Green conference all set to impart information on sustainable technologies

KUALA LUMPUR: The Green Solutions Property Conference 2010, touted as Malaysia's first carbon-neutral real estate conference, will bring together developers and industry professionals, namely architects, project managers, green technology inventors and taxation officers, to share their views on the implications of the green movement.

It also aims to impart information on the sustainable technologies and practices that are currently available and applicable to property developers.

To be held on April 6 at the Sime Darby Convention Centre, the conference is organised jointly by the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (Rehda) Institute, non-governmental organisation Eastern Regional Organisation for Planning and Human Settlement Green Technology and Innovation (EAROPH GTi), and Sime Darby Property Bhd.

Speakers at the forum include Malaysian Institute of Archirects council member Dr Tan Loke Mun, Dr Matthias Gelber, Broadway Malyan Singapore director Jason Pomeroy, EAROPH GTi chairman Lincoln Lee, PriceWaterhouseCoopers representative Ng Say Guat, founder and director of C2C Project Managers Sdn Bhd B K Sinha, and head of BREEAM Communities Ed Cotter.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the government’s commitment to reduce green house gas emissions by 40% has prompted it to come up with several initiatives to drive the green technology industry and create awareness on the importance of green technology to mitigate climate change.

“As far as the property sector is concerned, we are talking about green building solutions which cover not only the materials, but also the design and the environment,” said Kong at a media briefing on the conference on March 11.

Also present at the briefing was Dr Tan, who is an accreditation panel member of GreenBuildingIndex Sdn Bhd. Tan said developers and professionals will have to rethink the way they design their products as consumers are becoming more conscious about energy efficiency while local subsidies may be reduced to raise competitiveness globally.