On The Road To Become Malaysia’s Sustainable Champion

Previously known as DRB-Hicom Environmental Services, the rebranded Alam Flora Environmental Solutions has come a long way since its first start in 2013. The company now looking to become the champion of sustainability in the country is working alongside corporate giants and businesses in Malaysia to educate them on the importance of being purpose-driven and there is more to being a business than just making profit.

Chief Operating Officer, Nazar Abdul Raof sits down with Business Today to talk about the next step for the company as years of preparing will now go into preparing AFES for its next big step. The Alam Flora’s fully owned subsidiary provides other kind of holistic environmental-driven solutions to an array of clients including those in the private sector, industrial, institution, commercial, factory, medical facilities, and education centre.

With a range of waste solutions, AFES specialises in collection and disposal of domestic and recyclable waste, collection and disposal of renovation and construction waste, collection, shredding and disposal of confidential documents and consulting services on Reduce, Reuse and Recycle (3R) Programs, among others.

AFES’ core business includes, Asset Facilities Management (AFM), Infrastructure Cleansing and Waste Solutions (ICWS), Waste Management Facilities (WMF) and New Project Development. This year, AFES is focusing on Asset Facilities Management (AFM) in offering strategic solutions which are designed for long-term sustainability by using the latest technological advances for building management.

It operates at an optimum cost and efficiency, without affecting the safety and quality as well as the natural environment.

THE RIGHT SUSTAINABILITY PARTNER

“We are ready now to communicate with business leaders to help find new ways of managing waste and to show them the services we can offer that goes beyond just waste management,” Nazar tells BusinessToday.

Chief Operating Officer, Nazar Abdul Raof

After years of preparing with the necessary talent and technology, AFES is now letting corporates and government agencies know that they are ready to assist players achieve a more sustainable business direction. “For clients like large corporations that have visited our facility, seeing was believing. We showed them our facilities and the way we managed it. This convinced them,” he says.

While FIKS centre now is not open due to the Covid-19 pandemic, AFES offers virtual tours which has since seen more than 1,000 participants virtually attend the tour. Nazar shares that AFES practices a couple of strategies to get corporates on board and these involve educating, raising awareness, and incorporating sustainability into their business design.

“We educate them on environmental issues, and we explain to them what we do and how we do it with the system in place. Corporates do not have to create a separate department to deal with these issues, instead they can partner with us and work out strategies to do so through consultations,” he highlights.

The COO also says while the general perspective is that sustainability practices can only be taken on by bigger companies, he urges smaller companies to start putting the sustainability agenda at the forefront of the operation discussions. “Every business leader needs to think about sustainability, and we can assure them they will get to pair both the sustainability agenda and profit making side by side.”

The feedback, according to Nazar, has been welcoming and positive. As business owners become aware that they do not have the right partner to further advance their sustainability efforts, turn to AFES to achieve their goals. AFES will soon be collaborating with a large corporation moving towards sustainability to segregate dry waste at petrol stations and Nazar hopes that such collaborations will get other corporate players to follow suit.

CHAMPION SUSTAINABILITY WITH AFES

We can start by refusing to buy products that cannot be recycled like single-use plastics. Instead try to use paper-based products or made of materials that can be disposed systematically,” Nazar says. AFES is also with the public to train them on collecting waste and generate extra income. The Eco Duta comprises of 11 agents who specialise in collecting certain type of waste and delivering them to FIKS.

Along with the public, AFES is looking to get corporate players to move into initiatives that will help to save and conserve the environment. Nazar says awareness level among companies has risen to greater levels in recent years but most of them do not have the right partners. “This is where we come in to focus and promote the right strategies. All you have to do is collaborate with us,” he says.

However, the road to get more people to champion sustainability has not been easy. While there has been rise in discussions with more and more local authorities, the focus of corporate players has always centered around the idea of making profit. “We want to make corporate sectors in Malaysia to be more purpose driven and to show them that profit, and sustainability can go hand in hand,” the COO stresses.

FIKS centre

“Instead of channeling your money into sending your waste to landfills, why not use that source of income to work on more sustainable options with us and save more in the future,” he added. “Our existence here is of a higher purpose that aims to make Malaysia a relatively better place for generations to come to live in.”

AFES is offering companies services that ranges from setting up facilities to building a more sustainable process of dealing with waste within the company. The Alam Flora subsidiary is also offering capital expenditure (CAPEX) to operating expenses (OPEX) programme to reduce operating expenses without causing a significant drop in quality or production output.

“We have a good planning team, good technology and a good methodology to execute these ideas. We are here ready to do business now,” Nazar concludes.

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