“Food Development” contributes to the goal of planting 10 billion trees in partnership with the Saudi Green Initiative

Development Food Company (referred to as “Development” or “the Company”) announced its participation in the fourth edition of the Green Saudi Forum, which was held during the period from 3 to 4 December 2024, under the slogan “By nature we take the initiative.”

The forum coincides with the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (COP16), which is hosted in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, from December 2 to 13. The forum brings together hundreds of policymakers, business leaders, experts and specialists from around the world in the Green Zone, during a conference that is the first of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, and the largest multilateral conference hosted by the Kingdom.

Development is participating for the second time in the activities of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention (COP). Last year, it participated in COP28 in Dubai through the Green Saudi Pavilion, while this year it participates in COP16 with a pavilion that displays its initiatives and projects related to sustainability.

The Saudi Green Initiative announced several initiatives in partnership with the private sector, including the Food Development Company. During its participation in the forum, the company will review its plans and achievements in the field of afforestation, and projects such as the Million Tree Initiative in Saudi Arabia and the 100,000 Tree Project in Bahrain (Green Middle East Initiative), in addition to its initiatives in the field of innovation, sustainability and the environment.

In 2020, Food Development launched the Million Dollar Prize for the Inclusive Leadership Challenge on Sustainability. The Inclusive Leadership philosophy follows three main principles: giving, earning, and sustainability.

This initiative reflects the company’s firm commitment to supporting society and protecting the environment, while also progressing towards achieving its business goals.

The challenge, launched in 2020, aimed to convert poultry waste into environmentally friendly materials, and the winning solution, a biodegradable plastic made from biochar, was displayed at the company’s pavilion at the forum. In addition, during the sixteenth Conference of the Parties this year, the company will review the projects selected within the Comprehensive Leadership Award, which was launched in 2022, with the aim of providing innovative solutions to address agricultural problems in desert areas, as part of efforts to combat desertification.

Commenting on this, His Excellency Mr. Amr bin Abdullah Al-Dabbagh, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said:

“Food Development has always been committed to sustainability, and we are proud of the progress that has been made over the years. Our efforts to reduce our environmental footprint across the supply chain, our carbon neutral approach, and our waste-to-value initiatives are an integral part of our vision to become the first food development globally for sustainable, healthy, halal protein food products by 2030. Today, we are proud of the “Million Trees” initiative launched by the company, and it was announced It is one of the major new initiatives that play a role in the “Green Saudi Arabia” initiative, as the Food Development Company was chosen as a partner in this initiative.

The CEO of the Food Development Company, Zulfiqar Hamdani, also commented on participation in the sixteenth Conference of the Parties, stressing that this participation reflects the company’s commitment to sustainability. He expressed his pride in contributing to this important event, which plays a major role in achieving the Kingdom’s goals related to climate and environment, which seeks to reach carbon neutrality. He pointed out that, through its participation in the event, the development will showcase innovative solutions, such as converting poultry waste into environmentally friendly materials, converting barren lands into agricultural lands to produce raw materials for feed, in addition to achieving self-sufficiency in food security. Through this participation, the company hopes to contribute to achieving Saudi Vision 2030 (and the goals that the Kingdom seeks to achieve to reach net zero emissions by 2060.

The Food Development Company’s ongoing commitment to sustainability makes it one of the new initiatives that plays a pivotal role in the Saudi Green Initiative to accelerate afforestation efforts by planting millions of trees. This is in line with the Kingdom’s goal of protecting current and future generations by providing basic protection against harsh climatic conditions resulting from global warming and climate change.