year get together to celebrate the holiday season. The gatherings are an opportunity for teams to celebrate the milestones accomplished over the course of the year and aligning on our vision and initiatives for the coming year.

Commemorating National DaysNational Days in the countries where we work not only give us an opportunity to celebrate with our local employees but also to promote awareness and cleanliness amongst residents.

November is a special month in Oman’s calendar. It is the month that portrays Oman’s glory, pride, and progression. Every year, 18 November is celebrated with utmost joy and happiness as the National Day.

Averda Oman celebrated this day at all its sites with all the employees; with decorations, food and other celebrations, there is something for everyone to commemorate the day. The team showed their love and loyalty to Oman and took pride in its achievements as they celebrated the 48th National Day of the Sultanate.

Averda employees also participated in several events around the UAE for the 47th National Day on 3 December. The first was the yearly National Day Festival in Abu Dhabi. Locals gathered to watch the fireworks, the Al Fursan Air show and many other exciting performances. To help celebrate, Averda had an art installation photo frame with the title #AverdaUAE47 for festival goers to take pictures with and branded our trucks for the occasion.

We also participated in another event alongside the Center of Waste Management Abu Dhabi to celebrate the National Day in the Al Hili Fun City organised by the Al Ain Municipality, providing awareness posters, an engaging workshop area for kids to learn about recycling, as well as National Day hats as giveaways.

“Averda understands that one of its most powerful tools for achieving sustained success is its ability to recruit and retain a high-performing workforce that embraces diversity and promotes inclusivity as a catalyst for new ideas and innovation.”

HOLIDAY SEASON

RAMADAN

NATIONAL DAYS


D I V E R S I T Y A N D I N C L U S I O N

International Women’s Day 8 March is celebrated globally as International Women’s Day to acknowledge the achievements accomplished by women across the world.

On this occasion, Averda organises annual Women’s Network sessions and events to celebrate and empower the women of Averda. Women leaders share their stories and experience of how they shaped their careers successfully by breaking gender barriers.

External speakers also give insights about how to manage professional and personal wellness and conducted one-to-one consultation sessions with our female colleagues. Based on the ideas and feedback received from the participants, the agenda for the future sessions is rolled out globally.

Empo

wer

ing

The Women of Averda Congo: Strong and ProudAverda Congo celebrated 2018 International Women’s Day by participating in “The Time Has Come: Rural & Urban Activities Transform Women’s Lives Parade” with the local community.

The parade took place under the patronage of the Congolese Prime Minister Clément Mouamba, in the presence of First Lady Antoinette Sassou N’Guesso and the Minister of Women Nefer Ingani. Averda Congo proudly took part in the parade with 17 of their fabulous female employees. They crossed the famous Boulevard Loango with great joy followed by one of Averda’s bin washers which had all their portraits printed on the side of the truck. The driver was also another female employee.

Celebrations take place in our global offices and sites as a day to recognise our female workforce as an essential part of Averda’s business – thank you to the women of Averda around the world!

the women of averda

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATES THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF WOMEN ACROSS THE WORLD. AVERDA ORGANISES EVENTS TO CELEBRATE AND EMPOWER THE WOMEN OF AVERDA.

5 8 A V E R D A . C O M

Also in commemoration of the month, local telecoms provider MTN partnered with Averda to clean up the area around Kintélé stadium.

The stadium is a privately owned institution and an impressive structure that is famous for hosting the 2015 All-Africa Games – a showcase of Africa’s best athletic performances. Kintélé is a city located outside Brazzaville and not part of our scope of operation, the area itself is privatised and belongs to Kintélé Municipality.

In a show of commitment to uplifting the community and in keeping with Averda’s values, the women of Averda Congo and MTN volunteered to provide litter-picking, weeding and sweeping services in a closed area around the stadium, following a safety training session where they were briefed on the importance of wearing the appropriate PPE (personal protective equipment) and adopting a preventive approach whilst performing day-to-day duties to avoid injuries and accidents. The training was held in Averda’s training room in the Brazzaville office and was delivered by Averda’s local QHSE team.

The Mayor of Kintélé appreciated the work done and publicly thanked Averda for leading the intervention. Meanwhile, the MTN Team valued the experience and expressed gratitude to Averda for the opportunity to serve the community.

“Female leaders share their stories and experience of how they shaped their careers successfully by breaking gender barriers. ”

AVERDA CONGO PARTICIPATED IN THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY PARADE, RECOGNISING OUR FEMALE WORKFORCE AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF AVERDA’S BUSINESS


C O R P O R A T E S O C I A L R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y

Averda Goes to School in CongoAverda Goes to School is Averda’s new CSR programme that focuses on educating children on waste management and recycling. The campaign was launched in Congo with a specially produced cartoon that discusses the importance of protecting our environment. The launch was held in Brazzaville in the company of 18 government ministers and key figures in the education industry.

The cartoon features two characters – Glad, a young Congolese school boy, and Vad, his canine companion. Glad is very proud of his heritage, but he gets upset when he sees his fellow classmates littering. He is the protagonist, teaching his friends how important it is to properly dispose of waste. It goes beyond just his school environment however, as Glad and Vad walk around their local community talking to their neighbours about waste management. The goal of the cartoon is to show that every one of the youth population can take simple steps towards building a cleaner environment that will in turn benefit their health, the economy, and their future. It was important for Averda to produce the cartoon in Congo, so we partnered with a local animation company.

Averda Goes to School goes further than the Glad and Vad cartoon. We are partnering with several local schools to raise awareness about the importance of waste management and recycling.

First and foremost, this means that each of these students will be made aware of the responsibilities they have as model citizens in ensuring they are doing their part to make a cleaner world. They segregate their waste and recycle, as well as learn about new and effective ways to make the environment a better place.

Our school visits include a fun, interactive presentation that demonstrates the proper ways to recycle and handle waste. The presentation includes simple tips and tricks that anyone can do that are positive steps towards a cleaner world. The presentation is followed by a workshop on how to reuse recycled material. Plastic bottles, food containers, plastic bags and other typical types of recyclables are be used for this exercise. The kids learn things like using kitchen rolls to store herbs/plants and decorating used plastic cleaning products to create toys or fun objects. All attendees of the Averda Learn session also receive an environmental award expert certificate.

Averda Goes to School kicked off in Pointe Noire on 22 October at the Jean Felix Tchikaya primary school under the patronage of the Mayor of Pointe Noire, Mr. Jean-Francois Kando. Five other primary schools in the country were visited, with over 2,800 students attending the programme. The programme included an engaging presentation tailored to school children about the importance of protecting the environment.

In order to keep the children engaged even after the school visit, they all received a Glad and Vad comic book, giving them the knowledge they need to take care of their environment.

giving back to our communities

AVERDA GOES TO SCHOOL IN CONGO IS PART OF A CSR INITIATIVE WHICH EDUCATES CHILDREN ABOUT PROPER WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RECYCLING

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Averda Goes to School in KSAAverda also runs this CSR initiative in its Middle East markets.

In 2018, an Averda waste and recycling specialist ran a workshop for students across schools in Jubail, KSA involving a series of games and activities.

Following the ethos of our CSR programme, the goal of the workshop (in line with the KSA vision 2030) was to equip the students with the knowledge and skills they need to help protect the environment and make a positive change to the world they live in.

Averda Goes to School to Clean Up in GabonAverda was proud to support the First Lady’s foundation ‘Sylvia Bongo Ondimba Foundation (FSBO)’ in helping to clean the ENS B School in the 1st arrondissement of Libreville. The clean-up was a great success and a joint effort with FSBO, the association of the spouses of Government ministers (AEMG) as well as voluntary residents.

Averda supplied materials to support the operation including boots, shovels and rakes in order to properly clean the various facilities in the school which included the classrooms, yards, toilets, septic tanks, gutters etc. Averda has now placed several bins around the campus. The students and faculty were very appreciative of the initiative – it had been in a bad state for over 30 years.

The school director, Claude Mve, praised this initiative, “It’s a feeling of satisfaction for me today. The school is pristine once again… the school was in a sorry state.”

IN ORDER TO KEEP THE CHILDREN ENGAGED EVEN AFTER THE SCHOOL VISIT, THEY WILL ALL RECEIVE A GLAD AND VAD COMIC BOOK, GIVING THEM THE KNOWLEDGE THEY NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR ENVIRONMENT.

AVERDA GOES TO SCHOOL TO CLEAN UP IN GABON



Raising Global Cancer Awareness in OmanOctober is dedicated to raise global awareness about breast cancer and to remember the victims, their families and to further support and assist in the rehabilitation of cancer survivors.

Averda Oman was honoured to support the Pink Ribbon Initiative by participating in the annual walkathon conducted by Oman Cancer Association. The Oman team voluntarily got together in a symbolic walk of 2km around Qurum Natural Park to extend CARE towards cancer survivors and their families which also projected this year’s theme of the event “I Care”.

Joining Hands to #ACTFORCHANGE Averda South Africa also partnered with the #ActForChange campaign driven by Shoprite Group for Africa’s biggest clean-up in July. The initiative had over 500 clean-ups take place involving more than 6,000 volunteers across 11 countries, all working together to make a change by joining clean-ups with the goal to recycle and create a cleaner environment.

Averda SA collected waste from selected sites in Johannesburg and Cape Town to sort and recycle. Pictured here, the Averda team collected from a clean-up hosted by Parklands Shoprite Manager, Dyllon Paulsen.

The ActForChange website is a platform that helps bring communities together to clean up waste, either by linking volunteers to their nearest clean-up or by making it easy to host their own.

Sponsoring Next Generation Marine Science Explorers Averda is a proud sponsor of Two Oceans Aquarium – an aquarium in Cape Town that places emphasis on marine conservation and education. We support them with multiple initiatives per year, most recently with the Marine Science Explorer course. This course is for students from grades 6 to 12 where they learn about all the wonders of the ocean.

From 25-29 June 2018, a class of 51 grade 9 students that were selected from across the Western Cape in South Africa took part in the course. The course was offered to children from all walks of life for free, laying the foundation for protecting the future of our oceans.

Supporting Education through the Big Bad Wolf Averda UAE had a major role as the official sponsor and fundraiser for the world’s biggest book sale, Big Bad Wolf Books, helping raise over 3,000 books.

As an official sponsor, Averda also deployed donation boxes at the event as part of its broader priority of supporting education initiatives in Africa and many other parts of the developing world.

Averda also volunteered to place waste and recycling bins across the venue, which was attended by over 150,000 people over 11 consecutive days.

Raising Environmental Awareness through the Heritage Festival 2018Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President’s Representative and Chairman of the Emirates Heritage Club, Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Heritage Festival 2018 launched in Sweihan City. The festival included many cultural, heritage and

entertainment activities. We were presented at the festival with Tadweer as one of the main sponsors under

the provision of general cleaning services.

The festival took place at the Emirates Heritage Camel Race Track from 21 January to 3 February 2018 and was a great way to celebrate the UAE’s cultural history, bring together families and strengthen our relationship with a key client. We look forward to partnering and celebrating more events with Tadweer and other key clients in the GCC.

SPONSORING NEXT GENERATION MARINE SCIENCE EXPLORERS MEANS THAT STUDENTS WERE ABLE TO LEARN ABOUT THE WONDERS OF THE OCEAN FOR FREE AND HELP PROTECT THE FUTURE OF IT

#ACTFORCHANGE: THE AVERDA TEAM COLLECTED FROM A CLEAN-UP HOSTED BY PARKLANDS SHOPRITE MANAGER, DYLLON PAULSEN.

HERITAGE DAY FESTIVAL 2018

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Showcasing a Better Waste Management Ecosystem in AfricaAs part of its ongoing commitment to the environment and the communities it serves, Averda has been highly involved in the third “Africa Climate Resilient Infrastructure Summit (ACRIS 3)” held in Marrakech, Morocco. In line with the COP22 also held in Morocco in 2016 in which Averda was proactively involved, ACRIS 3 convened a set of high-level expert panels to showcase priority areas of private sector investment for climate resilient infrastructure in Africa – a fundamental building block for Africa to meet its sustainable development goals.

As a sponsor of the conference along with the World Bank Group, The African Union Commission, and The European Investment Bank, Averda contributed to a key panel discussion on Climate Resilient Transport, along with the role of innovation and technology in providing cleaner solutions to the waste management problems faced today.

During the conference, Averda shared its insight and experience regarding the role technology can play in enabling climate reliance waste management services. From smart tracking systems to map the city to GPRS on company vehicles and sensors on the bins, Averda can choose the optimum route allowing it to reduce fuel and emissions in its Euro 5 compliant fleet. Other critical areas covered were the impact on culverts and gutters where heavy rain can quickly bring piles of waste into public areas. Having the right systems and control centre, Averda can address these kind of issues and even report back on problems incurred on the route. Using big data collected from thousands of kilometres of transportation activity, Averda could work with urban planners to identify improvements to infrastructure or safeguard systems against increasingly diverse climate change.

Averda showcased the company’s services and discussed the impact of rainfall and road infrastructure, design and planning on the transport, collection and treatment of waste, and focused on the benefits offered to waste management ecosystems as a result of the improvement of transport infrastructure.

The experience Averda has accumulated in Africa and the Middle East makes the company uniquely proficient in offering specialised, realistic and economically feasible solutions based on a deep understanding of the challenges this region faces in relation to demographics, climate change and economic drivers.

A long-time campaigner for enhanced partnerships between the public and the private sectors, Averda believes such synergy is key to achieve sustainable waste solutions that take into consideration the unique challenges of climate change on waste ecosystems.

Mandela Day: 67 Minutes of Goodwill

K I L L A R N E Y G A R D E N S

G E O R G E

C E N T R A L & VA L K F O N T E I N

Mandela Day is a global call to action to celebrate the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world and the ability to make an impact. Averda SA employees dedicated 67 minutes to numerous activities to make a positive difference and here are some highlights:

Killarney GardensIn Killarney Gardens, Averda participated in a beach clean-up at Blaauwberg Main Beach.

GeorgeIn George, the admin team spent their time at the SPCA showering the animals with love and attention.

Central In Central, Averda hosted a Rosettenville Road clean-up and a family day.

VlakfonteinIn Vlakfontein, the team tackled an illegal dumpsite located opposite the landfill as their clean-up project.



Abu Dhabi, UAEIn partnership with the Centre of Waste

Management Abu Dhabi, Averda UAE supported a large scale beach cleaning initiative aimed

at restoring the city’s famed “cat island”. After Lulu island became littered with plastic debris and threatened the wellbeing of the scores of stray cats who live there, AWAD (Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi) decided to take action. The organisation

reached out to the local embassies of Canada, Australia and New

Zealand to invite volunteers to support the cause, and to the

Center of Waste Management Abu Dhabi to provide the litter-picking and recycling support.

The initiative highlighted how residents’ actions can affect the surrounding wildlife and the environment, whilst raising awareness of available recycling facilities owned by Tadweer and operated by Averda.

A team of voluntary veterinary doctors assessed the feline colony on the island and performed animal health check-ups and treatments.

Averda and the Center for Waste Management Abu Dhabi also launched the first recyclable collection centre in Abu Dhabi.

The centre is located near Al Khalidiya park and operates 24/7, aiming to promote the culture of waste segregation at source and prevent indiscriminate dumping of waste through allocating 16 designated slots for various types of recyclable waste.

Casablanca, MoroccoOn 15 April 2018, the fourth edition of the awareness campaign of cleanliness at Casablanca city was carried out by the Moroccan & Proud Association, with the support of the city council and the prefectures as well as Averda (in charge of districts Lot 2 & Lot 4).

The event is the largest of its kind in the economic capital of Morocco, and covered all the districts with the participation of a large number of volunteers. Many citizens and council members joined to commemorate this occasion which helped to highlight Averda Morocco as a key player under this initiative.

Doha, QatarAverda Qatar participated in “Qatar No Paper Day”, an initiative run by Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC). More than 70 companies from both private and government sectors participated. This was the sixth edition of this initiative. No Paper Day is part of QGBC's ongoing efforts to help schools, companies and institutions to find ways to reduce paper consumption, adopt environmentally friendly practices and raise awareness about sustainability.

Country Manager, Niamh Bray received appreciation from the Director of QGBC Meshal Al-Sharami in recognition of Averda’s efforts under this initiative.

C A S A B L A N C A , M O R O C C O

D O H A , Q A TA R

A B U D H A B I , U N I T E D A R A B E M I R A T E S

D U B A I , U N I T E D A R A B E M I R A T E S

Promoting Sustainability through Campaigns

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Dubai, UAEAs part of the annual awareness campaign for the Smart Sustainability Oasis Project in Dubai, Averda and Dubai Municipality’s waste management department conducted several awareness exhibitions at different governmental entities in Dubai throughout December. Through this initiative, we visited both Dubai Municipality and Dubai Customs. Each visit included a two-day exhibition aimed at creating awareness among their employees and customers to establish a culture of segregating domestic waste. The awareness reflected the importance of realising environmental strategic goals in the region and many were educated on the different types of waste received at the Smart Sustainability Oasis across the Emirate of Dubai. Participants brought over two tonnes of recyclable waste and Canon distributed prizes to those who gathered the most amount of recyclable waste.

An awareness workshop was also conducted at day cares for Dubai Municipality and Dubai Customs where children were educated on the different types of materials that can be brought to the recycling centres and they were encouraged to engage their families on this initiative. The campaign has not only helped us in building our relationship with our clients, but has been a key recycling awareness campaign for families in and around the Emirate.

Averda and the Waste Management Department of Dubai Municipality held a competition under the “Clean up the World” campaign for government school students to collect the greatest amount of paper and plastic waste. The campaign encourages residents to play their part in keeping Dubai clean.

Averda collected over 1.5 tonnes of plastic and paper in one month from 14 public schools in Dubai. The competition aim was to promote and entrench a culture of waste recycling among school students, and also to educate them about the importance of reducing and recycling waste. Valuable prizes were given for first, second and third places.

As a result of our efforts, Averda UAE received an award of appreciation from the Dubai Municipality.

“We are doing our part at Averda by banning single-use plastic items in all of our corporate offices.”

Eliminating Single-use Plastics Across Averda#WorldEnvironmentDay is a great day to reflect about the steps each one of us can take to protect our planet. This year, World Environment Day is dedicated to #BeatPlasticPollution. According to the UN, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050 if we do not reduce the use of single-use plastic. We are doing our part at Averda by banning single-use plastic items in all of our corporate offices. We have customised tote bags and reusable bottles to help in the fight against plastic pollution.



A Time of Drought The three-year drought currently plaguing Cape Town, South Africa resulted in the impending “Day Zero”. On Day Zero, the city’s taps will be turned off and inhabitants will be limited to fewer than seven gallons of water per day, collected from a central distribution point. A situation that so gravely impacts the most basic resource of all has a major impact on the way we do business. In accordance with government rules and restrictions on water usage, Averda South Africa business leaders focused on the implementation of new initiatives within the business to help reduce the daily water consumption.

Between our Blackheath logistics depot and the Killarney Gardens medical waste facility water conservation efforts have included (among others):

• No truck-washing, no bin-washing and no dish-washing (disposables to be used instead)

• Installation of hand sanitisers in all bathrooms• Installation of tanks and downpipes (gutters) to collect

and harvest rainwater• Connected 60K L storage tanks to the toilet system,

so grey water is now used for flushing• Drinking water (in recyclable PET bottles) will be

transported from Klerksdorp to Cape Town using Averda off-duty trucks for staff to have drinking water when Day Zero arrives

• Since 2015, when the government first advised of the forecasted drought, Averda Cape Town has actively reduced its overall water consumption by more than 42%. On the client side, waste volumes have been consistent, and the water crisis has not triggered any decline in revenue for January. However, it is anticipated that some work streams will eventually be affected, so operations leaders and customer representatives are hard at work reaching out to clients to understand how their management of the situation might eventually impact their waste logistics service needs.

A Journey of Survival during the Mekunu Cyclone

In late May 2018, Oman faced one of the most severe tropical cyclones to ever make landfall in the Arabian Peninsula.

Although the PACA (Public Authority for Civic Aviation) issued notices to the public about

the upcoming storm, the expected severity was understated. The cyclone made landfall in

the Salalah region of Oman, on 24 May, lasting five days. This presented the

Averda Oman management team with the challenge of supporting the Salalah community during a period of road blockages and widespread flooding, while keeping its employees safe.

As the cyclone intensified and flooding at the main camps became inevitable, frontline staff were moved into temporary camps to insure their wellbeing. Infrastructural damage left the landfill closed for several hours. Waste containers’ weight increased due to the rainfall, causing the collection team and vehicles to reach their load capacity much more quickly than usual. Green and bulky waste volumes peaked to a never-before-seen level.

To ensure quality service to the community and a quick return to “normal” state cleanliness post-cyclone, 100 additional labourers, ten extra supervisors and managers, 55 tippers, 33 JCBs and other heavy equipment and bin washers were temporarily subcontracted. The Averda crew worked up to 20-hour shifts during this challenging time to ensure that the city returned to its normal state of cleanliness in the fastest time possible.

Clients in Oman expressed gratitude to Averda for the unmatched response rate and commitment demonstrated by the team.

Aiding through national emergencies

A TIME OF DROUGHT IS CURRENTLY PLAGUING CAPE TOWN AND AVERDA IS DOING ITS BIT TO HELP CONSERVE WATER, SUCH AS INSTALLING GUTTERS TO COLLECT RAIN WATER

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Never Stop during Monsoon SeasonDuring the first week of November 2018, Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, experienced a powerful storm that caused widespread floods and infrastructure damage. Fallen trees obstructed various roads causing extreme traffic. The severity of the situation on the ground required immediate intervention from Averda’s special operations team, who worked through a 24-hour cycle to remove all obstacles and restore road access. Forty five tonnes of branches were collected in four days – a significant volume of green and bulky waste.

A four-day action plan was prepared to meet the needs of the communities, where over 20 frontline employees and nine vehicles, including JCBs and tippers, were deployed to tackle the debris.

Our garden teams cut the trees’ branches to ease the tree-removal process. We received a lot of support from citizens, who expressed how impressed they were by Averda’s fast response.

“To the voluntary participants who travelled to Salalah from Muscat to lend a hand, we could not have done it without you. You showed empathy and went above and beyond the call of duty, which is reassuring during times of doubt. It was an honour to work alongside you during this time.”Client in Oman


Mitigating Outbreaks of Listeria The world’s largest outbreak of listeriosis gripped South Africa in 2018, leading to the death of 183 people with a further 961 confirmed cases. The source was traced back to an Enterprise Foods factory in Polokwane, sparking a nationwide recall of processed meats such as polony and viennas.

Listeria-infected meats should not be dumped as this could encourage the spread of the bacteria and put the waste workers at risk. This contagious nature classifies it as infectious waste and means that special handling and proper disposal are important. It is estimated that 4,000 tonnes of potentially-infected food waste was discarded.

There are a number of regulations that govern the disposal of infectious waste to ensure it is segregated from general waste streams, stored and sealed in protective containers and safely transported for treatment. This ensures that no one (human or animal) comes into contact with the dangerous substance.

How is Infectious Waste Destroyed?Untreated infectious waste must not be sent to standard landfills as that could lead to the deadly bacteria spreading or contaminating groundwater and scavenging animals. Infectious waste must be treated and destroyed completely by incineration to ensure that any pathogens are killed.

With 4,000 tonnes of waste waiting to be destroyed, and South Africa’s incineration facilities running at capacity, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) allowed the use of Class A landfills to be used in the disposal of processed meats. This sped up the process of dealing with the contaminated waste before it spread further. Class A landfills are equipped to deal with hazardous materials and contain any risk associated with deadly pathogens such as listeria. Averda’s own Class A landfill, Vlakfontein, deals with 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of hazardous waste every month and was used in the disposal of processed meats.


HELPING TO MITIGATE OUTBREAKS OF LISTERIA BY CREATING A RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN ABOUT DEALING WITH HAZARDOUS WASTE

Averda’s Role in Disposing of Infectious Waste

Upon the DEA’s directive that waste management companies needed to lend a hand, Averda submitted a risk management plan that outlined how it would deal with the hazardous waste and destroy the harmful

pathogens.

In this instance, we trenched the listeria-contaminated food products with

lime. This is because bacteria functionality is pH-dependent and the listeria bacterium remains functional at a pH approaching 10. The lime employed at Vlakfontein has a pH of 13.

Given listeriosis can only occur via ingestion, the only possible risk posed to humans from the landfilling of the waste is if bacteria leaches from the waste body and contaminates groundwater. Bacteria would be neutralised upon passing through the lime barrier.

Vlakfontein is also one of two landfill sites in South Africa that has a 1.2 metre thick containment barrier consisting of HTP liners and compacted clay, which effectively prevents any contaminants from leaching into the ground.

Averda also soaked the waste in brine as an added safety precaution. The salt content of 15% exceeds the bacteria’s tolerance limit and kills it. Soil, air and water quality assessments are conducted regularly to ensure that no pathogens have escaped.

To ensure our workers are protected, Vlakfontein is operated according to stringent ISO Occupational Health & Safety Standards. Facilities also have extensive security to protect members of the public, like waste pickers, who might try to access the sites.

Taking Preventative Measures Against EbolaFollowing the news released in mid-May 2018 of a potential disease outbreak, Averda Gabon’s SHEQ and HR teams quickly mobilised to control the risk of employee infection. The teams worked collaboratively with employee wellness partner CNSS (Social Security Fund of Gabon) to launch an awareness campaign for staff at all levels.

The campaign was designed to ensure employees remained in good health and know how to avoid infection. Classroom lectures, briefings from medics and Toolbox

Talks were delivered to frontline employees. The interactive nature of the sessions prompted general discussions on hygiene and additional related topics.

Similar informative sessions on hygiene and preventative measures for other diseases such as malaria, flu etc. were also delivered.

The quick action from the SHEQ and Clinic departments was both inspiring and a true demonstration of Averda’s ‘Care’ value. Our people’s welfare remains our first and foremost priority.

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“Waste presents unique challenges. We’re here to meet those challenges head on.”


H E A LT H & S A F E T Y

Our commitment to safe delivery

Health, safety and wellbeing is the highest priority within the business and Averda is committed to monitoring and reviewing performance on a regular and ongoing basis. Our goal is to keep our employees,

our customers and the public safe by promoting high standards of health, safety and wellbeing in the workplace and in all our activities. The Board takes overall responsibility for Health & Safety in the Company, including setting policy and reviewing performance.

Our internal audit team carries out periodic visits to all projects to ensure quality assurance, aiming for weekly Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (“SHEQ”) visits. Procedures to maintain or extend quality certifications are independently audited each year at the Group level.

We pay particular attention to workplace security, safety, sanitation and environmental risk prevention by implementing applicable prevention measures required by the relevant regulations. As a baseline, we plan to certify that all operations are covered by QSE certifications ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 (in transition towards ISO 45001) for quality, environmental and security management standards as applicable and as per clients’ and contractual requirements. Currently, over 40% of our projects comply with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications. In addition, over a third of our projects also have OHSAS 18001 certification, which relates to workplace safety. In addition, we maintain adequate and appropriate liability insurance policies for workplace accidents.

Our health and safety performance has continuously improved over the past three years. In certain business units like Abu Dhabi and Al Ain we have also been audited by the OHS Sector Regulatory Authorities, all of which we have passed. In addition, we have purchased SHEQ Management software to improve traceability and global visibility on all incidents, near misses, concerns and audit findings.

SHEQXcellence The management and governance of Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) is clearly laid out in our global programme cleverly titled, SHEQxcellence.

As a part of this programme designed to enhance safety and quality standards globally, a new frontline staff certification programme is underway. The objectives are to increase SHEQ awareness and capabilities among

frontline employees before they assume positions that require operating equipment in order to maintain a high level of SHEQ competency on each operation’s site.

Averda completed staff evaluations and training in 2018 and as a result significantly reduced the occurrence of work accidents and equipment misuse. The initiative demonstrates Averda’s commitment to Health & Safety and we look forward to sharing feedback and outcomes under this programme.

The Group Executive Team has endorsed these strategies to ensure that significant risks are identified and suitable controls implemented along with adequate supervision, information, training, monitoring and regular reviews.

We have invested in developing the safety leadership behaviours of our senior business leaders. Over 70 senior operational business leaders received health and safety training in accordance with SHEQxcellence. Equally, we continue to ensure our operational teams have access to the highest standards of health and safety competent advice and support. Our SHEQ team undertook and completed training in disciplines such as process safety, OSHAD certification and ISO auditing.

“Ke Nako – It is Time…”South Africa’s QHSE team launched “Ke Nako”, a sustainability focused employee engagement and accountability programme focused on reducing incident rates and enhancing the culture of quality, safety, health and environmental awareness throughout the business.

One of the primary objectives of the programme is to enhance the sense of personal responsibility among employees so that they can count on each other to both uphold Averda’s QHSE standards and keep each other accountable. Instilling a sense of responsibility is a key means to achieving the desired cultural change to fulfil the vision of “safer people, stronger planet and successful business.

N E A R M I S S E S C L O S E D

74%

LT I F R ( L O S T T I M E I N J U R Y F R E Q U E N C Y R A T E )

11.23

G L O B A L T R A I N I N G P R O G R A M M E S F O C U S E D O N H E A LT H & S A F E T Y

87%

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Ke Nako’s focus is not only on SHEQ, but also on service delivery. Therefore, in addition to driving a reduction in critical KPIs such as fatalities, permanent disabilities, needle stick injuries, lost time injury, near misses and vehicle accidents, it also aims to build employee awareness about the risks across the business’ operations and enhance risk identification and management capabilities. A risk register will be a vital output of the first month’s programme, the creation of which will be incentivised with awards for business units and departments.

The programme roll-out officially began on 5 March with events at all business units. Road shows, community engagement initiatives and environmental awareness campaigns will soon follow with the full support of the South African management teams.

World Day for Safety and Health at Work

28 April is World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Averda scheduled a series of events across all projects. The event included health and safety inductions delivered by local SHEQ representatives. Personal hygiene and best practice demonstrations were also presented by external medical professionals. Based on performed written evaluations, 13 employees were rewarded for considering safety first while executing their tasks.

Local SHEQ officers were a massive contributor to the success of the whole programme. The leaders of projects extended the health and safety recognition to the whole month of April by partnering with local driving companies and centres to deliver defensive driving awareness sessions to their heavy equipment drivers, which came at no cost to the Company.

The three one-hour sessions highlighted safe driving practices and vehicle checks. A key output for the staff was understanding their responsibility in performing the checks in addition to tips on managing the challenges associated with road usage.

Averda Congo ran events in three parts:

1. Health and Safety induction training delivered by SHEQ officers. Short educational videos were displayed on large screens that were placed on sites during the day.

2. Personal hygiene and the best practices to prevent diseases was the title of the presentations that were discussed in Brazzaville by a doctor from Pasteur Clinic and in Pointe Noire by a doctor from Net Care clinic. The presentations were well animated by the doctors who asked and discussed with the employees on their daily practices.

3. The handing over of awards (for the foreman) who successfully passed the safety evaluation and who always showed high operational performance.

The QHSE Compliance Officer in Qatar conducted a ‘Train the Trainer’ session for a selected batch of frontline and support staff on effective delivery of Toolbox Talk (TBT). The session covered importance, design and delivery of Toolbox Talks and some practical exercises. The focus

and content were refined based on the attendees’ input.

The trained staff will help us further drive and champion the “Safety First” culture amongst other colleagues. To help the first-time trainers, a weekly schedule has been shared and the

trainers are actively encouraged to conduct TBT.

The global event was also used as an opportunity to award certificates to employees

who successfully completed the Staff Certification Programme launched earlier in the year.

Global SHEQ WorkshopsThe SHEQ department annually holds a workshop, during which SHEQ function leaders from the GCC and Africa markets come together to align on the year’s priorities and strategic objectives.

This year’s workshop was a three-day event aimed to intensify the Company’s safety, health, environmental and quality aspirations and targets, whilst providing local SHEQ leaders with the knowledge and tools to maximise performance within their field of expertise. This was achieved by conducting software training, an informative site visit, and a focused guideline session directed by the Group Chief Risk Management Officer (CRMO) and Group SHEQ Manager.

Emphasis was placed on the need for SHEQ staff to consistently challenge the local leadership and even escalate risky behaviours when required in order to minimise risks that sometimes slip under the radar. The workshop proved to be a highly beneficial knowledge-sharing platform that reinforced the Company’s core values while improving the productivity and alignment within the SHEQ department.

“Our goal is to keep our employees, our customers and the public safe by promoting high standards of health, safety and wellbeing in the workplace and in all our activities.”



Road safety at Averda

Averda also recognises the risk of driving in and around public areas and the for Road Traffic Accidents involving one of our vehicles. As part of our continual commitment to safe and responsible driving we are investing in a new

defensive driving programme for our professional drivers, along with other road and safe driving measures.

Dedicating a Week to Road SafetyAverda Abu Dhabi initiated a Road Safety campaign, which was delivered to the drivers in coordination with Abu Dhabi Police, who supported the theme of the training and participated free of charge. Pre-dispatch TBT, pre- and post-trip inspection (VCR), driver distraction, speed limits and driving in low visibility were some of the topics, identified by the SHEQ team as key to the targeted knowledge refresher and road safety awareness. The daily sessions were carried out by local SHEQ Officers, whose expertise in the safety field has been highly beneficial to staff training.

The Abu Dhabi Police team shared real life videos from accidents with lessons learned and spread awareness for the rules and regulations, giving examples of best practice behaviour on the road.

'Slow down, it’s a limit not a target', is only the first of many sessions that we intend to dedicate to road safety. The campaign concept aligns with the company’s goals and aspirations for keeping its people safe. This couldn’t be achieved without management’s commitment to the cause, who ensured the staff were available for the time slots.

Embedding a Defensive Driving Culture Averda Congo rolled out a Defensive Driving Training and Certification Programme in partnership with Servtec – a leading training firm responsible for the certification of major companies in Africa, including Total.

The training was the largest of its kind within Averda GCC and Africa, with a total of 80 participating drivers. The programme’s objective was to improve the drivers’ approach to controlling and mitigating driving risks

despite surrounding conditions and the actions of others and enhance their overall sense of

safety on the roads.

The curriculum consisted of driving theory pre-assessments and practice, classroom training, practical sessions and drivers’ evaluation. The course material comprehensively covered

related topics such as vehicle pre-inspection, driving in demanding

circumstances, incident management and more.

The four-week programme ran in Averda's Brazzaville premises during May 2018 and in Pointe Noire during June-July. Programme evaluations will take place on both an annual and as-needed basis moving forward, in order to ensure the knowledge and skills gained remain fresh in the drivers’ minds.

Upon completion of the programme, the best performing drivers were identified and rewarded. To build on this initiative, Averda Congo will outsource driver pre-assessment as part of its recruitment process to establish a uniform standard of safety excellence.

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“The Abu Dhabi Police team shared real life videos from accidents with lessons learned and spread awareness for the rules and regulations, giving examples of best practice behaviour on the road.”



SHEQ Intelligence & Reporting

• Protecting and caring for the welfare and development of our employees, our customers and the local communities in which we operate;

• Strictly adhering to professional ethics, acting with the highest integrity and honesty in all our relationships.

The performance of the Integrated Management System will determine the success of our business, and Averda encourages all employees and business partners to cooperate in its quality, health, safety and environment protection aims. Following the SHEQ Workshop in Dubai held in April 2018 where local SHEQs gathered to align and share process-expertise, the global SHEQ team achieved a fundamental milestone on one of their initiatives. They implemented Gensuite software across the GCC. Configuration activities were performed to review an extended scope of software features and finalise a proposal for a tailor-made version addressing Averda’s needs. A list of departments, projects, processes and activities was added, whilst ensuring assignment of roles and responsibilities.

Another key element of the roll-out was training the “end user”. Flexibility was given to each business unit to choose from classroom and “door to door” implementation where training was delivered to departments separately.

Results from the external audits will be documented through the system, enabling better exposure of the issues, improvement feedback and local teams’ coaching.

Training for SHEQxcellenceTo build a culture of SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment & Quality), the responsibility of understanding and enforcing ISO standards and practices must sit not only with the quality assurance, SHEQ and auditing functions, but also with leaders across the organisation.

That’s why the SHEQ management and supervisory team were invited in mid-November to attend an ISO Awareness session focused on ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management System), and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health & Safety). The two-day training was organised and conducted by Bureau Veritas in Averda’s Dubai Corporate Office.

Averda is committed to provide environmental services as per the highest standards of quality, health & safety and environment. We have developed a comprehensive management system compliant with the requirements of OSHAD SF Version 3.1, ISO 9001:2015, OHSAS 18001:2007, and ISO 14001:2015.

Averda is committed to maintain and continually improve its effectiveness through:

• Allocating appropriate OSH resources, to ensure the development, implementation and maintenance of the SHEQ; Management System

• Understanding the needs and requirements of all our customers and consistently delivering services that meet or exceed their expectations;

• Inspiring others by passionately delivering innovative environmental solutions that care for our world;

• Meeting compliance obligations including regulatory, legislative and other requirements in the United Arab Emirates to which Averda subscribes and meeting the contractual requirements while assisting our customers in meeting their environmental strategies and targets;

• Identifying health, safety and environmental hazards/aspects arising from our activities and reducing risks and impacts to the lowest practical levels through our comprehensive risk and environmental impact assessment programmes;

• Auditing and improving the implemented work practices on a regular basis;

• Providing a quality service while minimising any adverse effects on health, safety and

environment;• Setting and reviewing objectives

for prevention of nonconformities and incidents in order to continually improve the effectiveness of our management system and environmental performance;

• Promoting the protection of environment and prevention of

injuries, ill health, environmental pollution and the optimal use of natural

resources and energy;

• Providing a safe, rewarding and supportive work environment;

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In March 2018, the Center of Waste Management Abu Dhabi and the sector regulatory authority under OSHAD (Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety & Health Centre) invited their waste management and pest control partners in Abu Dhabi, including Averda, to participate in on Occupational Health & Safety Week. The event takes place annually and is a well-established industry platform for knowledge-sharing and consultation.

Averda Abu Dhabi was recognised and awarded for “Recording & Managing the Highest Number of Near Misses” in the waste sector for a second consecutive year. The awarding body measured the participants’ performance by reviewing their Quarterly Environment Health & Safety reports and as impressed with the efficiency with which Averda captures and closes its near misses in a sustainable manner that prevents future re-occurrence. The award was presented by the EHS Director and the Managing Director of Tadweer.

Averda’s Abu Dhabi-based SHEQ team was also honoured to deliver an industry best-practice presentation on its Staff Training & Certification Programme.

Being awarded during Tadweer’s Occupational Health & Safety week puts Averda in the spotlight amongst its competitors, where we are not only recognised for our quality of service, but also for our commitment to safety.

The Qatar Fuel Additives Company Limited (QAFAC) celebrated an exceptional safety milestone of 10 million work man-hours without Lost Time Incident (LTI) at a ceremony in QAFAC plant in Mesaieed Industrial City held on 26 February, 2018.

In a show of appreciation, QAFAC recognised its contractors, including Averda, for upholding its safety standards and adhering to the rigorous systems, processes and strategies that enabled this remarkable achievement.

The event was attended by management executives from QAFAC’s main contractors, and representatives from all site workers including Averda’s trained and exemplary drivers and helpers. Some of the other companies present included Gulf Warehousing, Petroserv, Honeywell, Velosi and many more. Welcome speeches were given by the Head of Safety Mr. Nadeem Ahmad Bashir, Mr. Khalid Sultan Al-Kuwari – QAFAC Board Director and Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Khalid Al Hitmi – QAFAC Chief Operating Officer.

The half-day event was a great opportunity for Averda to demonstrate our programmes on health and safety and showcase our commitment to delivering waste management services that meet environmental, sustainability, security and quality standards and at the same time impart our core mission, vision and values among the hundreds of guests visiting the individual company stalls built for the event.

“Averda is committed to provide environmental services as per the highest standards of quality, health & safety and environment.”

The main objective was raising awareness within management and supervision on ISO standards, their purpose and benefits in addition to structure, design and key concepts. Emphasis was placed on the need to view ISO standards not as a set of requirements that are reviewed and improved during audits, but as the minimum acceptable standards for day-to-day procedures across the business.

A group risk-assessment exercise was the highlight of the session. The exercise underscored the need for routine, structured collaboration in identifying and managing risks, in preparation for a 2019 workshop series that will aim to analyse and improve SHEQ management systems across the business.

This refresher – and for some, this first-time training – is an important step in making ISO standards part of the Averda culture to improve the way we work.

Leading the Way in SHEQAverda is committed to continual improvement of health and safety which is monitored and measured to identify effective key performance indicators such as accident rates. We track leading indicators including compliance assurance, near miss reporting and internal audit findings.

We have also reviewed our systems and carried out comprehensive reviews of our risk profiles.


A U D I T S A N D C E R T I F I C A T I O N S

hile safety begins at home, Averda also seeks external accreditation through audit and external benchmarking.

OSHAD & ISO Accreditation Renewals Across GCCAverda prides itself on having been one of the first waste management service providers in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to obtain a certification back in 2015 from OSHAD (Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety & Health Centre), the Regulator for Safety and Health in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Under the supervision of its local authority “Tadweer”, the Centre of Waste Management, we displayed not only transparency and professionalism during the recent audit in July, but also an overall process improvement and standard of excellence concerning our people’s wellbeing.

The audit was conducted by Tadweer’s EHS department (environmental health and safety), which is the Sector Regulatory Authority for the Waste Sector. The auditor expressed satisfaction with the procedures that are in place and our monitoring and controlling methods. He positively recognised our “On the Ground Programme”, “SHEQXCELLENCE Training Programme” and SHEQ “Group on Yammer” and praised the visible leadership through the target-setting, regular reviews and the active participation in SHEQ activities from Averda’s top management.

Averda stands in the very top entities in terms of SHEQ management within the waste sector.

November 28 – 29 marked the final round of scheduled surveillance ISO audits for the UAE for 2018. Audits took place simultaneously across three locations in UAE – Dubai, Abu Dhabi (Lot 2) and Al Ain (Lot 7).

The audits were conducted as part of the renewal of seven existing certifications for Lots 2 and 7, and the addition of Customer Complaints (ISO 10002), Risk Management (OHSAS 31000) and Asset Management (ISO 55001) certifications for Dubai.

The addition of these certifications in Dubai will be particularly noteworthy as they would add to a portfolio of existing certifications that include Quality (ISO 9001), Environment (ISO 14001) and Safety (ISO 18001), and allow the team to bid for the large-scale clients that require them.

Separately, Averda Qatar secured certification for ISO 14001:2015 Environment Standards, successfully renewed OHSAS 18001:2007 and also upgraded to ISO 9001:2015.

The management team received training on all three standards in February 2018, which addressed any existing knowledge gaps and aided in closing process gaps that might hinder the acquisition of the certificates. The training also ensured the management team members were aligned in pursuing this accreditation objective. Irrespective of existing resource constraints and challenges, the team ensured all the needed resources were provided in a timely manner.

This milestone is just one of many in the road to the Averda Qatar team fulfilling their SHEQ objectives.

Morocco ISO Audit and Certification Renewals Averda Rabat has held ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications since 2017. In August 2018, after several months of preparatory work, the local operations support team successfully passed the certification surveillance required for renewal.

Preparation activities involved an internal audit on existing KPI documentation, training and TBT (Toolbox Talks) records, as well as operational processes and site arrangements. Project Manager Yasser Hammoud led the swift and organised team through the preparatory process with support from the procurement team, who ensured the required items and services, such as site repairs and light measurement, were completed in time to secure the renewal. The operations team executed the agreed-upon action points provided by all departments, and local SHEQ team members

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As a result of a “Stage 2 Surveillance” quality audit conducted by Lloyd’s (consultants hired by Averda), Averda Casablanca (Lots 2 & 4) successfully upgraded to the new and current ISO 9001:2015 and 14001:2015 certifications and also renewed the OHSAS 18001:2007 certificate.

The audit included thorough inspection of the Operations, VC, VMR, HR, Clinic, Store, Facilities, QHSE, Procurement, GIS and Operations Support departments. The results were highly satisfactory, and all minor non-conformities that were raised during the previous “Stage 1 Surveillance” had been closed successfully. No major non-conformities were recorded during this audit and the team showcased its commitment to achieving best practices in safety management.

Simultaneously, as part of the continuous QHSE improvement journey and process growth, a First Aid safety training took place for employees at the Nador project in March.

South Africa ISO14001 Certification The Central QHSE team received ISO14001 certification in February 2018 under the leadership of Zodwa Madonsela (QHSE Manager) and Justin Clarke (GM), supported by Central departmental managers and employees.

The QHSE team received training for ISO 14001:2015 in October 2017, which assisted in enhancing their ability to identify and close process gaps to drive the successful obtaining of the certification. Central managers and supervisors also received training during the preparation stage of ISO14001: 2015.

The training was highly effective in ensuring the management and supervisory team were aligned in pursuing this accreditation objective. Internal training and awareness sessions were administered to all Central employees through Toolbox Talks and presentations from QHSE.

Key factors that played an important role in this accomplishment were the inspiring leadership skills displayed by all and their passion to achieve this goal. The Central team senior management showed commitment throughout the certification process by ensuring all the resources needed were provided and in a timely manner.

“We strive for continuous safety improvements and are proud to add these certification to our depot’s credentials.”


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Documents

ANNUAL REPORT 2018 - Averda … · 13 million citizens under our “cleaning and collection” contracts in Gabon, KSA, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, the Republic of the Congo, South Africa