A blueprint for a balanced green future
https://arab.news/c7jpc
As the world accelerates toward ambitious climate and development goals, an enduring challenge remains — transforming global commitments into tangible, local action.
The built environment, where people live, work, and interact, stands at the heart of this transformation. It is both a source of emissions and an immense opportunity for resilience, equity, and stewardship of resources.
My new book, “Green Future: Intelligence Versus Wisdom!” emerges at this crossroads of innovation and tradition. It asks a fundamental question: can technological intelligence alone build a sustainable world, or must it be guided by the timeless wisdom that shaped civilizations, ethics, and community life across centuries?
It reflects more than a decade of experience leading the Saudi Green Building Forum — a nongovernmental organization recognized by the UN Economic and Social Council — and presents an Arab perspective on sustainability rooted in culture, faith, and shared human values.
At the center of this vision is saaf®, the Sustainability Assessment Accreditation Framework — a conformity assessment system designed to localize the Sustainable Development Goals in the Arab region. It is built upon international accreditation standards and structured to verify real-world performance rather than reward symbolic achievements. It shifts sustainability from theory to measurable practice, ensuring that buildings, products, and professionals meet rigorous environmental and social criteria aligned with the circular economy and life-cycle thinking.
The future will not be sustainable through algorithms alone; it will depend on values, empathy, and cooperation.
Faisal Al-Fadl
The book also revisits one of the oldest and most profound mechanisms for collective welfare — the Awqaf (endowment) system. Historically, Awqaf institutions financed education, healthcare, and urban development for generations, long before the modern concept of “sustainable finance” emerged.
By integrating Awqaf governance with contemporary sustainability frameworks, societies can restore balance between economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity. In this sense, sustainability is not an imported model — it is a rediscovered legacy.
Green Future argues that centralized, one-size-fits-all models are no longer sufficient to address today’s complex environmental and social realities. Localized innovation, supported by civil society and rooted in cultural understanding, must drive the next phase of development. Communities must become laboratories of transformation — where architecture respects nature, cities regenerate resources, and technology serves humanity rather than replacing it.
This book is not a manifesto of opposition between intelligence and wisdom, but an invitation to harmonize them. Artificial intelligence, data, and smart systems can enhance efficiency, but wisdom — the moral compass drawn from faith, heritage, and community — must define purpose.
The future will not be sustainable through algorithms alone; it will depend on values, empathy, and cooperation.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and its Green Initiatives provide a living example of this synthesis, combining national ambition with global responsibility.
• Faisal Alfadl is secretary-general of Saudi Green Building Forum.
