News & Events
CIDB- REHDA pen Memorandum of Collaboration to promote sustainable practices
Joint initiative to mobilise MyCREST and GreenRE rating tools to reduce carbon footprint and environmental impact of development.
IT IS ANOTHER notch in scaling up for a greener Malaysia as the Construction Industry Development Board( CIDB) and Real Estate and Housing Developers Association( REHDA) penned a Memorandum of Collaboration( MoC) to pool resources for the unified cause of sustainability and green building. Aimed at‘ increased compliance to sustainability … and sustainable practices among industry players’, the joint initiative will mobilise special-purpose vehicles within the two organisations, namely, MyCrest and GreenRE, assessment / rating tools for carbon reduction and green building, respectively.
Government’ s Goal‘ Environmental sustainability is a key thrust of the five-year Construction Industry Transformation Plan( 2016- 2020)’, reiterated Guest of Honour, Deputy Minister of Works Malaysia, YB Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashin Shirlin, citing the Government’ s goal that‘ 100 % of large infrastructural and building projects be rated’ and, better yet,‘ exceed the stringent( rating) requirements.’ In testimony to this tack, the Public Works Department( JKR) has recently warranted that all public projects(> RM100 million) be subject to MyCREST rating, cases in point, the Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi, Perak and Hulu Terengganu Polytechnic.
REHDA Response Walking the talk, as it were, REHDA’ s commitment to and support for MyCREST is manifest in a pledge by its members nationwide for 20 of their projects to subscribe to and participate in a pilot assessment programme. A random sample of these include projects such as,‘ Amari Johor Bahru’( Exquisite Mode Sdn Bhd),‘ Bay 21, Kota Kinabalu’( Remajaya Sdn Bhd) and‘ Oasis Business Centre, Seremban’( Grand Infinite Development Sdn Bhd). In paving the way for a greener construction in Malaysia, the collaboration exercise
Momentous Partnership: Witnessed by Deputy Minister of Works, Malaysia Datuk Rosnah Haji Abdul Rashid Shirlin( centre), Chief Executive of CIDB Malaysia Ir Ahmad‘ Asri Abdul Hamid( third from left) and Deputy President of REHDA Malaysia Dato’ Ir Soam Heng Choon( third from right) exchanged the signed MoC that formalised the partnership between the two organisations.
includes other promotional activities such as sharing of knowledge and expertise through seminars and workshops, research and development, as well as training and accreditation of MyCREST and GreenRE managers and / or facilitators.
MyCREST and GreenRE MyCREST( Malaysian Carbon Reduction & Environmental Sustainable Tool), under the CIDB umbrella, is a rating system or tool which aims to quantify, reduce impact of the built environment insofar as carbon emissions and environmental implications while‘ integrating socio-economic considerations relating to the built environment and urban development.’ In a holistic approach, for the three main phases of design, construction and operation and maintenance, the 11 criteria to be met before a project is scored( one- to five-star) and certified, are:
• pre-design( PD)
• infrastructure and sequestration( IS)
• energy performance impact( EP)
• occupant and Health( OH)
• lowering embodied carbon( EC)
• water efficiency factors( WE)
• social and cultural sustainability( SC)
• demolition and disposal factor( DP)
• sustainable and carbon initiatives( IN)
• waste management and reduction( WM), and
• sustainable facility management( FM).
Developed by REHDA in collaboration with the public and private sectors, GreenRE is an in-house green rating standard tailored to encourage building professionals in the construction industry to‘ design and build green sustainable buildings in a more integrated manner.’ Amongst others, its aims are to encourage the adoption of green practices in building, to reduce the environmental impact of development and to promote the efficient use of resources, i. e., energy, water and other building materials. ■
30 Building & Investment | www. b-i. biz