Red Sea Global makes significant sustainability strides and supports COP16 targets

• Red Sea Global (RSG) has established itself as a standard setter in sustainable development through major initiatives, such as constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment, renewable energy infrastructure, and the region’s largest landscape nursery.
• The developer is aligning its regenerative tourism approach with COP16 targets, underscoring its dedication to meeting global conservation and climate resilience goals.

Riyadh, 16 December 2024: Red Sea Global (RSG), the multi-project developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism destinations, The Red Sea and AMAALA, has cemented itself as a leader in sustainable development and biodiversity preservation by aligning its goals with COP16’s key objectives and agreements. With a focus on regenerative tourism and environmental stewardship, RSG’s achievements are directly supporting the global biodiversity and conservation goals discussed at the conference.

With the adoption of landmark biodiversity agreements at the recent COP16 conference in Cali, Colombia, and more key discussions underway at the Riyadh event from 2-13 December 2024, RSG continues to enhance natural ecosystems and local communities and contribute to achieving global climate objectives. This forms part of the organization’s ambition to deliver a 30% net conservation benefit across its development areas by 2040.

RSG’s key sustainability initiatives have included:

• Biodiversity and ecosystem protection: RSG is committed to protecting and enhancing the region’s rich ecosystems. The company’s Landscape Nursery, the largest in the region at over 100 hectares, plays a critical role in supporting ecosystem restoration efforts. Currently, 7.5 million plants, sourced locally and internationally, are being nurtured at the nursery. Among these, 1.7 million plants have been propagated in-house, while 1.6 million have been used to transform The Red Sea destination’s landscape. RSG’s commitments also extend to its coral reef protection efforts, where it is responsible for multiple leading research and restoration initiatives.
• Renewable energy and sustainable utilities: RSG is powering its developments entirely through clean energy. The organization’s first operational destination, The Red Sea, is supported by 760,500 photovoltaic panels and one of the world’s largest off-grid battery storage facilities at more than 1,200MWh, ensuring the destination is powered by sunlight, day and night. The renewable utilities infrastructure powers the destination’s operational resorts, the airside of Red Sea International Airport and the Turtle Bay Village, where employees work and live, as well as supporting infrastructure such as EV charging, 5G network, district cooling, and the entire water cycle. This infrastructure is set to avoid 1 million tCO₂eq annually, with projections to reduce 5 million tCO₂eq by 2030 when taken together with RSG’s second destination, AMAALA.
• Innovative water management: The renewable infrastructure also supports the destination’s entire water cycle, from desalination to wastewater treatment and irrigation. RSG is treating wastewater at its 8.3 hectares of constructed wetlands and pumps 3,000m3 of treated wastewater daily to irrigate the Nursery’s trees and shrubs, supporting the Saudi Green Initiative’s target of planting 10 billion trees across Saudi Arabia within the next decade.
• Sustainable transport solutions: RSG is revolutionizing sustainable transport with the installation of one of Saudi Arabia’s largest off-grid electric vehicle (EV) charging networks, including 167+ stations across Phase One of The Red Sea, with 1,000 stations planned by 2025. This network supports a fleet of over 100 electric vehicles, including the country’s first zero-emission electric buses.

By setting a new benchmark for sustainable development, RSG is proving that large-scale projects can not only meet but exceed international conservation targets. These efforts also serve to demonstrate the role of the private sector in realizing the goals of the Kingdom, as laid out in both the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI), as well as the newly launched National Red Sea Sustainability Strategy (NRSSS), announced by HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the SGI Forum.

RSG’s regenerative tourism approach ensures lasting positive impact on both the environment and local communities. By embedding sustainability throughout its developments, the organization is building a resilient, biodiverse future and supporting COP16’s goals.