Palm District Cooling (PDC) was presented with the ‘2008 Sustainability Leadership Award’ at the recently held third International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show in Dubai, organised by the International District Energy Association (Idea), Middle East Chapter.

PDC is a division of Palm Utilities, which is a subsidiary of major investment holding company Istithmar World PJSC.
The company was honoured in recognition of its “exemplary leadership and commitment to a more sustainable environment through investment in innovative water conservation and clean energy technologies.”
Rob Thornton, Idea president, presented the award to PDC operations director Robert Hill.   
“Winning this prestigious award reaffirms Palm District Cooling’s commitment to operating a highly efficient, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable district cooling network that will have a significant positive impact on the natural environment,” said Hill. “We are glad that district cooling is being widely acknowledged as a cleaner, greener and cheaper option when compared to conventional cooling systems, and also that it has become the preferred infrastructure solution, especially following the growing emphasis by regional governments on adopting sustainable energy techniques.”
The third International District Cooling Conference and Trade Show covered energy and environmental trends such as global climate change, water and power conservation, sustainable system design and optimisation and the impact on large urban and mixed-use developments. The conference attracted prominent international and regional business leaders in the rapidly-growing district energy sector.
Palm Utilities, together with its divisions Palm District Cooling and Palm Water, is currently involved in several major turnkey operations in Dubai. To optimise the delivery of district cooling, Palm District Cooling utilises treated sewage effluent (TSE) in the cooling process wherever water resources are scarce and expensive. Palm Water supplies the TSE, which is polished using purposely designed polishing plants. The method reduces the energy required for the cooling process, while the by-products can be reused for irrigation.