MIAMI: 黑料社区鈥檚 construction of homes between now and 2030 will have a reduced carbon footprint compared to current traditional developments.

This is according to David Grover, group CEO of ROSHN, who was speaking at the FII Priority Summit on Thursday in Miami.

鈥淕oogle tells me that there are 211,000 homes in Miami. We鈥檙e developing 400,000 homes between now and 2030 鈥� twice the amount of residential that Miami has,鈥� said Grover who leads the multi-asset class real estate developer, which is a giga-project wholly owned by the Kingdom鈥檚 Public Investment Fund.

鈥淲e know that we need 75 million cubic meters of concrete in the next seven years, just for our core residential program鈥� and so, 鈥渨e definitely have a big obligation, as a developer, in terms of how we can minimize the carbon footprint,鈥� he told the audience.

Making concrete causes a lot of pollutants and so ROSHN is committed to finding partners that can reduce the need for cement and concrete, said Grover.

Partanna, for example, which is the brainchild of former NBA champion Rick Fox, produces alternatives to Portland cement that are made with recycled ingredients.

鈥淲e take industry waste and combine them together at room temperature and through the process of our patents, we absorb CO2 at a very alarming rate, which is positive for our environment,鈥� Fox explained.

ROSHN wants to be an 鈥渋nvestor鈥� and 鈥渃ontribute towards the supply chain bringing forward technology,鈥� said Grover.

For example, it has invested in a company that makes environmentally friendly carbon-capture paint, which means that painting a home with this product is equivalent to planting 12 oak trees around that property in terms of its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide.

The construction and real estate industry can be a bit 鈥渄ull鈥� and 鈥渁 bit of a dinosaur industry鈥� so, 鈥渨e鈥檙e a bit slow globally in terms of actually bringing in technology, best practice and AI,鈥� said Grover.

He added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real obligation we have as a company to be seen as a leading light not just within Saudi, but also as a global player.鈥�

As part of this effort, next year, ROSHN will open an innovation center in Riyadh that will see it invest in startups as it looks to bring in young talent and fresh ideas.

For Fox, the partnership with ROSHN and the Kingdom is built on shared values.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just talk, it鈥檚 actual action,鈥� he said. Moreover, its scale 鈥減rovides the opportunity to attract the right partners and investment that understand this is for the long haul,鈥� he added.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to go on a journey here and we鈥檙e not going to be for everybody to begin with; we鈥檙e going to be the right teammate and the right partner for those that care about changing the world,鈥� said Fox.