MyCREST targets 20 projects to be accredited this year

PETALING JAYA (March 4): The soon to be launched Malaysian Carbon Reduction and Environmental Sustainability Tool (MyCREST) targets to have 20 property projects accredited under a pilot project this year.

MyCREST is a sustainability rating tool introduced by the Works Ministry through the Public Works Department and the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB).

It is expected to be officially launched by May. It aims to quantify and reduce carbon emissions in the construction sector where industry players such as developers will be guided to incorporate greater environmentally sustainable practices in their projects.

Participating projects will be able to obtain up to three types of certifications awarded at three different stages — the design; construction; and operation and maintenance stages. Projects will be assessed based on 11 criteria before a MyCREST star rating, ranging from one to five stars, is awarded to a project based on its percentage score.

The 11 criteria include pre-design; infrastructure and sequestration; energy performance impact; occupant and health; lowering embodied carbon; water efficiency factors; social and cultural sustainability; demolition and disposal factors; sustainable and carbon initiatives; waste management and reduction; and sustainable facility management.

“So far, 40 developers have pledged their projects to be assessed under the MyCREST pilot assessment programme. We hope to have more developers on board as it would stimulate greater focus on sustainability and encourage the construction of more green developments in the country,” said Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (Rehda) deputy president Datuk Soam Heng Choon (pictured, top) at the signing of the memorandum of collaboration between CIDB and Rehda yesterday.

Among the projects participating in the pilot programme are S P Setia Bhd’s corporate headquarters in Setia Alam, IJM Land’s Waterside Residence in Penang and Damansara Uptown One Sdn Bhd’s Uptown 1 project in Petaling Jaya.

Meanwhile, Soam hopes that the collaboration will see a greater exchange of knowledge and expertise between both parties relating to MyCREST and Rehda’s own Green Real Estate (GreenRE) sustainability tools, through training and education programmes.

The GreenRE, a green rating tool, launched by Rehda in 2013 has registered more than 70 projects to date.

Rehda, through GreenRE, will also organise intensive training to accredit MyCREST and GreenRE managers on a quarterly or monthly basis.

The collaboration is an example of how the private and public sectors can work together to push the green growth agenda, said Deputy Minister of Works Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin (pictured, left) who witnessed the event.

“To demonstrate our commitment at the government level, all public projects above the value of RM50 million must now subscribe to the MyCREST rating tool,” she added.

Currently, two key public projects — Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA Selama in Perak and the Hulu Terengganu Polytechnic in Terengganu — will be assessed with MyCrest as part of the pilot project.

This story first appeared in TheEdgeProperty.com pullout on March 4, 2016, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download TheEdgeProperty.com here for free.