The Kuwait National Petroleum Company signed a memorandum of understanding with the Gulf Organisation for Research and Development, to take significant steps in the areas of environmental issues and green buildings. The MoU was co-signed by CEO KNPC Eng. Mohammed Ghazi Al-Mutairi, and the Founding Chairman GORD, Dr.Yousef Alhorr, in the presence of the Ambassador of the State of Qatar in Kuwait, HE Hamad bin Ali Henzab, and DCEOs and managers from both sides.

On this occasion, Al-Mutairi mentioned that the National Petroleum gives high importance to environmental projects, and the company's objective is to replace 15% of the company's electricity usage in warehouses and current stations with solar energy by year 2020. This strategy is in line with the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and KNPC has already taken steps in this regard by installing solar panels in its three refineries.

The Qatari ambassador stressed on the importance of such collaborations and exchange of expertise between major Gulf organisations in order to strengthen the alliance and achieving common goals.

Dr. Alhorr commented that his organisation is pleased to partner with KNPC towards implementing sustainability best practices and that GORD's objective is to achieve a balance between the growing requirements of development and the preservation of the environment via GSAS – the Global Sustainability Assessment System, which has been designed to comply with the specific needs of the Gulf region.

The memorandum of understanding aims at enhancing cooperation between the two parties in the field of research and development in environmental issues particularly related to the field of oil and gas. It also supports the concept of green buildings by implementing GSAS standards at KNPC current and future projects as well as training and developing human resources in green building standards and best practices.