PRIVATE FIRMS HEED GREEN CALL
Digi, Shell retrofitted buildings with energy-efficient systems
ANUMBER of private companies has been addressing the environmental impact of their business operations in line with the government’s aim to strengthen energy sustainability.
According to the National Transformation Programme (NTP) Annual Report 2016, the government had retrofitted its buildings with energy-efficient cooling and lighting systems, and implemented efficient energymanagement practices.
Likewise, companies like Digi, Shell and CIMB are just a few that received the Green Building Index (GBI) certification.
Last year, Digi upgraded its headquarters, known as D’House, which is being assessed for certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Commercial Interior, with new environmental features.
According to its sustainability expert Gabriel Chong, as part of the certification process, Digi assessed and recalibrated air-conditioning units and installed LED lighting to maximise energy savings.
“These are complemented with employee-engagement initiatives, such as mobile recycling and a daily Earth Hour energysaving reminder,” he told the New Sunday Times.
To reach its goal faster, , the government offered conditional grants for companies to implement energy-efficient measures, of which Digi had received green-related tax incentives.
While the government is working towards introducing new technologies, like high-efficiency chillers, utilisation of smart submeter systems and energy efficient appliances, Digi has integrated vertical green walls, coldaisle containments and bioswales at D’House.
“In 2012, we began a three-year network modernisation project where we migrated our network to new energy-efficient equipment, re-designing and retro-fitting all our base stations nationwide.
“We have installed 74 solar hybrid base stations, with an estimated annual capacity of 0.52GWh of renewable energy to complement our energy efficiency initiatives,” Chong said.
To expand the renewable energy agenda in Malaysia, the government introduced the Net Energy Metering (NEM) and LargeScale Solar (LSS) programmes in 2016.
NEM is the first of its kind in the region, allowing electricity generation from clean energy via solar photovoltaic for self-consumption and selling excess energy to utility companies.
This results in savings in consumers’ electricity bills.
The Malaysia Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda) and Energy Commission have been promoting this to domestic, commercial and industrial consumers.
Under NEM, the government targets to achieve 90 mega watt (MW) per year for Peninsular Malaysia and 10 MW per year for Sabah and Labuan in power generation from last year until 2020, amounting to 500 MW.
LSS is also crucial for Malaysia to accelerate renewable energy growth, in line with the target to achieve 1,000 MW in energy generated from renewable resources by 2020.
These programmes would benefit companies like Digi, which forecast its network energy use to increase by 2020 as it strengthens and broadens its connectivity to provide better service to meet the demands of customers.
“A Global E-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), the report estimates that by 2030, mobile connectivity and the digital service industry is expected to be responsible for 1.97 per cent of global emission, an estimated 4 per cent reduction from 2020.
“This will be due to improvements in energy efficiency, new technologies and growth in renewables energy,” Chong said.