Abstract

The case study describes how the Beeah Group, a public-private partnership initiative in the UAE, went on to build an integrated business model that offered end-to-end waste management services using digital technologies. The case touches upon the challenges and situation prevailing in the MENA region in the early 2000s when the company decided to enter the waste management space through an Emiri decree. The case then focuses on the various services, including waste management and recycling, that were offered through its divisions using cutting-edge technologies like smart waste management systems, recycling robotics, waste-to-energy conversion, blockchain, RFID, GPS, automated route optimization, and mobile applications for a zero waste model. Next, the case touches upon how Beeah restructured itself into a holding company that offered end-to-end waste management services to win large projects and expand into other countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the MENA region. Beeah decided to move beyond waste management into renewable energy, environmental consulting, and radioactive waste management. The company also diversified into the healthcare industry to build a future-ready innovative patient-centric healthcare network ecosystem. In this scenario, the question was whether Beeah had streamlined its full circle zero waste model operations sufficiently enough to scale up and deliver similar projects in other countries in the MENA region. Was the timing right for the company to diversify its operations and move into healthcare and radioactive waste management services and become a pioneering force for sustainable solutions across the MENA region?

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Identify the benefits of a circular economy business model
• Analyze PPP as a viable sustainability model
• Describe how digital solutions help create an integrated waste management model
• Discuss the zero-waste strategy
• Examine the rationale for restructuring a business

Keywords

Climate Change; Sustainability; Business Models; Digital Solutions; Business Diversification; Business Restructuring; Circular Economy