In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) has become the first industrial city in the world to achieve LEED for Cities and Communities  Phase One Silver certification.   

The LEED certification strengthens SPARK’s ability to support future tenants and investors in certifying their own facilities to LEED as part of a fully-integrated energy community. 

Strategically located at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, SPARK’s vision is to be the primary gateway to the regional energy sector. Its technologically-advanced ecosystem offers investors unmatched supply-chain efficiency and has been designed to provide an ultramodern “plug and play” infrastructure. As well as targeting large corporations, SPARK also caters to small and medium sized enterprises and provides support through its SPARK SME Hub, creating a tailored microcosm for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). This allows streamlined and cost-effective operations near major workforce providers and close to highway and railway networks.  

At maturity, it will be home to over 300 industrial, technology, and service facilities focused on meeting demand for energy goods and services across the entire value chain. 

LEED certification is a key step in ensuring that environmentally-sensitive techniques are consistently applied to the construction of SPARK across industrial, commercial, and residential facilities. Certification is also part of SPARK’s vision to be a proving ground for green tools and technologies designed to minimize the impact of activities conducted within the city, the most successful of which will serve as a blueprint for the oil and gas industry — as well as for businesses and homes across the country. 

The energy industry and the green building industry are intertwined. SPARK’s goal and actions in furtherance of creating an ecosystem for energy-related companies to grow with minimum environmental impact has made them USGBC leadership award recipients.