In line with the Diriyah Company’s focus on sustainable development and high quality of healthy life, the Wadi Safar masterplan has achieved the first Gold Pre-certification awarded in the Middle East by the Sustainable SITES Initiatives (SITES®), a rating system administered by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) that evaluates a landscape project’s sustainability across planning, design, construction, and management.
The Wadi Safar masterplan focuses on creating an authentic, luxurious, and sustainable living experience shaped by nature and characterized by exclusive recreation and leisure amenities. It focuses on the rehabilitation and preservation of the natural beauty of the wadi and is underpinned by the three pillars of environmental balance, socio-cultural identity, and prosperity.
Diriyah Company Group CEO, Jerry Inzerillo, said: “It is fitting that the first SITES Gold pre-certification in the Middle East has been awarded to Wadi Safar’s masterplan. This achievement squarely places our project alongside some of the most innovative developments worldwide. It certifies Diriyah Company and Wadi Safar’s commitment to becoming a top destination that attracts residents and visitors who share our ambition for a more sustainable and resilient future. In achieving this certification, the Wadi Safar team and Diriyah Company’s Environmental Sustainability team have demonstrated our shared commitment to these important principles.”
Recognizing Wadi Safar as one of the Kingdom’s premier natural areas, the SITES Gold Precertification positions Wadi Safar among a growing list of top-tier projects across the United States, Japan, Brazil, China, and Canada. It also demonstrates a commitment to the principles of sustainability and resilience, which are central to the Wadi Safar masterplan. As recognition of this commitment grows, SITES Gold Precertification demonstrates the project’s unique and valuable features. It catalyzes community-level support, raises the project’s profile and will continue to attract some of the best commercial partners from around the world.
Diriyah Company is establishing a reputation for sustainability as a leading Saudi developer. Following the recent LEED Platinum Certification for the first phase of Diriyah’s masterplan, the Company has set new regional and global development benchmarks.
“Diriyah Company recognizes that landscapes are not merely beautiful, passive features, but living systems that serve as the world’s natural infrastructure,” said Peter Templeton, president and CEO, U.S. Green Building Council and GBCI. “With SITES, we can build, quite literally, the future we aspire to with approaches that conserve and enhance the land on which we depend, protect our communities from disaster and improve human health. We look forward to seeing a SITES-certified Wadi Safar upon its completion.”
Danny Aoun, Regional Director of Operations at Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners), the Lead Consultant on the Wadi Safar Public Realm and Landscape, commented: “We are exceptionally privileged and honored to be supporting the visionary Diriyah Company Group in its mission to reinvigorate Diriyah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s cultural and historic capital, into a future-fit, sustainable, resilient, and world-leading destination set at the heart of the Kingdom’s unique heritage and rich history. Our vision and design for the Wadi Safar’s public realm and landscape was aligned with the Diriyah Company’s commitment to regional leadership in sustainability and resilience and Dar’s own track record of designing leading and innovative sustainability solutions in the work we deliver for our clients. The result was the Middle East’s very first SITES Gold pre-certification. And as we celebrate this landmark triumph, we look forward to supporting the delivery of this transformative and unique destination, for the Kingdom and for the world beyond.”
There are more than 315 projects participating in SITES, spread across 20 countries, representing more than 1.26 billion gross square feet of landscapes and outdoor spaces. These projects range from university campuses, hotels and resorts, government facilities and public parks to commercial headquarters and mixed-use developments.
SITES Gold Pre-certification yields key performance measures rather than binding practices, which enable compliant sites like Wadi Safar to track and monitor progress. The certification also demonstrates both Wadi Safar and Diriyah Company’s commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles.
This certification was made possible through innovative collaboration across the entire Wadi Safar team and Diriyah Company’s Environmental Sustainability team.