GBI targets 100 green rated factories by 2020

SHAH ALAM (Aug 10): Green Building Index (GBI) targets to have 100 green rated factories by 2020, according to chairman of Green Building Index Accreditation Panel (GBIAP), Von Kok Leong.

“To date, we have 32 registered green factory projects (comprising about 300 buildings) registered under GBI out of the total 700 factory projects in Malaysia,” said Von during a media briefing on Sustainable Manufacturing: Malaysia Aims for Green Factories over the Next Five Years.

One of the challenges in achieving the targeted number of green rated factories is understanding the return on investments versus the cost of building, noted Von.

"Usually, manufacturers are concerned about the cost incurred as they would need to shut down a part of their factory to refurbish it. They might incur a large initial cost in doing so, but the crucial part is to educate them about the savings they will get in return from their initial investment" said Von.

Von added that another challenge would be the need for manufacturers to show an increment in their productivity and output after the initiation of the green factory status.

For example, factories with total electricity consumption equal to or exceeding 3 million kWh for six consecutive months are required under the Efficient Management of Electrical Energy Regulation 2008 to submit a report on the electrical energy consumption, improvement measures implemented or not implemented with reasons and estimated savings achieved as a result of energy improvement measures.

Von was joined by president of Malaysia Green Building Council (MGBC), Sarly Adre Sarkum; group general manager of Nippon Paint Malaysia Group, Gladys Goh; and chairman of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Environmental Management Committee (FMM), Datuk Haji Mizanur Rahman Ghani.

Mizanur said there have been many inquiries about green factories.

“In order for the country to achieve 100 factories in five years, people have to understand that it takes thorough planning for such factories. It also requires parties such as the manufacturers and builders to participate,” said Mizanur.
MGBC’s Sarly said that the upcoming seminar will help to educate people about the benefits of green factories such as energy and cost savings.

“There are many factories across Malaysia but only a handful of them are green rated. If more than a certain percentage are green factories, we can see a lot more energy savings. Currently, factories consume 40% of the total energy use in Malaysia,” said Sarly.

The media briefing is a lead up to the upcoming Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers, Nippon Paint Green Factories Seminar 2015 on Aug 27, organised by FMM, MGBC and Nippon Paint.