The Saudi National Center for Family Businesses (NCFB) is preparing to hold the First National Forum for Family Businesses Sustainability on January 25.
The forum will be held under the patronage of the kingdom’s Minister of Commerce Majid al-Qasabi, and sessions will be held virtually and broadcast on social media platforms.
The forum reflects the government’s keenness in supporting the family business sector among the kingdom’s other sectors, said CEO of the NCFB Talal al-Ajlan.
“It ensures spreading awareness over the most important sustainability standards and enabling family businesses to overcome the challenges that hinder their growth and improve their businesses’ quality.”
Family businesses are vital and contribute to more than SAR800 billion ($213.3 billion) per year to the gross domestic product (GDP), he noted.
Ajlan considered the event a major opportunity for family businesses to be briefed on the most important and latest studies and experiences relevant to the sector.
The three-day event will include dialogue sessions with national family firms’ entrepreneurs and experts in the fields of governance, sustainability, generational succession. It will see the participation of specialists from inside and outside the kingdom.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) has received LEED ND Stage 2 Platinum certification, becoming the largest mixed-use financial center in the world to achieve the highest possible accreditation from the world’s leading authority for green building.
LEED is an internationally recognized designation that supports changing the building or community design and construction to be environmentally friendly, promoting a higher quality of life.
This certification confirms KAFD as a global center for excellence in sustainability at every level — from its green building credentials to its robust public transport facilities and walkable infrastructure.
KAFD’s energy-efficient building initiatives include district cooling plants that help reduce energy consumption required for cooling, use of LED street lights instead of conventional lighting and installation of renewable energy sources, such as solar panels, in many towers.
KAFD is also equipped with a site-wide automated waste collection system that collects and segregates recyclable waste, eliminating the use of garbage trucks on KAFD streets, and thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
