To sustain the green building movement, we also need green-minded communities, said Fateh.
PETALING JAYA: The Second Green Build Conference 2022, jointly organised by GreenRE and Rehda Institute, saw a huge participation as synergising efforts to advance the green building agenda in Malaysia heats up.
With climate change having an undeniable impact on the way cities are planned and managed, passivity is no longer an option, and businesses will need to take proactive adaptation measures to position themselves as sustainable business leaders. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic left a big economic scar on the Malaysian economy for which the real estate sector has not been spared.
“Affordability and overhang issues have been plaguing the sector in recent years and this has been further exacerbated by the pandemic. Sustainability is often put on the back burner, as companies and developers face soaring prices in labour and material prices as well as inflation.
“However, inaction is not an option as unprecedented floods in many parts of Malaysia are evidence enough that our climate is changing and we need to take serious measures to adapt to current and future climate risks. Climate-exacerbated disasters cost companies and investors billions globally,” said GreenRE chairman Datuk Seri Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor.
He said the Green Build Conference had developed into an important platform for the Malaysian green building community to come together, and achieve the shared vision of a greener built environment.
The conference attracted a full attendance.
GreenRE and Rehda Institute are the two arms of the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda). GreenRE was set up in 2013 to drive sustainability in Malaysia’s real estate sector through a tropical-centric green building and township rating system.
Rehda Institute, since its formation, has been carrying out activities focused on the three core components of training, research and education to improve productivity, innovate new ideas and work alongside top institutions of higher learning.
Investors are progressively calling on businesses to evaluate their climate risks and plan for transitioning to a low-carbon future through mitigation and adaptation, he said in his opening speech at the conference.
“Consequently, many larger companies, nations as well as cities are setting ambitious net-zero targets. Building back better must be the mantra of the real estate sector incorporating a pragmatic approach to achieve a balance between the trilemma of economic, environmental and social sustainability. Property developers must seek to address the high impact, low hanging fruit areas to green the built environment,” Fateh said.
The property and construction sector is responsible for approximately 40% of Malaysia’s GHG emissions with around 30% from operational carbon and 10% from embodied carbon.
Buildings consume 50% of all electricity generated in the country. Decarbonizing the electricity grid - for which 80% is still sourced from fossil fuels – is imperative alongside carbon reduction measures that need to be undertaken by the property and construction sector.
Also, an important aspect to address is the current or older building stock across Malaysia that face the real possibility of becoming energy obsolete, said Fateh.
“There is a need to address the barriers to energy retrofits for the existing building stock to move towards greater environmental performance. Less than 1% of Malaysia’s building stock is currently green certified – unlike other countries such as Singapore and the UK.
“Pushing the green agenda and the successful take-up of green projects inadvertently depends on the push from the top. A firm top-down plan by the government with necessary incentives is imperative to guide the sector towards achieving this.
“The tax incentives under the Investment Tax Allowance Scheme by MIDA (Malaysian Investment Development Authority) have been slow to take off as only commercial building owners are eligible. With the home ownership campaign underway to increase home ownership among Malaysians and to address the property overhang, a similar system could be put in place to provide stamp duty exemption for house buyers who purchase green certified properties,” said Fateh.
Fateh is confident that the conference would foster a productive exchange of ideas that will guide stakeholders to create cities and homes of the future with ambitious targets and best-in-class standards.
“To sustain the green building movement, we also need green-minded communities. We need a strong buy-in from building owners, users and members of the public,” he said.
Four major themes were covered in the panel discussions namely National and Local Policies towards a Low Carbon Roadmap, Beyond Benchmarking and Reporting for ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), Financing Sustainable Buildings and Transition towards Decarbonising the Property Sector Case Studies. The event was attended by developers, stakeholders from the construction industry, universities, government and professional agencies as well as sustainability consultants and providers.
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