Sustainability Today 15

Sustainable construction and green building:

the case of Malaysia
K. A. M. Kamar & Z. A. Hamid
Construction Research Institute of Malaysia,
Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia, Malaysia

Abstract
The adoption of sustainable construction and green buildings has become an
important issue in Malaysia in recent years and has been duly highlighted under
the Malaysian Construction Industry Master Plan (20052015). This paper
highlights current initiatives taken by the government and private sectors in
Malaysia to encourage the adoption of sustainable development and green
buildings. Leads by the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia
(CIDB), the government of Malaysia has establishment a technical committee
and eco-label task force to create guideline for good practices in sustainable
construction and green buildings and to develop eco-label accreditation scheme
for construction materials. The challenges of the adoption are lack of skill and
capacity, overlapping of roles among the government agencies, slow industry
follows through on government programs, lack of research and innovation, and
cost versus benefits in term of implementation of green technology. Finally, the
way forward to accelerate the adoption are to establish green public procurement,
to encourage Research and Development (R&D) in related field, to educate and
change public perception and mindset, to adopt life cycle costing and
Industrialised Building System (IBS) method of construction and to provide
legislative and financial framework for sustainable development and green
building.
Keywords: sustainable construction, green buildings, Malaysia.

1 Introduction
The construction industry in Malaysia plays an important role in generating
wealth for the country and development of social and economic infrastructures

WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 167, 2011 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line)
doi:10.2495/ST110021
16 Sustainability Today

and buildings. The industry provides job opportunities for 800,000 people which
represented 8% of total workforce [1]. The construction industry is one of the
productive sectors that constantly contribute to the economy. Recent data
showed that the construction sector growth at 5.3% in 2007 and contributed
2.1% total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Malaysia. The industry creates a
multiplier effect to other industries, including manufacturing sector, financial
and banking, agriculture, mining and professional services and has predicted by
many as the catalyst of economic recovery and as a driver for the modernisation
of Malaysia.

2 Problem statement
Construction industry is a major consumer of non-renewable resources and a
massive producer of waste, and the operation of buildings is responsible for
around half of the total CO2 emissions. Based on a recent study in developed
countries, 30-40% of natural resources were exploited by the building industry,
50% of energy used for heating and cooling in buildings, almost 40% of world
consumption of materials converts to built environment and 30% of energy use
due to housing [2]. The similar percentage is expected in the developing
countries including Malaysia. This is a huge amount of resources and energy
consumed in the building life-cycle, let alone the usage of resources and energy
during the construction phase. It was recorded that more than six million tonnes
of waste has been generated of which a quarter was produced in the Klang
Valley alone, the most affluent area in Malaysia [3] and today, solid waste issue
is one of the biggest environmental problems in Malaysia [4]. The construction
exploits natural resources such as forest for timber, housing and industry without
proper control that contributes to the environmental problems [5]. Many of
environmental issues that occur in this country are due to lack of environmental
considerations in the exploitation, development and management of resources as
well as lack of control of pollution resources. These issues if not tackled
strategically will further aggravate and exert challenges towards sustainable
construction in the following way. It was observed that the Malaysian
construction industry is still behind in waste management, rainwater harvesting
and reduction of carbon footprint as compared to the developed nations.

3 Sustainable policies and commitment of Malaysia

Since the Rio and Kyoto summits, many governments have undertaken to initiate
and implement national sustainable developments. Malaysian in fact, is one of
the earliest nations in the world to have adopted a serious concern towards our
environment by enacting the Environment Quality Act way back in 1974.
Recently, the honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia in his speech at the United
Nations Framework on Climate Change Conference (Copenhagen Summit) has
stated the commitment of Malaysia to reduce the carbon dioxide emission by as
much as 40% compared to 2005 levels. As a result, the Malaysian government is
working on the Green Technology Roadmap to guide Malaysia in becoming a

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 Sustainability Today 17

low carbon green growth economy. For a start, the government is conducting a
baseline study for green technology in Malaysia. The baseline study comprise
the following sectors; energy, waste water, building, transportation,
manufacturing and ICT. This comprehensive document incorporates inputs from
various stakeholders and was completed in Dec 2010.

4 Sustainable development and green buildings initiatives in

Malaysia
The Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) is a body to
develop and modernise the Malaysian construction industry has always take a
proactive actions to address the issue of sustainable construction and assist the
stakeholders in its adoption. Back in June 1999, the CIDB had established a
technical committee to look into developing good environmental practices in the
construction industry. The Technical Committee 9 on Good Environmental
Practices in the Construction Industry (TC9) comprises environmental experts
from government agencies, professional bodies, academia and construction
related associations. Six working groups have been established under the TC9
are [6]:
Working Group 1 (WG1): Development of strategic plan and programmes
for good Environment Practices.
Working Group 2 (WG2): Development of best practices on prevention
and control of soil erosion and sedimentation in construction.
Working Group 3 (WG3): Development of good environmental practices
in storm water management.
Working Group 4 (WG4): Development of accreditation scheme for
environment management system for contractor under D.I.Y Scheme.
This accreditation scheme is toward the contractors certification to ISO
14001 on environmental management systems.
Working Group 5 (WG5): Developing guideline on environmental
management system for construction industry (EMSCI). This guideline
aims to assist contractors to be ISO 14001 certified and that look into the
proper environment management systems in the construction industry.
Working Group 6 (WG6): Development of training module on waste
management at construction sites and guideline on good practices in
construction waste management. The module is targeted to highlight
project exemplars and provide insights on site practical practices on waste
management.
Under the TC9, CIDB had published Strategic Recommendations for
Improving Environmental Practices in Construction Industry which highlighted
recommendation to be the strategic way forward in environment in Malaysian
construction industry adopted by all players. The recommendations are
summarised as follows [7]:
Strengthening the development approval process.
Enhancing law and enforcement.

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18 Sustainability Today

Promoting self-regulation, reflecting the best regulatory practices that are

necessary to achieve sustainable construction in the future.
Increasing capacity and public awareness and addressing knowledge gap.
In June 2006, the Construction Industry Master Plan 2006-2015 (CIMP) has
been published to chart the way forward for Malaysian construction. The CIMP
has identified that the demand on environmental sustainability is necessary to
achieve and sustain economic growth and social development. The following
milestones have been highlighted under the roadmap to be achieved in 2015 [1]:
Foster a quality and environment-friendly culture and to increase
customer demand in the global environment in construction.
Encourage external accreditation in quality and environmental
management i.e. ISO 14001 certifications.
Promote environment-friendly practices.
Initiatives on green building materials to ensure impact activities can
provide in order to spur economy and social benefits at large.
Malaysian green building rating system (Malaysia Green Building Index -
GBI) has been developed and widely used since 2009. This private sector driven
initiative aims to promote sustainability in the built environment and raise
awareness among the industry players about environment issues. Building will
be awarded GBI rating score based on six key criteria; energy efficiency, indoor
environment quality, sustainable site planning, material and resources, water
efficiency and innovation.
In February 2010, the CIDB together with industrys stakeholders has met up
to strategise the green technology and sustainable agenda. The aim is to
formalise the strategic direction in green construction and sustainability. The
focus areas which have been identified as the priorities and need urgent action
are:
Formulation of green technology roadmap for construction industry
Establishing eco-labelling task force
Standardisation of provision and legislation on green technology
Education and awareness
Based on the output of the meeting, the CIDB is establishing technical
committee for green technology best practices in construction. The technical
committee is looking on four area of interest; eco-labelling, training,
development of contractors and development of roadmap for green construction.
As one of the most important aspect of sustainable construction and green
buildings which need urgent attention, the eco-labelling task force was
established comprised of captains from industries to look into the development
of eco-labelling scheme for construction materials. Construction Research
Institute of Malaysia (CREAM), subsidiary of CIDB has set-up product testing
facilities in its laboratory to ensure construction materials to be certified as eco-
label.
In line with government effort to reduce dependency on foreign workers and
utilise green construction technologies, CIDB is geared toward the adoption of
innovation method in construction in the form of Industrialised Building Systems
(IBS). The fundamental idea of IBS is to move on-site work to more controlled

WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 167, 2011 WIT Press
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 Sustainability Today 19

environment in a manufacturing floor. IBS promote sustainability from

controlled production environment minimisation of waste generation effective
usage of energy, efficient building materials, effective logistic and long term
economic stability which can contribute to better investment in environment
technologies. IBS also proved that wastage can be reduced greatly due to
prefabrication of most of the building components. Prefabrication in factory
environment enables waste reduction through process orientation that entails
controlled production and standardise process. Since 2008, IBS is made
compulsory in public building project, where 70% of components using in the
construction must be IBS.
In closing the technological gap and changing peoples mindset, research and
development is the way ahead. Ongoing research areas in sustainable
construction and green buildings funded by CIDB are:
Construction practices for storm water management and soil erosion
control for the construction industry.
Achieving sustainability of the construction industry via International
Environmental Management Systems Standard.
Waste minimisation and recycling potential of construction materials.
Materials security and waste management for Industrialised Building
Systems (IBS).
Environmental management plan in the contract tender document of
construction projects.
Utilisation of waste materials for the production of concrete pedestrian
block.

5 The future outlook

New business will emerge to utilise green technologies and captured market
share in the construction industry. It includes construction firms that specialise in
providing consultancy services for clients which would like to use green
technology. In addition there are potential markets for manufacturers to produce
innovative green products in the construction business, such as panels, roof
system, walls, rain-water harvesting system and solar panels. The green
technology initiative also creates multiplier effect for other industry. More
business can be created in the area of recycling, water purification, air
purification, environmental remediation, solid waste management, renewable
energy and energy conservation. Under Budget 2010, the government provides
effective financial incentives through Green Technology Financial Scheme
(GTFS) in the amount of RM 1.5 billion (300 million) to explore green
technology and adopt green practices. This fund will provide soft loans to
companies that supply and utilise green technology. For suppliers, the maximum
financing is RM 50 million (10 million) and for consumers and companies RM
10 million (2 million). In addition, the government is also considering tax
incentives such as tax deduction for contribution towards environmental funds
and tax breaks for buildings and designs that work harmoniously with nature.

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20 Sustainability Today

For attaining a better future the government of Malaysia is in the midst of

integrating green topics in the national education system and increasing modules
and courses related to green technology in institutes of higher education in both
public and private institutions. Further, the government creates green jobs
roadmap through integrating skills training standard in National Competency
Standards (NCS) and National Occupational Skills Standards (NOSS). Green
ICT Working Group has been set up under the Malaysian Technical Standards
Forum Berhad to actively promote the Green ICT concept in relation to the ICT
industry, to set up a minimum Green ICT guideline that can be used across
industries and to continuously seek to establish a sustainable ICT industry
through eco-friendly technology.
However, there are several challenges in adopting sustainable construction
and green building in Malaysia. The challenges are lack of skill and capacity in
this area, overlapping of roles among the government agencies, slow industry
follow through on government programs, lack of research and innovation, lack of
understanding of environmental implications and its solutions and cost versus
benefits in term of implementation of green technology. The barriers are also
related to law and regulation. Currently, the government of Malaysia fails to
regulate and enforce due to the lack of a legislative framework specifically for
green technology or green growth. Thus, unable to apply the carrot and stick
principle and reach industries/people at all levels. These issues need to be
addressed to ensure successful adoption in the future.

6 Recommendation
Recommendations to accelerate the adoption of sustainable construction and
green buildings in Malaysia are:
To further incorporate and applies innovation in construction in the form
of Industrialised Building System (IBS). The fundamental idea of IBS is
to move on-site work to a controlled environment of manufacturing floor.
IBS promote sustainability from controlled production environment
minimisation of waste generation effective usage of energy, efficient
building materials, effective logistic and long term economic stability
which can contribute to better investment in environment technologies
The introduction and adoption of while whole life cycle costing and green
procurement in construction industry is important way forward. The
concept refers to the total cost of ownership over the life of an asset. It
also commonly referred to as cradle to grave or womb to tomb costs. The
primary benefit of whole-life costing is that costs which occur after an
asset has been constructed or acquired, such as maintenance, operation,
disposal, become an important consideration in decision-making. By
introducing the whole life cycle costing and green procurement, the
industry has resources to plan for sustainable and use green materials
when the investment is justified.
Environmental considerations will be integrated into all stages of
development, programme planning and implementation and all aspects of

WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 167, 2011 WIT Press
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 Sustainability Today 21

policy making. Environmental inputs shall be incorporated into economic

development planning activities, including regional plan, master plans,
structure and local plan.
Human capital development is one of the important elements that need to
be taken onboard. A system for formulation of grading and certification
mechanisms for competent personnel in green technology is the way
forward. The learning curve and education syllabus on sustainable and
green construction should be included right from primary education until
university level.
Research and innovation is the best way to improve and expand
knowledge and technology. The government should increase grant
allocation on the research related to sustainable and green construction
and encourage research cluster on green issues. The research agenda
needs to include benchmarking and technology transfer of best practices
from developed countries in implementing sustainable and green
construction agenda.
Integrated and effective cooperation and coordination among government
and other sectors shall be enhanced in order to achieve efficient
environmental management and protection. Environment-related
legislation and standards shall be reviewed regularly and revised where
necessary to ensure the continued effectiveness and coordination of laws.
Particular attention will be paid to effective enforcement. However, there
is a need for clarity in the roles of the agencies to avoid confusion and
overlapping in roles and programs

7 Final remarks
Mitigation to sustainable mentality requires a lot of change in attitude,
innovation, creativity, research and support from many stakeholders.
Construction industry must inevitably change its historic of operating with little
regard for environmental impact to a new mode that makes environmental
concern a centre piece of its effort. The era of sustainability is taking its stand
and the construction industry must demonstrate that it can abide by this new
stand. It is important for the government of Malaysia to exploit their foresight
regarding this transition to maximise its potential benefit through policies
supporting the development of the private demand for and supply of activities
which meet this agenda. Change requires investments, and the vast majority of
those investments must happen through the private sector with the government
providing adequate enabling effect.

References
[1] CIDB, (2006). Strategic Recommendations for Improving Environmental
Practices in Construction Industry. Construction Industry Development
Board (CIDB) Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur.

WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 167, 2011 WIT Press
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22 Sustainability Today

[2] Bourdeau, L., (1999), Sustainable Development and the Future of

Construction: A Comparison of Visions from Various Countries, Building
Research and Information, 27(6), pp. 354-366.
[3] Yusoff, S. (2007). Sustainable Solid Waste Management : Incorporating
Life Cycle Assessment as a Decision Support Tool, The Ingeniur, Vol. 34,
Board of Engineers Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
[4] Nasir, H., Nurlaily, H., Rakmi, A.R., Zamri I. and Saifullah, R., (1995).
Existing Solid Waste Management and Problems in Malaysia, Privatisation
of Solid Waste Management in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.
[5] Ibrahim, R. (1999). Environmental Management in Malaysia. The Ingeniur,
Board of Engineers Malaysia, Issue 1, January. Kuala Lumpur.
[6] CIDB. (1999). Terms of Reference. Technical Committee 9. Construction
Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur.
[7] CIDB, (2008). Construction Industry Master Plan 2006-2015 (CIMP).
Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. Kuala
Lumpur.

WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 167, 2011 WIT Press
www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line)