July 20, 2022
After much anticipation, the Saudi minister for Environment, Water and Agriculture H.E. Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli announced on the 27th March, 2022 that Polymeron - a startup from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s Taqaddam accelerator program - has won the Tanmiah Omnipreneurship Award’s 1-million-dollar sustainability challenge.
The Omnipreneurship Sustainability Challenge was launched by Tanmiah Food Company as an incentive for scientists and innovators to find new ways to reduce carbon emissions resulting from food production operations and find new ways to repurpose waste generated through the poultry production process
The focus of the 2020 challenge was to find a cost-efficient solution that treats poultry waste and creates commercial value which would not only positively impact Tanmiah’s operations, but also affects Saudi Arabia’s environment and the global ecosystem.
A specialized committee of professionals thoroughly examined 93 proposals from across the world before choosing the five finalists.
The grand prize winner, Polymeron, succeeded in converting poultry waste into useful biodegradable materials, while generating renewable energy, thus providing an efficient solution to manage poultry waste and reduce plastic pollution.
Accordingly, Tanmiah’s Sustainability Challenge has expedited the company’s journey to achieve its carbon-neutral status, in line with Al-Dabbagh’s principles of Earning, Giving and Sustaining and supporting Saudi 2030 vision.
