Sustainability & ESG Consulting Services in UAE and the GCC

Planet First is a Dubai-based sustainability consultancy. We help manufacturers, suppliers and exporters in the UAE and GCC with Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), life cycle assessment (LCA), product carbon footprints, GHG reporting, EcoVadis assessments, FSC and PEFC chain of custody, ISO management systems and ESG reporting. Our experts handle the technical work, from data collection to verification support.

UAE Federal Decree-Law No. 11 of 2024 on reducing the effects of climate change requires public and private entities to measure, report and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, with detailed obligations set by implementing regulations. Many exporters and suppliers are also asked for Scope 1, 2 and 3 data by their customers. We prepare GHG inventories under the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1.

An EPD is an independently verified, published document that reports a product’s environmental impacts over its life cycle, based on an LCA prepared under ISO 14025 and, for construction products, EN 15804. Manufacturers use EPDs to meet project specifications, earn green building credits such as LEED and BREEAM, and supply buyers that require product-level carbon data.

An EPD typically takes 1 to 4 months. The timeline and cost depend on how quickly production data is available, the number of products and sites, the complexity of the LCA, and the verification and registration fees of the programme operator (for example the International EPD System or EPD Hub). We confirm scope, timeline and a fixed quote after an initial consultation.

A life cycle assessment (ISO 14040/44) measures several environmental impact categories across a product’s life cycle. A product carbon footprint (ISO 14067) covers only greenhouse gas emissions. An EPD (ISO 14025, EN 15804) is a third-party verified declaration built on an LCA that follows specific product category rules and is published by a programme operator.

Yes. EcoVadis rates companies on four themes: Environment, Labour & Human Rights, Ethics and Sustainable Procurement. We review your current scorecard, close gaps in policies, actions and reporting, and prepare the evidence before your assessment or reassessment. Scores depend on the documented evidence you submit, so no consultant can guarantee a specific medal.

Yes. We prepare the procedures, training and records required by the FSC chain of custody standard (FSC-STD-40-004) and PEFC ST 2002, and support you through the certification body’s audit. Certificates are issued by an accredited certification body, not by the consultant.

We support ISO 14001 (environmental management), ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety), ISO 50001 (energy management), ISO 27001 (information security) and ISO 37001 (anti-bribery), as well as ISO 14064-1 for GHG inventories and ISO 14067 for product carbon footprints.

Yes. We support clients across the UAE, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman, and across the GCC: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Most work is delivered remotely, with site visits where needed. We also help UAE and GCC exporters meet the requirements of buyers in Europe and North America.

It depends on the service. For an EPD or product carbon footprint we typically need 12 months of production data: materials, energy, water, waste and transport. For a GHG inventory we need fuel, electricity, refrigerant and activity data. We provide data templates and guidance at the start of every project.