RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The SAUDI GREEN BUILDING FORUM (SGBF), a trust foundation initiated by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, is continuing its effort to promote the King’s vision of leading the construction industry as a champion of the green building movement in the Middle East by providing green resources to professionals active in green construction and procurement.
Faisal Alfadl, Secretary General of SGBF states, “We are discussing these issues at the annual conference and the challenges facing the building materials of the construction industry, an area unsupported for eco-friendly product procurement in Saudi Arabia.” Mr. Alfadl added, "We are delighted about the opportunity to leverage GreenStar Hub’s technology in SGBF’s mission to provide point-of-access to products, service providers, vendors, and policies by the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) to local communities that are affected by the green built environment."
GreenStar Hub’s (GSH) CEO, Tam Phung, met with stakeholders in Riyadh. The panel discussion revealed a strong interest for green resources, technology, training, and building materials database. GSH intends to use local partners for third party certifications, logistics, and tenders fulfillment. The GSH portal for GreenStar Rated products, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia Accredited Fronds (Sa’af), a green labeled system by SGBF, and SASO will include products available locally to the 700 plus registered green-building specialists, contractors, and other stakeholders.
In March 2014, the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME) decreed that all companies must meet new air, water, and noise pollution standards in five years. All projects must fit into Saudi's plan for international development, and meet international standards as part of the environmental plan to protect Saudi's health and natural resources. GSH is an aggregator of such green policies and international standards.
"Our intentions were to meet SGBF’s guidelines in representing local leaders and stakeholders. I was pleased to visit the Kingdom and meet leading architects, government officials, vendors, and master developers. GSH is passionate about SGBF’s initiative by building technologies using invaluable input from local stakeholders. We are excited to be supporting SGBF Resources to promote an all-inclusive set of standards and outreach for green construction and sustainability initiatives in Saudi Arabia and M.E.,” said Mr. Phung.
SGBF Resources powered by GSH will provide members access to its marketplace and catalog of green products and vendors. Developers can showcase their projects and best-practices on GSH’s GreenWall microblog platform and mobile app. Local vendors and international greentech manufacturers will be able to list products in the portal, and consultants will have access to the resource, many with SASO and Sa’af certifications.
About SAUDI GREEN BUILDING FORUM:
SGBF is a trust foundation initiated by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to promote green construction for a more sustainable and prosperous future in the Kingdom.
Vision - Pioneer green building innovation in architecture, engineering and construction for people, planet and profit.
Goal - Encourage sustainable design, construction and operations of buildings.
Conference – Annual Riyadh conference supported by the Ministry of Municipality and Rural Affairs, local & international NGO’s, and private sector.
Projects - Offer registration of new and existing green buildings that reduce carbon footprint. SGBF is recognized as a US Green Building Council education partner.
Resources - Offer online access to resources to leading authorities, developers, contractors and vendors.
About GreenStar Hub:
GSH is a U.S. based company with offices in NYC and San Francisco. GSH offers a group-buy marketplace for sustainable products and services. GSH’s marketplace differentiates itself from other B2B marketplaces with its proprietary GreenStar Rating using 1-5 leaves. GSR uses stringent criteria and/or third party verification to score products. Sa’af, EnergyStar, EPEAT, EcoSense, Cradle to Cradle, and UL are a few examples of certifications or standards used.
GSH is also a technology provider for businesses and governments. GSH partners with leading technology providers to deliver web and mobile app services based on patent pending technologies. GSH provide platforms for e-procurement, community buying, content management, and smart city enabling technologies. GSH also maintain databases for certifications, tenders, policies, and green building materials.
