Arab News, Sunday, Oct 08, 2023 | Rabi Al-Awwal 23, 1445
ROSHN first in region to win smart city certification
ROSHN Group, Saudi Arabia’s leading
national real estate developer and PIF-funded giga-project, has received the
British Standards Institution Kitemark for Smart Cities. ROSHN is the first
company in the India, Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa region, among the first
in the private sector globally, and one of the top 20 organizations around the
world to achieve this prestigious international certification.
“At ROSHN, we are committed to setting new standards and raising the bar for the
real estate sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the wider region, in line
with our commitment to enabling Saudi Vision 2030’s goals. Our achievement of
the BSI Kitemark for Smart Cities is a significant achievement and testament to
ROSHN’s leadership in this regard. This was a collective effort by the entire
ROSHN team through their participation in multiple assessments, reflecting our
company-wide commitment to ensuring our customers and their communities benefit
from sustainable planning and development, new technologies, and an improved
quality of life,” said David Grover, CEO of ROSHN Group.
“Building for the future while prioritizing sustainability, empowered by
technology and innovation, is a priority at ROSHN, making smart city planning
one of the most important enablers of sustainability. With this quality mark
from BSI we demonstrate not just our success in integrating sustainability and
smart community principals but also ensuring our corporate excellence as we
drive change in the industry by setting new standards for sustainability in
mainstream development,” said Waleed Alghamdi, director of sustainability at
ROSHN Group.
The BSI Kitemark for Smart Cities incorporates two ISO standards, ISO 37101:2016
— Sustainable Development in Communities: Management System for Sustainable
Development, and ISO 37106:2021 — Sustainable Cities and Communities: Guidance
on Establishing Smart City Operating Models for Sustainable Communities. ROSHN
has achieved the “Collaborative” mark by the BSI’s Smart City Maturity Model,
reflecting its successful development of processes for delivering sustainable
communities within a smart city operating model. Smart city technology is key to
ROSHN’s development of its integrated communities and is used to foster a
sustainable lifestyle across a range of domestic and community functions,
including home security, irrigation, and intelligent transport solutions.
Samuel Thwaites, general manager Middle East and Africa at BSI, said: “The
achievement of BSI’s Kitemark certification for smart cities and communities
validates the maturity of ROSHN’s sustainable and smart strategy, designed to
deliver benefits such as resilience, sustainability, comfort and responsible use
of resources. Through a rigorous assessment, ROSHN has successfully demonstrated
how collaborative methods are being used across functions and how data and
integrated technologies are deployed to improve the services and the quality of
life of its citizens.”
Andy Butterfield, global managing director, Built Environment at BSI, added: “On
behalf of BSI, I would like to congratulate ROSHN on becoming the first
organization within the India, Middle East and Africa region to achieve the
Kitemark for smart and sustainable cities and communities. It is a testament to
ROSHN’s commitment to driving progress on sustainability within the global built
environment, which can help society to achieve a digitally enabled, safer and
sustainable future for all of us. Achieving the first Kitemark in the region
symbolizes the pioneering and industry-leading culture of ROSHN and the positive
impact they are having, and sets the standard for others in the region to
follow.”