Faisal Alfadl
Secretary-General
SGBF

Around the world, the market for “green” construction has matured faster than the mechanisms that verify it. Many schemes reward good intentions, but too often they are not anchored in robust conformity assessment – leaving investors, regulators, and building users uncertain about what has truly been delivered. The challenge is sharper in arid and water-stressed regions, where conventional priorities do not always map to local realities.

The Saudi Green Building Forum (SGBF) developed saaf® as a conformity assessment framework designed to localize sustainability while aligning with international assurance. Rather than functioning as a points-based rating, saaf® is structured to be assessed through accredited bodies so that claims can be consistently verified. Its technical focus centers on five levers tied to Sustainable Development Goals most material to the built environment in our region – SDG 6 (water), 7 (energy), 9 (industry and innovation), 11 (sustainable cities), and 12 (responsible consumption and production). In practice, this means elevating water performance to a first-order requirement, strengthening circular materials management through life-cycle evidence, and capturing neighborhood and city-level outcomes – not just individual building features.

In 2025, SGBF completed a readiness review based on IAF MD 25 Criteria for Evaluation of Conformity Assessment Schemes for saaf® as a scheme, mapping roles and impartiality safeguards with a view to recognition pathways through IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) signatories. Our application to IAF was submitted this year to seek alignment with international accreditation processes. The review clarified the scheme owner’s responsibilities, the expected competence requirements for certification bodies, and criteria for qualified verifiers operating in hot, arid contexts. In parallel, SGBF prepared model procurement language and public guidance so that authorities and asset owners can reference conformity assessment deliverables – rather than aspirational labels – when commissioning projects.

Two technical priorities illustrate the approach:

• Water-first performance: saaf® requires evidence of water demand reduction and reuse appropriate to arid climates, verified through metered baselines and post-occupancy checks. Energy matters, but in many regions water scarcity is the decisive risk; assurance systems must reflect that hierarchy.
  
• Credible product data: To reduce embodied impacts and support circularity, SGBF is rolling out guidance for saaf® Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) aligned to international life cycle assessment (LCA) standards and adapted to local manufacturing. This enables specifiers to compare like for like and allows accredited verification of claims.

Digital assurance underpins both priorities. Pilot projects are testing audit trails that link declarations and on-site performance data, alongside artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted anomaly detection to flag inconsistencies or potential greenwashing while keeping human experts in the loop. The goal is not more paperwork, but better evidence with lower transaction costs.

What does this mean for the international community? First, that “green” must be verifiable in context. Second, that regional schemes can strengthen – not fragment – global trust when they are designed from the outset to operate through accredited conformity assessment. Finally, that cooperation between scheme owners, accreditation bodies, and regulators can accelerate consistent outcomes: safer, more resource-efficient buildings that deliver what they promise.

SGBF welcomes dialogue with accreditation bodies, certification bodies, and public procurers interested in trialing localized, conformity-based assurance for green building. Together, we can close the gap between ambition and assurance.