Climate change has undeniable impact on the way we plan and manage the built environment, it is increasingly important to rethink our current development practices. Consequently, Malaysia has committed to the international community to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 40% from 2005 levels before 2020 and 45% by 2030. With the built environment being responsible for more than a third of these emissions in Malaysia, a structured and coordinated effort is necessary by all stakeholders in the sector to achieve these targets. With this in mind, GreenRE in collaboration with Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad (MCHB) ran a half day in-house seminar, ‘Introduction to Green Building Concepts-Why Go Green?’ at d’Tempat Country Club, Bandar Sri Sendayan. This half day seminar was also held in conjunction with the GreenRE-Matrix Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) initiative.

The seminar was well attended by 58 Matrix personnel, including Matrix Board of Directors and top management. Dato’ Haji Mohamad Haslah bin Mohamad Amin, Matrix Chairman, officiated the seminar. Topics covered included, Green Buildings and Townships 101, How does green building and township certification synergize with corporate sustainability reporting?, cost benefit analysis for green buildings and townships , legislation in Malaysia pertaining to green buildings and townships, health benefits of green buildings and case studies in Malaysia. Essentially, when you choose to build with sustainable objectives in mind, the development is able to protect the ecosystem, reduce emissions, improve air and water quality, conserve water, reduce waste and conserve and restore natural resources.

The presentations were well received and was concluded with an interactive Q & A Session and discussion. Matrix Directors, i.e. Dato’ (Ir.) Batumalai A/L Ramasamy and Dato’ Firdaus Muhammad Rom Bin Harun contributed productive sustainability input based on their previous experience as mayor of Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam (MBSA), and director of Jabatan Pengairan Dan Saliran Negeri Sembilan (JPS) respectively.

This was a successful outreach programme, as GreenRE with the support of MCHB was able to communicate the vital need for sustainable development to a major player in the real estate industry. GreenRE aims to collaborate with other developers in the region to create awareness on green development amongst both industry members and consumers.