BY EMILY K.

Promoting sustainability: (From left) MGBC president Ar Sarly Adre Sarkum, Goh, Mizanur and Ar Von at the Nippon Paint Green Factory Seminar media briefing

NIPPON Paint Malaysia Group is encouraging owners of factories to move towards greener buildings through its Green Factory Seminar 2015.

Jointly organised by the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), the seminar aims to instil and promote the adoption of green buildings criteria and strengthening green certification among manufacturers in Malaysia.

FMM Environmental Management Committee chairman Datuk Mizanur Rahman Ghani said the manufacturing sector was fully aware of the need to be efficient in their overall operation on a daily basis.

However, some manufacturers need some assistance because of lack of resources and expertise to carry out the initiative.

“We need to overcome these barriers and adopt a long-term plan so that we can transform towards a greener, more efficient economy,” said Mizanur, adding that the industrial sector consumes about 50% of the national electrical consumption.

“We hope to educate and encourage owners to use the appropriate mechanisms and tools to address these concerns if we want to meet Malaysia’s pledge of reducing its carbon intensity up to 40% by year 2020, using 2005 emission levels as its base year,” said Mizanur.

Green Building Index Accreditation Panel (GBIAP) chairman Ar Von Kok Leong said whether or not a building is considered green is based on the Green Building Index (GBI), Malaysia’s green rating tool created to promote sustainability in the built-environment.

“It’s important that the industrial sector, especially old buildings, practise green buildings to minimise energy wastage while maximising output for the betterment of our environment because they constitute over 90% of the building stock,” said Ar Von.

He added that 32 industrial building projects had applied for the certification, of which 10 are fully certified.

“With initiatives by the Government, FMM, Malaysia Green Building Council (MGBC) and Nippon Paint Malaysia Group, we hope to see Malaysia as a leader in sustainable production,” said Ar Von, adding that there were different factory requirements for new and existing buildings.

Nippon Paint Malaysia Group general manager Gladys Goh said environmental sustainability had always been Nippon’s business philosophy.

“We want to educate the public that paint can be sustainable, especially with ultra-low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in our paint. Our solution is not just eco-friendly but also safe for occupants,” said Goh.

Green buildings focus on increasing the efficiency of resources use such as energy, water and materials while reducing building impact on human health and the environment.

Besides that, they are also designed to recycle materials and minimise the emission of toxic substances throughout its life cycle.

“Since all stakeholders are interdependent, we look forward to more public-private and private-private collaborations in addressing sustainable consumption and production issues,” said Mizanur.

Featuring speakers from GBIAP and MGBC, the seminar will be held at Nippon Paint Re:Think Re:Create Expo in Taman Perindustrian Subang Utama, Shah Alam on tomorrow.

For details, call FMM at 03-62867200