Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Total quality assurance provider, Intertek has said that it provided an insight into its energy and environmental expertise at the GCC Environmental and Sustainable Development Forum (GEF), which was held recently in Saudi Arabia. A press release from the company said that its experts spoke at the event, offering their knowledge to assist local and regional companies in aligning themselves with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 on environment and energy opportunities and challenges.

Discussions at the event, the press release informed, covered topics ranging from environmental issues, strategies in waste management, green infrastructure, energy efficiency and renewable energy, sustainability in agriculture and technologies in the water industry.

“As the Kingdom works towards achieving a more sustainable environment with Vision 2030, public and private partnerships will play an important role in localising the industry and producing the necessary skill-sets,” said Samir Ahmed, General Manager of Intertek’s Business Assurance Division in Saudi Arabia, at the conference. “With the launch of the National Transformation Programme (NTP), the government has set objectives to safeguard the environment and natural resources and develop a more efficient, social security system. It also aims to decrease water usage and electricity subsidies by SR200 billion while lifting the percentage of power plant electricity generation to 100% from 27%.”

He added: “Intertek is working with Saudi companies to understand the challenges in the industry and to assist them in upgrading their services to become more compliant with local and global environmental standards. Intertek provides its clients with uniquely effective solutions such as Environmental Management System Certification (ISO 14001), Energy Management System Certification (ISO 50001), Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Testing & Inspection Services that help to achieve better energy efficiency, produce a healthier environment and drive quality and safety. In addition, skilled Intertek experts deliver training programmes which can be used to support the Saudi government’s mission of increasing the number of local people in employment. The NTP aims to achieve a 10% increase in localising expertise in the renewable energy sector to 35% from the current 25%.”