Sustainable Buildings in Saudi Arabia: Comparison
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Sustainable building practices are a response to environmental issues. Businesses and industries are assessing how their activities affect the environment. The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries have significant impacts on the environment and economy, while the industry is considered one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has, therefore, been highlighted by researchers as a key area of intervention with a great potential to reduce environmental impacts. 

  • buildings
  • sustainability
  • sustainable building
  • green building

1. Introduction

As humanity’s environmental impact increases [1], businesses and industries are assessing how their activities affect the environment and “’greening” products, processes and services are a response to environmental issues. Meanwhile, the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries have significant impacts on the environment and the economy [2]. Hence, the industry is considered to be one of the largest domains of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with an estimated 30–40% of the total global GHG emissions [2].
In 2021, The United Nations’ (UN) “Global Buildings Climate Tracker” reported that the AEC industry was on track to achieve complete de-carbonisation by 2050 [3]; however, this was a temporary result reflecting the unprecedented effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, a negative rebound is expected in the overall progress unless the efforts towards de-carbonisation significantly increase in the industry [3].
Worldwide, organisations have put forth efforts to include sustainability in their management practices [4]. The term ‘sustainability’ is well-known within the AEC industry, and there is great potential to effect change [5]. The research has highlighted the potential to reduce the environmental impacts resulting from the industry [6] which policymakers have also identified as a key area of intervention [7]. Thus, countries and international bodies have introduced standards, codes and certification systems in order to promote sustainable building practices [8].
The UN agenda for sustainable development has a series of steps that encourage moves towards a sustainable and resilient built environment [9,10][9][10] and the AEC industries are at the heart of this transformation plan towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [1]; therefore, several proposals quantifying environmental goals have been put forth by the UN, e.g., calculating the GHG emission budgets for countries aiming to harmonise spatial, temporal and sectoral target definitions across scales [1]. Moreover, sustainable building practices perform a significant role in achieving the SDGs and, therefore, countries may incorporate the practice into their strategies with an eye on achieving their SDGs [11]. The UN collaborates with Saudi Arabia and other countries using a common strategic framework to support the SDGs. Saudi Arabia has implemented several policies to achieve such SDGs, under the Saudi Vision 2030, which include a series of initiatives, programmes and projects that are in line with the UN Agenda and are interlinked with the SDGs [12].
Buildings in Saudi Arabia consume about 80% of the generated electricity [13]. The sector is also responsible for large amounts of material usage, with the estimated awarded contracts totalling $52.6 billion in 2019, and this spending is expected to increase with the blooming of new mega projects [13]; therefore, incorporating sustainability strategies may lead to significant improvements in the AEC industry.
In recent decades, Saudi cities have grown significantly and this growth has been accompanied by steady infrastructure development [14]; however, the accelerated development and urban sprawl have caused consequences [15].
Sustainable/green building practices can have advantages in terms of buildings and performance [16] and worldwide, decision makers have developed a wide range of initiatives to promote this practice. For example, the Chinese government recently launched a series of policies that encourage such practices in the AEC field [17]. Moreover, sustainable buildings have become a distinct research area [18]. In addition, the research has suggested that there are gaps in “the development of sustainable building certification systems” [19] and the theme is continuously evolving [20].
Public health and human behaviour are pertinent to the built environment. The recent lockdown and measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the coronavirus have caused decision makers to re-examine ourthe built environment and there have been calls to look at the potential advantages of sustainable buildings in this regard [21].

2. Sustainability

Sustainability has become a strategic imperative for almost all industries and businesses [22]. It is seen as a multidimensional concept that encompasses environmental, economic and social aspects. The concept has its origins in the Brundtland Report of 1987 [23]; however, the concept has been interpreted by the UN definition of sustainability as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs [23]. Worldwide, organisations have put forth efforts to include sustainability in their management practices [4]. In 2015, the UN officially adopted the 2030 agenda for sustainable development that guides global action, consisting of 17 SDGs, see Figure 1 [24].
Figure 1. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [24].
Governments have developed their strategies and policies with an eye on the SDGs with sustainable buildings performing a key function [11]. The SDGs are a major international effort to shift the world towards sustainability and resilience. The Agenda calls for international partnerships at different levels to work cooperatively [25], and the UN has highlighted the AEC industry as one of the most concerning areas for intervention that provides opportunities to limit environmental impacts [10]. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the international environmental programme directed by the UN. The programme encourages a global partnership towards protecting the environment by informing, inspiring and enabling [9]. ‘Sustainable Buildings and Climate’ is an initiative by the UNEP programme, and it aims to promote sustainable building practices and provide a platform for action [9]. The initiative develops strategies, methods and tools to assess and implement sustainable building and pilot studies are used to demonstrate the role of the AEC industries in environmental and climate issues [9]. The pilot studies are an initial implementation approach of a project or idea to prove their viability [26]. The UNEP uses this approach to promote sustainability in different cities in developing countries and to examine the barriers to sustainability. The initiative also provides guidelines and case studies for developers to integrate sustainability into planning, design, construction and operation [27]. However, sustainable building practices remain hampered and are limited in many parts of the world; therefore, it is necessary to create an atmosphere that addresses this and encourages all stakeholders to promote this practice [10]. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN have enshrined the right to the highest possible standard of health for everyone [28]. COVID-19 has provided a strong call to reassess ourthe way of living and highlight ourthe built environment’s resilience [29], while the lockdowns emphasised deficiencies and limitations in buildings and urban design [21]. Furthermore, healthy, high-performance buildings and their occupants’ satisfaction are strongly interlinked and are applicable to the definition of ‘health’ by the WHO, which is, “A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” The definition is particularly pertinent to sustainable buildings [30].

References

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