Last year, Petronas announced its aspiration to achieve Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 as part of its holistic approach to sustainability that balances Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations which are aligned to its statement of purpose, namely, to be a ‘progressive energy and solutions partner enriching lives for a sustainable future.
And as of recent, Grab’s new carbon offset feature, to be launched in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in July before rolling out to the rest of the region, will let consumers easily purchase carbon offsets at less than US$0.10 per ride. The amount will go towards reforestation and conservation projects managed by local non-governmental organisations.
Anthony Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Grab said, “The health of our business is intrinsically linked to the welfare of our communities and the protection of our environment. In order for our business to grow and succeed in the long run, we must work towards building thriving communities where our partners have sustainable income opportunities, while protecting our environment for generations to come.”
These efforts have also been seen in the banking sector with both HSBC and Maybank announcing extensive initiatives on sustainability and the transition into a net zero global economy.
New Challenges, New Strategies
Sharing his thoughts on the changes taking place during a pandemic, Malaysia Green Technology and Climate Change Centre (MGTC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shamsul Bahar Mohd Nor says new strategies were needed to reflect the new challenges in place and the limitations that had been imposed.
“We saw the immediate need to utilise digitalisation in our day-to-day operations. Whether it was meetings or even audits, we transitioned and adopted the available online tools. This extended to training sessions too,” Shamsul says.
Referring to the blue skies and the positive changes that impacted the environment during the first Movement Control Order, Shamsul says it was a reminder of the amount of carbon emissions produced by the activities carried out prior to the pandemic.
To better reflect the changes and the principles that MGTC stands on, Shamsul and his team had encouraged MGTC’s staff to commute via the public transport or to carpool. The company also imposed a 4-day work from office with Fridays allocated for work from home.
“The move to get our staff to work from home every Friday wasn’t just because of the pandemic but because of the benefits it created for both the people and the environment. After practicing these initiatives among us at MGTC, I have tabled these suggestions at the Ministry level,” Shamsul tells BusinessToday.
“I have presented the ‘Green Office Practices’ to the Ministry of Environment and Water, where we proposed that all Ministries to adopt the guidelines we have practiced internally,” he said.
Acknowledging that changes, no matter how small, will require corporates to tap into their budget, Shamsul says MGTC’s incentivisation programme introduces corporate players to the benefits in terms of tax allowances, particularly for the SMEs.
MGTC’s awareness programmes also encourage both the public and private to make the transition to EV vehicles as part of the country’s efforts in mitigating the impact of climate change.
Additionally, the Centre also plans to achieve RM7.8 billion in green investment over the next few years. This is part of their initiative to spearhead the Green Growth and Climate Action plans.
In the last 10 years, MGTC has also achieved RM7.8 billion in green investments, creating 5,449 jobs.
Raising Awareness On Green Products and Services
As part of its initiative, the MyHIJAU programme, managed by MGTC, is responsible for the promotion, business advisory, verification, and monitoring of certified green products and services. Last year, under the MyHIJAU Mark, 7,500 green products and services had been registered.
MGTC aims to register 20,000 by 2025 and 50,000 by 2030.
The number of registered products and services under the MyHIJAU Mark will cater to the Green Government Procurement (GGP) performance with a 20% contribution to the Eleventh Malaysia Plan and 100% contribution to the GGP Long Term Action Plan.
“Up to last year, consumer spending on green products and services contributed RM20 billion to the green economy. We are targeting RM100 billion in contribution by 2030 and to double the jobs that were created last year,” Shamsul says.
According to MGTC, the green economy created over 145,000 jobs in 2020. And in terms of GGP, MGTC has listed 40 items that the Government can be spending on, and is well on its way to establish a longer list in the years to come.
This year, the 12th International Greentech and Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia (IGEM 2021) returns in a virtual format.
The IGEM 2021 will be run consecutively for six months commencing from the first of July until December 31, 2021, as part of the government’s direct initiative to drive green agenda, business sustainability and unlock the green economy recovery for both environment and economy and will showcase 300 virtual booths representing companies and organisations from over 50 countries with targeted visitation of 30,000 visitors from 100 countries globally.
“We have also set an expanded target of achieving more than RM5 billion in business leads over the 6 months period this year. On the opening day, we anticipate showcasing approximately 60 organisations and are confident more organisations will join on the platform to further enhance the programme in the coming months,” MGTC CEO Shamsul said.
He has also called for organisations nationwide to participate in the virtual event as it is designed to be the leading platform for stakeholders to promote their product and services including sharing the latest technology trend and insights.
For more information on the upcoming Virtual IGEM 2021, visit http://www.igem.my/
The goal of reaching a net zero carbon emission by a certain year has made its way to the top of many corporate missions over the last couple of years. Corporate giants are more aware than ever of the importance of integrating green and sustainable practices into their operations for a better future.
Last year, Petronas announced its aspiration to achieve Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 as part of its holistic approach to sustainability that balances Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations which are aligned to its statement of purpose, namely, to be a ‘progressive energy and solutions partner enriching lives for a sustainable future.
And as of recent, Grab’s new carbon offset feature, to be launched in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in July before rolling out to the rest of the region, will let consumers easily purchase carbon offsets at less than US$0.10 per ride. The amount will go towards reforestation and conservation projects managed by local non-governmental organisations.
Anthony Tan, Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Grab said, “The health of our business is intrinsically linked to the welfare of our communities and the protection of our environment. In order for our business to grow and succeed in the long run, we must work towards building thriving communities where our partners have sustainable income opportunities, while protecting our environment for generations to come.”
These efforts have also been seen in the banking sector with both HSBC and Maybank announcing extensive initiatives on sustainability and the transition into a net zero global economy.
New Challenges, New Strategies
Sharing his thoughts on the changes taking place during a pandemic, Malaysia Green Technology and Climate Change Centre (MGTC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shamsul Bahar Mohd Nor says new strategies were needed to reflect the new challenges in place and the limitations that had been imposed.
“We saw the immediate need to utilise digitalisation in our day-to-day operations. Whether it was meetings or even audits, we transitioned and adopted the available online tools. This extended to training sessions too,” Shamsul says.
Referring to the blue skies and the positive changes that impacted the environment during the first Movement Control Order, Shamsul says it was a reminder of the amount of carbon emissions produced by the activities carried out prior to the pandemic.
To better reflect the changes and the principles that MGTC stands on, Shamsul and his team had encouraged MGTC’s staff to commute via the public transport or to carpool. The company also imposed a 4-day work from office with Fridays allocated for work from home.
“The move to get our staff to work from home every Friday wasn’t just because of the pandemic but because of the benefits it created for both the people and the environment. After practicing these initiatives among us at MGTC, I have tabled these suggestions at the Ministry level,” Shamsul tells BusinessToday.
“I have presented the ‘Green Office Practices’ to the Ministry of Environment and Water, where we proposed that all Ministries to adopt the guidelines we have practiced internally,” he said.
Acknowledging that changes, no matter how small, will require corporates to tap into their budget, Shamsul says MGTC’s incentivisation programme introduces corporate players to the benefits in terms of tax allowances, particularly for the SMEs.
MGTC’s awareness programmes also encourage both the public and private to make the transition to EV vehicles as part of the country’s efforts in mitigating the impact of climate change.
Additionally, the Centre also plans to achieve RM7.8 billion in green investment over the next few years. This is part of their initiative to spearhead the Green Growth and Climate Action plans.
In the last 10 years, MGTC has also achieved RM7.8 billion in green investments, creating 5,449 jobs.
Raising Awareness On Green Products and Services
As part of its initiative, the MyHIJAU programme, managed by MGTC, is responsible for the promotion, business advisory, verification, and monitoring of certified green products and services. Last year, under the MyHIJAU Mark, 7,500 green products and services had been registered.
MGTC aims to register 20,000 by 2025 and 50,000 by 2030.
The number of registered products and services under the MyHIJAU Mark will cater to the Green Government Procurement (GGP) performance with a 20% contribution to the Eleventh Malaysia Plan and 100% contribution to the GGP Long Term Action Plan.
“Up to last year, consumer spending on green products and services contributed RM20 billion to the green economy. We are targeting RM100 billion in contribution by 2030 and to double the jobs that were created last year,” Shamsul says.
According to MGTC, the green economy created over 145,000 jobs in 2020. And in terms of GGP, MGTC has listed 40 items that the Government can be spending on, and is well on its way to establish a longer list in the years to come.
This year, the 12th International Greentech and Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia (IGEM 2021) returns in a virtual format.
The IGEM 2021 will be run consecutively for six months commencing from the first of July until December 31, 2021, as part of the government’s direct initiative to drive green agenda, business sustainability and unlock the green economy recovery for both environment and economy and will showcase 300 virtual booths representing companies and organisations from over 50 countries with targeted visitation of 30,000 visitors from 100 countries globally.
“We have also set an expanded target of achieving more than RM5 billion in business leads over the 6 months period this year. On the opening day, we anticipate showcasing approximately 60 organisations and are confident more organisations will join on the platform to further enhance the programme in the coming months,” MGTC CEO Shamsul said.
He has also called for organisations nationwide to participate in the virtual event as it is designed to be the leading platform for stakeholders to promote their product and services including sharing the latest technology trend and insights.
For more information on the upcoming Virtual IGEM 2021, visit http://www.igem.my/
