New York, July (پاکستان پوائنٹ نیوز 16 يوليو 2026ء) The statement called on the international community to move from commitments to implementation based on measurement and verification, and to adopt resource demand management indicators that contribute to accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The oral statement extended the official statement submitted by the Saudi Green Building Forum, which holds special consultative status with the ECOSOC. The statement was circulated by the UN Secretary-General to Member States as part of the session’s official documents, in accordance with paragraphs (30) and (31) of ECOSOC Resolution No. 1996/31.
AlFadl emphasized that the world no longer faces a shortage of commitments, but rather the challenge of transforming them into measurable and verifiable outcomes. He explained that the built environment sector, which accounts for approximately 37% of global emissions, requires a policy shift from focusing solely on resource efficiency toward adopting the principle of “sufficiency first”, which prioritizes managing the scale of resource demand before improving resource-use efficiency.
He noted that, through the saaf® Sustainability Assessment Accreditation Framework, the SGBF has developed a practical framework that makes sustainability measurable, verifiable, and accountable. The framework supports the achievement of SDGs (6, 7, 9, 11, and 12), while linking policies with practical implementation in accordance with national priorities and local conditions.
He further highlighted that the forum has documented the application of this approach in more than 120 local initiatives in Qassim Region, in addition to 312 projects across 22 Arab countries, achieving tangible results in reducing emissions and improving resource efficiency. This demonstrates the importance of developing policies based on evidence, data, and verifiable performance indicators.
The SGBF called on the international community to focus on three key priorities: integrating demand management indicators into national frameworks, making measurement and verification mandatory in sustainability programs, and investing in data systems and professional capacity building. It stressed that sustainability requires measurement, measurement requires verification, and that the era of relying solely on commitments has passed — marking the need for evidence-based and results-driven implementation.
The forum concluded its participation in HLPF 2026 following an active engagement that included organizing an official side event, delivering statements and interventions before United Nations bodies, and holding meetings with senior UN officials, representatives of countries, and international organizations. The SGBF also highlighted Saudi Arabia’s experience in sustainability, volunteer work, and conformity assessment, further strengthening the Kingdom’s presence in global efforts aimed at accelerating the implementation of the SDGs.
