This is unhealthy considering the bad environmental quality of conventional buildings. The gases emanating from paints, floors, ceilings, furniture and carbon gas derivatives have been linked to poor health, and even incurable diseases.
The solution to this problem is simple: Raising the level of public awareness and implementing the concept of green building in society, says Sultan Faden, head of the Founding Group of Saudi Green Building Council (SGBC).
The council is a non-profit organization working under the umbrella of the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment. It is also seeking recognition from the Inter-Ministerial Environmental Protection Council, a government body that has brought together various ministries and government departments at one platform.
The SGBC’s main objective is to promote green building initiative, or in other words to increase the efficiency of buildings. It seeks to minimize the consumption of utilities such as water and electricity and raise environmental awareness.
Speaking to Arab News, Faden said the government spends plenty of money on treating diseases like asthma, cancer and autism.
“This money could be saved if ‘green premium’ is added to the buildings at the design level or to an existing building by modifying it,” he added. “Green premium” is the extra amount spent on a project. According to Faden, it is not more than four percent in a huge project, which is not much if the long-term advantages are taken into consideration.
He said people generally think that the money spent on the construction of a building is the total cost. “But actually it is the initial cost, usually 5 to 10 percent of the cost that you are going to spend on the whole life of the building. It includes utility bills, cost of maintenance as well as the amount spent on the treatment of sick residents because of building environment,” he said. Saudi Arabia spends two million barrels a day to produce electricity, which, along with water, is highly subsidized. Faden said: “This is too big a figure to consume natural resources.”
The Ministry of Water and Electricity is working overtime to seek alternative sources of energy. The Kingdom is already facing power shortages with chances of it going to be worse in the next three years. Faden said one simple solution is green building initiative. Experience from other countries show that 30 to 40 percent could be saved within the building. “From my personal experience at my private office I can say that yes it is possible in Saudi Arabia as well.”
Faden observed that the government departments in the Kingdom were more receptive to the green building initiatives than the private sector. “The reluctance on the part of the private sector is understandable as the concept is new even on the international level.”
He said KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) is the only LEED (Leadership in Environment and Energy Design) certified building in Saudi Arabia.
LEED is the rating system of the US Green Building Council which is given to more sustainable projects. Faden said at KAUST some of the techniques and green building materials have been used for the first time in Saudi Arabia.
According to him, some parts of Princess Noora bint Abdurrahman in Riyadh, King Abdullah Financial Center in Riyadh and Riyadh Techno Valley are also certified by LEED. The head of the only approved body of its kind in Saudi Arabia welcomed the plan to launch King Abdullah Nuclear and Renewable Energy City in Riyadh. It is designed to produce nuclear and renewable energies to generate electricity, produce desalinated water and reduce reliance on depleting hydrocarbon resources.
The council’s another target is to save water. He said the water supply systems in Jeddah and Riyadh are able to cover only 70 percent of the population. Of this one third is lost in the network. Besides, 15 to 30 percent can be saved in each building. “By using the techniques of re-use and recycle, we can improve water efficiency,” he maintained. Faden does not advocate ending subsidies on water and electricity. “We have solutions before we come to the conclusion of demanding end to subsidies. We can save the situation by increasing public awareness. It is doable, it’s not impossible,” he said.
