INGENIEUR
INGENIEUR
effective and efficient delivery of the national agenda by 2015 .
KEY CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION IN MALAYSIA
The concern of sustainable development and green construction surfaced in early 2000 when the Government realized the importance of sustainable construction and its impact on the economic growth of the country . Thus , sustainable development and green construction have been included as one of important national agendas addressed in the 8 th Malaysia Plan ( 2001-2005 ) particularly on improving energy efficiency as well as waste and environmental management in construction projects . The Government continued to address issues on sustainable development and green construction in the 9 th Malaysia Plan ( 2006-2010 ) and 10 th Malaysia Plan ( 2011 – 2015 ) in order to ensure that future generations are not compromised as the country continues to promptly develop the construction industry .
Nevertheless , several key issues have hampered this paradigm shift that require the adoption of new sustainable practices such as internalising sustainability , material wastage and profit oriented mind set as shown in Figure 12 . The internalising sustainability involves issues where sustainability seems to be a ‘ nice to have ’ but difficult to be included as a business practice
while substantial material wastage being dumped on site of most construction projects is due to the lack of innovative approaches for wastes disposal and recycling . The reluctance of most practitioners to invest in the required machinery , equipment and training due to their “ profit-oriented ” mindset has further hindered a comprehensive implementation of sustainable construction . Low level of consciousness from the public of the impact of their behaviour and decisions on the environment as well as a lack of awareness of some Government implementing agencies on the importance of embracing sustainability criteria in procurement policies , also contributed towards slowing down the pace of a comprehensive implementation of sustainable construction in Malaysia compared to other countries .
THE 11 th MALAYSIA PLAN 2016-2020
Malaysia has set a target to become an advanced economy nation by 2020 . However if restricted available natural resources are not been used efficiently , it will result in irretrievable loss . This will put the nation ’ s development at risk , particularly socio-economic development , which is vital in raising the quality of life of all Malaysians . This long-term national target can be achieved through a resilient , low-carbon , resourceefficient , and socially inclusive manner . In the 10 th Malaysia Plan ( 2011-2015 ), the Government
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Internalising Sustainability
• Sustainability is seen as a ‘ nice to have ’ practices but difficult to include as part of decision making and business practice
• Not enough motivation to drive all development decision into sustainable construction
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Profit Oriented Mind Set
• General perception of practitioners – sustainable construction practices will increase cost and reduce profit
• Additional investments required in machinery , equipment and training are often taken as an excuse not to comply with standards and practices imposed
3
Material Wastages
• Reducing material wastage would minimize global material consumption and amount of demolition waste which reduces construction cost in return
• Currently lack of innovative methods of waste disposal and re-use in construction process
Mobilisation of Resources
• Lack of resources is not the main issue in many cases as much as lack of coordination to manage them in a more efficient way
Figure 12 : Brief Description of Key Challenges for Sustainable Construction in Malaysia
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Public Awareness
• Sustainability is not only the responsibility of governments and the construction industry
• Public must also conscious about the potential impact of their behavior ( decision making ) and the way of resource utilization
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Procurement Procedures
• Embrace sustainability criteria into the procurement policies and procedures of all large project clients including government
• At present , lack of awareness of some government implementing agencies may have hindered a full implementation even though relevant programmes and initiatives are already in place
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14 VOL 69 JANUARY-MARCH 2017