The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and Urbanice Malaysia have signed the first public-private sector Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The MOU signing ceremony was witnessed by YBhg. Datuk TPr. Sulaiman bin Mohamed, Executive Director of Planning, DBKL. The MOU is seen as contributive step towards the SDGs of the nation and the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) efforts to create a sustainable city.
Urbanice Malaysia, as stated in the MOU, is to provide strategic counsel and advice to help the Centre further align its corporate responsibilities to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; enhance and execute its SDG roadmap; develop an SDG business events guideline; and expand SDG reporting. On top of that, it will also be engaging with the Government and DBKL through knowledge sharing dialogues and the development of integrated urban solutions.
“This collaboration demonstrates a high level of commitment from the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre to align its activities towards achieving their SDGs goals and targets. The effort sets a great example and we hope it will drive more businesses and corporations in Malaysia towards adopting Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks to help accelerate the localisation and implementation of the country’s SDGs in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, Malaysia SDG Cities and Kuala Lumpur’s vision as a ‘City for All’,”TPr. Ts. Norliza Binti Hashim, Chief Executive, Urbanice Malaysia commented.
“We are delighted to have reached another key milestone on our sustainability journey and to be partnering with Urbanice Malaysia to build on our commitment to be a venue that operates in a responsible and sustainable manner. We also hope this pioneering public-private collaboration will help lay the foundations and inspire many more public-private sector SDG partnerships in the future, ”Alan Pryor, General Manager KL Convention Centre said.
“International meetings and events are now designed through the lens of sustainability, with the intention of leaving behind a lasting legacy for the local communities where the event is hosted. As an industry leader and a world-class venue, we support Malaysia’s sustainable journey and will endeavour to increase its global competitiveness and destination attractiveness to increase the number international conferences and exhibitions hosted in the country. By aligning our SDGs, establishing an SDG-focused framework and engaging directly with the Government and DBKL, we will be able to create more sustainable events and attract additional international events to our shores moving forward,” he added.
To recap, the convention Centre has retained its EarthCheck (world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism) Silver certification for the third consecutive year.
“Our sustainability priorities are centred around waste management, energy management and community care. In 2019, we established a cross-departmental SDG taskforce that worked tirelessly to raise awareness among our staff, identify areas of improvement and manage the implementation of change within the organisation. We have since made some remarkable progress that has inspired us to deepen our commitment to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner. This led us to explore collaborative opportunities with Urbanice Malaysia and we look forward to embarking on this new journey together,” Pryor concluded.
