Manufacturing and townships next for Green Building Index certification

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Green Building Index (GBI) is developing rating standards for township developments and industrial buildings next.

The rating for townships is expected to be ready by the second half of the year while preliminary works on a rating for industrial buildings have begun, said Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM) president and chairman of GBI accreditation panel Boon Che Wee at the launch of a GBI for Non-Residential Existing Building (NREB) on Monday, April 26.

The GBI for residential new construction (RNC) and non-residential new construction (NRNC) were launched in May last year.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui who officiated the NREB launch said the GBI certification will not likely be made compulsory. Nevertheless, he hoped the fees for the GBI certification will be more affordable: “I was informed that the fees (to get certified) are currently high. I hope it does not deter buildings from getting certified,” he said.

He said the government is encouraging the Public Works Department (JKR) to get their buildings at least GBI-Certified rated, and these include schools, hospitals and universities.

Chin also presented provisional GBI Design Assessment certifications to the first batch of RNC and NRNC recipients.

The RNC recipients were GBI Platinum-rated S11 House in Petaling Jaya to architect Dr Tan Loke Mun, GBI Gold-rated Ken Bangsar development to developer Ken Property Sdn Bhd and certified-rated 3 Harmoni project in Sunway SPK Damansara in Kuala Lumpur.by Sunway SPK Homes Sdn Bhd.

The NRNC recipients were Bandar Utama City Corporation Sdn Bhd’s Gold –rated 1 First Avenue in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya while GBI certified-rated buildings were Kajang Resources Corporation Sdn Bhd’s KRC Sales Gallery in Kajang and Worldwide Holding Bhd’s Menara Worldwide in Jalan Bukit Bintang.

Bandar Utama City Copr’s director Datuk Teo Chiang Kok told the theedgeproperty.com that with the launch of the GBI NREB, the developer will look into getting its existing buildings such One Utama Shopping Center and office block IBM Tower in Bandar Utama certified.

According to the GBI website at www.greenbuildingindex.org, there are three stages to get GBI accredited. The first stage consists of application and registration, while design assessment is the second stage where upon completion, a provisional GBI Design Assessment certification will be issued. The final stage and third stage is upon completion and verification assessment where the GBI accreditation panel will award GBI Platinum, Gold, Silver or Certified ratings depending on the scores achieved. The ratings are valid for three years.