Under the patronage of the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli, Tanmiah Food Company, PLC (TFC) announced the winner of Omniprenuership Award-Sustainability Branch. The 2020 $1 million grand challenge was awarded to Polymeron, who have created an innovative solution to convert poultry bio-waste to renewable and valuable source. They have developed technology to make environment friendly biodegradable composite material from biochar. This innovative material will address the plastic pollution and poultry waste and at the same time will enrich soil quality, which will help TFC to reduce its carbon footprint. Polymeron is one of the startups from the "Taqadam" accelerator program of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. The focus of this challenge was to find a solution that will process chicken farm waste in a cost-effective, commercially viable manner to create a positive impact on TFC as a corporate entity, on the environment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ultimately global ecosystem. Nearly 93 competitors worldwide have participated in the grand challenge. The other four shortlisted organizations for this challenge were: Insectum from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Proteinea from Egypt and USA, Greenfield from South Korea, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University from China. Commenting on the announcement, TFC's CEO, Zulfiqar Hamadani stated: "We'd like to congratulate Polymeron on winning this challenge. It is not just a win for them, but a win also for our communities and planet. We are proud that TFC is playing its part in enhancing the Kingdom's march of innovation towards environmental excellence in the poultry value chain." Ahmed Osilan, executive board member and managing director of Tanmiah Food Company, a listed joint stock company with its trademark "Tanmiah", added: "Tanmiah is a leading player in the poultry industry in the Kingdom, providing high quality products to all customers due to its exceptional operating model in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and the Green Saudi Initiative. "The company's national initiatives focus on the growing environmental challenges and how the kingdom is set to confront them in vegetation cover preservation, confronting desertification and reaching carbon neutrality. Moreover, Tanmiah has launched the Million Tree Initiative and one million dollar Omniprenuership Award to achieve the goals of sustainable agricultural development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "In addition, we deeply appreciate and value the patronage of Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture for the award." — PRNewswire
