Red Sea Global, the Saudi Arabian firm that is currently developing two of the largest tourism development projects in the world, is also amongst the most ambitious in integrating sustainability in its every aspect. As it prepares to open doors to visitors later this year, it could also set ecological benchmarks for other tourism development projects, not just in the GCC, but around the world.

The figures are mind-numbing and perhaps would need a supercomputer to make sense of. Development of a virgin territory stretching well over 28,000 sqkm, larger than some countries, including 90 islands. Construction of 75 new hotels, adding over 5,000 keys. Building a brand new international airport and the construction of the largest protected marine biodiversity reserve in the Middle east. Contracts worth USD 12 billion already awarded and many more to come.

The seemingly-endless list just goes on. Welcome to Red Sea Global, by far the most ambitious tourism development project, not just in its home country of Saudi Arabia, not even the GCC nations, but indeed the entire world. Red Sea Global is one of the key projects under the Vision 2030 that was launched by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and de-facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman in 2018 as part of a major shakeup of not just the economy but also the society in Saudi Arabia.

Sustainability in the DNA

The Red Sea Global is currently overseeing two distinct projects, The Red Sea and Amaala, which will collectively and significantly enhance Saudi Arabia’s offerings in luxury tourism and sustainability. In fact, the company says that it has adopted sustainability because it is ingrained into its DNA and is not just a passing fad.

“As the developer behind two of Saudi Arabia’s most ambitious and regenerative tourism destinations, our objective at Red Sea Global is to set new standards in sustainable development. Red Sea Global’s ground-breaking approach towards responsible development has seen the company explore and, in many cases, implement experimental technologies and pilot programmes to help solve some of the world’s most complex and pressing challenges, such as off-site manufacturing and modular construction methods at scale, green concrete to limit emissions, destination-wide clean mobility strategies, sustainable food production through new farming approaches, and even a commitment to operate off-grid powered solely by renewable solar energy,’’ Raed Albasseet, Group Chief Environment and Sustainability Officer of Red Sea Global tells India Outbound.

The company’s unparalleled ambitions about sustainability also come from the fact that it is building a new project, starting from a blank sheet, allowing it a huge degree of flexibility and options to include sustainability at every step of the journey towards completion. Indeed, as any company would happily admit, it is far easier to make a new project completely sustainable, rather than go about retrofitting sustainability in something that already exists and runs. RSG has tried to maximise its advantage of building a gigantic project, but from nothing. It says that it has tried to put in sustainability or choose sustainable options at every step of the development.

“It has been a huge advantage for us to develop the destinations from scratch in order to implement the most sophisticated and efficient technology to ensure that we meet our sustainability goals. We have been able to take key learnings from other destinations so that from conception to end product, we can ensure that construction of the destinations adheres to best practice, with a minimal carbon footprint,” Albasseet adds.

The Green Chain

Not only is Red Sea Global ensuring that its own activities have minimal environmental impact, but is also trying to ensure that the entire value chain in the company is sustainable. “Each of the brands and suppliers that we have chosen to work with have been carefully chosen for their ability to maintain our standards across each element of the destination that they are responsible for,’’ says Albasseet.

Going through the entire chain does establish Red Sea Global’s green credentials, which it has tried to reinforce at every stage. One key element is its energy consumption. Globally, energy is one of the biggest sources of carbon emissions and for a company that is coming in a country that is the world’s largest oil exporter and where oil is cheaper than water, and not just metaphorically, Red Sea Global has gone in for solar power as its sole source of energy. “One of our greatest achievements is that our solar farms are close to completion and once open, they will power The Red Sea by renewable energy entirely. We are developing the world’s largest battery storage facility to enable 100 pc renewable energy 24/7. Solar farms at The Red Sea have surpassed 90pc completion already and we will save more than 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year once fully operational,’’ says Albasseet.

Another example of Red Sea Global’s green commitments is the numerous dedicated conservation zones that the project comprises. For instance, within the naturally formed archipelago, which is made up of more than 90 islands, only 22 will be developed, leaving 75 pc of these islands untouched and designating nine as within a special conservation zone.

Positive impact on Saudi society

At least in appearances, most corporate tycoons nowadays parrot the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) mantra. However, at the Red Sea Global, ESG is ingrained not just in its vision and mission, but also in its actions. The company is targetting to make a positive impact not just on the environment or the tourism industry, but also on Saudi society per se. “We aim to have a positive impact on the environment, society and the economy, by creating upwards of 120,000 new jobs for Saudis by 2030 between our two destinations and setting out to achieve a 30 pc net conservation benefit by 2040. This will be achieved by enhancing biologically diverse habitats including mangroves, seagrass, corals and land vegetation to help biodiversity to flourish, and the work has already started in this regard. Red Sea Global built the largest nursery in the region at 1 million sqm which is already home to more than 3.6 million plants, trees and mangroves,’’ says Albasseet.

The company says that as both destinations incorporate a huge number of ecosystems that are unique to Saudi Arabia, it is working with experts to ensure the most advanced environmental, scientific practices are being used at every stage of development and thereafter. It adds that it is aiming to set new standards to evolve tourism development both in Saudi Arabia and globally. “Environmental practice is the backbone of every decision we make, such as caps on visitor numbers to ensure our targeted 30 pc net conservation benefit to the destination can be met long term. Once completed, The Red Sea will not exceed more than 1 million tourists per year, and 500,000 at Amaala,’’ explains Albasseet.

The company also adds that its green credentials can be seen from the fact that each of the guest experiences, from diving to exploring the mangroves, astrotourism and desert based adventure are being designed to impact the environment in a positive way.

It adds that it will conduct regular environmental surveys of wildlife ecosystems to track impact and improvements, to optimise its approach and ensure it reaches its regenerative goals.

And to complete the ESG commitment, with total transparency, the Red Sea Global has also been publishing detailed annual sustainability reports for the past two years, listing its performance against publicly-disclosed benchmarks.

“We are not just setting ambitious targets, but actively measuring our progress against them, through our Annual Sustainability Report and other wildlife surveys, the results of which are made public,” says Albasseet.