Sustainable Construction in Malaysia

H. Hassan, M. N. Dul, and M. Che Ali Construction Industry Development Board, Malaysia Abstract Sustainable construction has been the mainstay in much of the more advanced countries1. Malaysia move to sustainable development and sustainable construction has been largely driven by the efforts of the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), though initially limited to environmental sustainability. On the academic front, the works of two notable researches warrant some mention. F. Shafii, Ph D, has long been closely associated with global warming and climate change while J.J Pereira, Ph D, an environmental researcher from another local University has been credited with some of the noble efforts in advancing environmental sustainability in a number of industries, construction included. CIDB has a long history of establishing guidelines, standards, trainings and manuals for good environmental practices; as a prelude to achieving sustainable construction and sustainable development. The establishment of The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and the Environment has given credence to Malaysia moves to sustainable development and green technology2. For the first time now, there is a strong political will to bring about changes in environmental sustainability in Malaysia. The Prime Minster pledge to reduce Malaysias carbon dioxide emission by up to 40% compared to 2005 level by the year 2020 signalled the seriousness of Malaysian government to bring up Malaysias level of commitment on environmental sustainability, global warming and climate change to be on par with the more developed world. Construction and building contribution to the negative impact on the environment has long been recognized. Worldwide, serious attempts have been made especially by the leading world economies to manage and reinvent construction to enable it to play greater role in environmental sustainability. Malaysia must follow suit. Malaysian construction must embrace sustainable construction Keywords: sustainable, construction, development, Malaysia, green 1. INTRODUCTION

The world has seen increasing demands, from both the public and private sectors, on the need to understand, and to some extent, embrace sustainable construction practices3. Lessons from the more developed economies have proved evidence that sustainable practices improves economic profitability and enhances relationship between the various stakeholders4. Sustainable construction will be the single biggest contributor to sustainable development. CIDB Malaysia which champions the development of construction industry in Malaysia has

continuously introduced various initiatives to directly promote good environmental practices, and indirectly giving rise to sustainable construction and sustainable development. The advent of green technology and green construction pave the way on how sustainable construction and sustainable development can be properly achieved. 2. SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPEMNT AND THE SUSTAINABILITY PYRAMID

The idea of Sustainable Development was first mooted by Brundtland5 Commission (formerly World Commission on Environment and Development) in 1987 in one of the most decisive report on environmental sustainability The Brundtland Report. The Commission defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their own needs. The report has successfully brought forth a wide range of environmental sustainability and climate change programs that include; the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, The UN Earth Summits, the first of which was in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and Agenda 21 Program, A UN sustainable development agenda with affirmative action by 178 countries. Sustainable Construction heralds the way for the building and construction industry to plan, design, construct and operate the facilities that the industry builds, taking into account the needs of sustainable development, incorporating the environment, economic and sociocultural issues. It is perhaps a good idea now, to introduce the Sustainability Pyramid6 which shows the effect of green technology green construction to the Built Environment. The final aim of sustainable construction and sustainable development should be a built environment that blends naturally and fits seamlessly with the natural environment, providing future generation with lasting and sustainable legacies.

Figure 1 : Sustainability Pyramid

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CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY INITIATIVES ON SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

CIDB has worked with the industry stakeholders to champion the adoption of good environmental practices in construction ever since it started operation in the early 1996. Central to the initiative is the establishment of a technical committee to chart the path for a gradual adoption of sustainable construction, sustainable development and environmental sustainability in Malaysian construction Industry. The formulation of the Construction Industry Master Plan (2006-2015), an industry-led blueprint for the advancement of Malaysian construction to be among the best in the world, afforded greater credence to the sustainability issues when virtually every works established by the Technical Committee were adopted by the industry and incorporated into the CIMP. Establishment of Technical Committees on sustainable development and environment A high-level technical committee known as Technical Committee on Good Environmental Practices was established as early as 1999, with the aim of determining core direction and develop proposal for sustainable environmental practice in construction industry. Affectionately known as TC9, the committee was head by Prof Dr Joy Jacqueline Pereira and it brought together leading practitioners and academicians from both the public and private sectors. To date the Committee has successfully published several guidelines on good environmental practices. To assist the Committee in its work, it set up six working groups: WG1 : Strategic Action Plans for Good Environmental Practices in Construction Industry. The Working Group has published, in 2007,The Strategic Recommendation for improving Environmental Practices in Construction Industry7 WG2 : Guidelines for Storm Water Management. The products from this Working Group has been Incorporated into Manual Saliran Mesra Alam(MaSMA), the urban storm water management manual. WG3 : Guidelines for Soil Erosion Management WG4 : Guidelines for Good Environmental Practices in Construction WG5 : Development of 3-tier Environment System for Contractors WG6 : Waste Minimisation and Recycling Potential for Construction Materials. In 2010, with the need to keep current with green technology and green construction, CIDB has brought together selected members of TC9 and a number of fresh faces from the academics, government agencies and professional bodies and set up the Technical Committee on Green Technology Best Practices in Construction Industry. The Committee is entrusted to assist CIDB in identifying, preparing and developing the Construction Industry

Standards (CIS), guideline manual, technical reports, and training curriculum for green technology in construction industry Research and Development in sustainable development CIDB has also undertaken a number of researches on sustainable development. These are mainly accomplished through research collaboration between Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM) and a number of local universities Waste minimization and recycling potential of non-renewable construction materials Environmental Management Plan in tender documentation for construction project Achieving Sustainability of Construction Industry through adoption of International Environment Management Standard, ISO 14001 Material Security and Waste Management for Industrialised Building System : Towards Sustainable Construction Bill of Qualities for the Environmental Protection Works ((EPW). This has been adopted by the Public Works Department (PWD) in its tender documentation

Publication Standards, guidelines and manuals The following are some of the more important standards, guidelines and manual published by the Technical Committee and the Working Groups Standard recommendation for improving environmental practices in construction Industry (2007) Guidelines on Construction waste management (2008) Construction Industry Good Practice Series Construction Waste Management (2008) Compilation of Environmental Acts, Laws and Regulations related to the construction industry (2008)

4. MALAYSIAS GREEN TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES In an effort to centralise green technology initiatives, Malaysia established the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water in April 2009. Three months later the Prime Minister launched the National Green Technology Policy8 with the following objectives: Reduce rate of energy use Facilitate growth of green technology Industry Increase national capacity and capability for innovation in green technology development Ensure sustainable development and conserve environment for future generation Enhance public awareness and education on green technology

It is obvious that the National Green Technology Policy is Malaysias answer to the UN framework on sustainable development, climatic change and global warming. Based on International Energy Agency (IEA), Malaysia carbon emission, in 2009 was 5.98 tonnes per capita, a decline compared to 6.73 tonnes in 2008 and 6.45 tonnes in 2007. However, with Malaysia push to be a high income economy by 2020, it is envisaged that enormous volume of physical development and increasing private vehicle ownership, could push Malaysia carbon emission to an unsustainable level, which is untenable for a country going for massive high quality foreign investment. In responding the Malaysians government initiatives on green technology, CIDB and the Malaysian construction industry has developed a number of initiatives9 to support the government moves. These include; Green Contractor Accreditation. This will allow only green accredited contractors to undertake green construction jobs Green labelling for construction materials. In line with the practices of the more advanced countries, initial moves have been taken to introduce green labels for construction materials. This will facilitate Green building Index evaluation and hopefully, green procurement Green Assessment system in Construction (GASSIC). A construction Industry Standard (CIS) is currently being developed that will form the basis for GASSIC, GASSIC is intended to be a self-assessment for a minimum energy efficiency performance of a building. GASSIC is meant to complement the private sector ledGreen Building Index. One-Stop Learning Centre for Green Technology. A centre to educate the stakeholders and public alike on the application of green technology in construction.

5. CONCLUSION The Sustainability Pyramid Model introduced earlier placed construction industry at an influential position in the eventual achievement of a sustainable built environment. The aim of a responsible construction industry should be more than just sustainable construction and sustainable development; it should result in creating a built environment that would meet the need of the future generation. For many years, the building and construction industry has been blamed for some of ills of environmental damage, carbon emission and climatic change10. With the Green Technology Policy in place and Malaysian own construction industry taking proactive measures, sustainable construction and sustainable development in Malaysia can be achieved and sustained.

6. REFERENCES

[1] Agenda 21 for Sustainable Construction in Developing Countries http://www.sustainablesettlement.co.za/policy.html [2] Speech by Prime Minister at the launching of Green Technology Policy http://www.pmo.gov.my/?menu=speech&news_id=153&page=1676&speech_cat=2 [3] Sustainable Construction An introduction, publication by UK Construction Excellence http://www.constructingexcellence.org.uk/pdf/fact_sheet/sus_construction.pdf [4] Sustainability in Construction http://aggregain.wrap.org.uk/sustainability/sustainability_in_construction/index.html [5] Gro Harlem Brundtland, a former Prime Minister of Norway, was the Commission Chairman, appointed by the then Secretary General of the United Nations, Javier Perez de Cuellar [6] Sustainability Pyramid was first introduced in Malaysia by MN Dul in a paper Sustainability in the Built Environment delivered at National Seminar in the Built Environment 2011 [7] The report is available from CIDB and can be purchased from Kedai Koperasi CIDB [8] The national Green Technology Policy http://www.greentechmalaysia.my/index.php/green-technology/green-technologypolicy/national-green-techology-policy.html [9] CIDB internal document, to be published and made public soon [10] K. A. M. Kamar, Z. A. Hamid - Sustainable Construction and Green Building: The Case of Malaysia, published by Wessex Institute of Technology (WIT) Press, Southampton, United Kingdom,

Datuk Ir Hamzah Hassan is currently the Chairman of CIDB. He was formerly its Chief Executive and has written and presented numerous papers on a wide range of construction industry topics to both the local and international audiences. Mohd Nawi Dul consults for CIDB on Corporate Affairs. He has delivered a number of presentation focussing on construction industry development in Malaysia

Ir Mukhtar Che Ali manages all Health, Safety, Environment and Quality initiatives of CIDB. Ir Mukhtar has authored a number of articles and documents on health, safety, quality and environment and has made many presentations on similar topics Dr Faridah Shafii is Head of Sustainability and Green Technology Division, Institute Sultan Iskandar University Teknologi Malaysia(UTM) Prof Dr Joy Jacqueline Pereira is Principal Fellow, Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI) Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)