Mohammed Alshoaiby Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Schneider Electric, a global enterprise in the field of energy management, unveiled their plans for a more eco-friendly Kingdom at a press conference at their Xperience Efficiency event on Monday. By implementing their smart buildings in the Kingdom to global environmental standards, Schneider Electric boasts a 70 percent decrease in energy consumption on new buildings and 30 percent on existing structures, reportedly working towards the Kingdom's goals in sustainable, renewable energy. One of these projects is the development of King Saud University's (KSU) women's campus, which won the “Sustainable Project of the Year” award from MEED Quality Awards for Projects. “Our solution for KSU goes beyond the obvious, supporting the critical educational infrastructure that fosters students who will ultimately contribute to the formation of a knowledge-based economy,” said Chrisophe Campagne, Country President of Schneider Electric in KSA. Projects such as these, he added, help create sustainable energy consumption in the Kingdom, which demands high levels of energy due to its harsh climate. The areas where these buildings will help reduce the Kingdom's Carbon Footprint include energy, water, materials, pollution levels, land use, health and wellbeing, waste, transport and management. “Our strategy is to invest in Saudi Arabia's developing infrastructure,” said Ahmad Al Rashoud, Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Schneider Electric, said. “The Kingdom is flourishing in all aspects and the energy infrastructure needs to be developed sustainably.” During the event, Al Rashoud illustrated the tenants of building sustainable structures for the Kingdom in accordance with the Saudi Electric Company and Saudi Water Company, among other governmental bodies. “Cities make up 2 percent of the globe,” he said, adding that these cities collectively consume 75 percent of the energy generated across the globe and emitting 80 percent of the CO2 found in the atmosphere. The Kingdom's hot climate, Al Rashoud added, creates a unique situation where air conditioning and climate control continually consume large amounts of energy daily. Schneider Electric's solution to these problems are what they call Building Automation Systems that control the flow of energy throughout any given structure and reducing the overall levels of consumption between 30 and 70 percent. Schneider Electric have been involved in several major projects in the Kingdom, including the development of the Information Technology and Communication Complex (ITCC) in Riyadh – four large buildings that will reportedly follow global standards of energy management and the ambitious Old Airport Road project that expands Al Urubah Road and Abi Bakr Road in the Kingdom's capital. In the Kingdom, Schneider Electric reportedly focuses on Saudi skills and expertise to see their projects to fruition, recently hiring 236 Saudis in different levels of the company's business and peaking at 1,000 Saudi employees out of their current 8,000 employees in the country. “This included the integration of a significant number of Saudi nationals into our team, which is a clear manifestation of our sincere commitment to Saudization,” Campagne commented. Schneider Electric's “Hive” building in Paris, France, is reportedly one of the world's most advanced, eco-friendly buildings in existence, boasting a six-star rating from the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). Schneider Electric operates in over 100 countries and has been active in the Kingdom for more than 30 years in the fields of utilities and infrastructure, residential and nonresidential buildings, data centers and networks and industries and machines manufacturers.
