KOTA KINABALU: The State government has been urged to set up a State Green Council.
Malaysia Green Building Confederation Sabah Chapter (MGBC Sabah) chairman Benny Song said it was timely that the new state government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal with the vision to improve the quality of living in Sabah, should set up a State Green Council that comprises the relevant government agencies and stakeholders to draft policies, practise sustainable developments to harness green technologies and protect the environment for a sustainable and a better quality of life for the state of Sabah.
Song said the formation of the Malaysia Green Building Confederation (MGBC) started in May 2007, when a group of consultants, academia and representatives from the building industry met to initiate a non-profit making organisation to promote sustainable buildings in Malaysia.
The group was supported by Malaysia’s two prominent professional organisations; the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) and Pertubuhan Akitek Malaysia (PAM), and by April 2009, the Malaysia Green Building Confederation was officially registered, he added.
Ever since its inception, he said the MGBC was well poised to lead the building industry in embracing responsible measures that would help realized energy savings, water conservation, a healthier indoor environment, better public connectivity, recycling of valuable resources and provision of greenery in developments.
“This is done through promoting and providing inputs to the Malaysia Green Building Index (GBI),” he pointed out.
He said the MGBC Sabah Chapter was formed in 2015 and had since worked on two major tasks, namely assisting Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) in drafting and formulating requirements for roof insulation as well as Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV) for new residential building structures within DBKK jurisdiction and drafting Green Resort Hotel Tools for the Ministry of Tourism, Cultural and Environment Sabah.
With the MGBC’s goals and mission of being the key driving force towards a sustainable built environment in Malaysia, Song believed that MGBC Sabah could assist the state government in setting up the Green Council and offer to take part as one of the council members to contribute for a sustainable State.