Only 15 percent of private companies in Saudi Arabia use renewable energy and green technology in their business, according to statistics of environment agency.

 

Several Saudi companies still have to be forced by law to implement green technology, while companies in Western countries and others Gulf states have been obligated to adopt environment-friendly standards and specified goals in the reduction of pollutants.

 

Adnan Jouda, operations manager at the Dubai-based Green Life Agency, said that: “Fifteen percent of Saudi industrial companies have started to apply environmental standards in their manufacturing operations. This includes companies focusing on recycling paper, plastic, aluminum and bottles.”

 

A study by the industrial committee of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in 2013 revealed that there were over 480 factories of various sizes in the city.

 

Hussain Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment (PME), said the PME has fixed standards to protect the environment and the government is committed to reducing industrial pollution in various cities.

 

The PME works to enforce environmental standards in line with the provisions of the Kingdom’s environmental law by issuing certificates of evaluation and environmental rehabilitation to all factories and institutions, he said.

 

A study conducted by Unilever of the life cycle of their own products showed that only 5 percent of the total life cycle of the product is directly under the company’s control, from manufacturing to warehousing to the transportation phase.