Royal Commission for Alula affirms commitment to sustainability and ambition to drive positive change

Deepening its commitment to the comprehensive regeneration of AlUla County in northwest Saudi Arabia, the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) has issued a benchmark report on the progress of its journey to further environmental, cultural, social, and economic sustainable practices in line with Vision 2030.

The Annual Sustainability Report marks a significant step towards transparent reporting on RCU’s progress, increasing accountability and enabling performance measurement over time.

Sustainability is a core aspect of RCU’s mandate and serves as a guiding principle in its commitment to preserving the natural environment and cultural heritage of AlUla. This commitment extends to fostering community well-being and economic growth.

Waleed Aldayel, RCU’s Chief of Strategy and Digital, said: “Our first-ever Annual Sustainability Report is an important opportunity to transparently share details on RCU’s journey in establishing a sustainable destination. This is a living, evolving document that will serve as a roadmap to measure impact and results in the future. By sharing our progress each year, we aim to inspire and engage stakeholders, demonstrating our resolve to contribute to national and global sustainability efforts.”

RCU’s sustainability commitment recognises the interconnectedness of environmental, cultural, social and economic imperatives. By protecting cultural heritage and enhancing the natural and social potential of AlUla, RCU ensures a sustainable future for the many aspects of life in AlUla.

The principles of the AlUla Sustainability Charter guide the regeneration of AlUla as a leading global destination for cultural and natural heritage. By adhering to the Charter, RCU will bring AlUla to carbon neutrality on local emissions. In this way RCU serves the goals of the Saudi Green Initiative, Vision 2030, and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and advances from ambition to action.

The report provides facts and figures on the projects and initiatives driving our sustainable transformation and regeneration of AlUla, which, while interlinked into the wider vision and strategy for the county, sit across four unique pillars of cultural, social, economic and environmental sustainability.

For example, cultural sustainability saw the successful activation of 11 arts and cultural assets, 8 heritage sites opened to the public, and 25 major and permanent monuments provided with comprehensive protection plans exceeding previous targets.

Across social sustainability, RCU provided 747 university scholarships at 117 international institutions, scored 90% overall resident satisfaction, achieved a robust emergency response timing of 6.5 minutes, and established a growing community sports infrastructure.

Focusing on environmental concerns, the report highlights how AlUla has achieved carbon dioxide emission reduction through green mobility initiatives, the establishment of agricultural waste composting facilities and more, in line with targets to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions, achieved 95 percent water distribution network coverage for the total population, and planted 111,684 native trees in protected areas.

Finally, economic successes demonstrated the sustained growth and opportunities being driven, with the creation of over 6,000 jobs by tourism allied-sectors, and over 1,500 by the tourism sector to date.

As we look to the future of AlUla, RCU welcomes partnerships to support its efforts to develop sustainability solutions. The commission’s sustainability partners include the Ministry of Economy & Planning; the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture; King Abdullah University of Science and Technology; UNESCO; the International Union for Conservation of Nature; and the World Bank.