20 TECHNOLOGY
@green | July-August, 2020
Busting its gut
MGTC leaving no
stone unturned to
meet targets and
demands
“GGP refers to
the acquisition of
environmentallyfriendly
products
and services in the
public sector to spur
demand for green
industries. GGP has
been implemented at
the federal government
level since 2014. The
next stage is to expand
GGP adoption to the
State governments and
local authorities.”
BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN
The MyRelamp Project is a pilot initiative
under the Government Green
Procurement (GGP) programme for
local authorities through lighting energy
efficiency. The project is to support the
Low Carbon Cities Initiative designed to
introduce GGP to local authorities and
enhance GGP and Eco-Labelling product
criteria.
The Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation,
Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Germany funds the
project through the Deutsche Gesellschaft fürInternationaleZusammenarbeit
(GIZ) GmbH, a German international
development agency, and supported by the Economic
Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department,
Malaysia.
“GGP refers to the acquisition of environmentally-friendly
products and services in the public sector to spur demand for
green industries. GGP has been implemented at the federal
government level since 2014. The next stage is to expand
GGP adoption to the State governments and local authorities,”
said Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change
Centre Chief Executive Officer Shamsul Bahar Mohd Nor.
Since 2011, Malaysia established the Low Carbon Cities
Framework (LCCF) to guide local authorities, universities
and any other institutions on how to transform their cities
into low carbon cities.
The LCCF looks at addressing carbon emissions in four
main areas -- Urban Environment, Urban Infrastructure,
Urban Transportation and Buildings. Local authorities are
encouraged to adopt LCCF, and those that have, are finding
success in their low carbon initiatives.
The objectives of the MyRelamp project are:
i. To expand the implementation of the GGP initiative at
local authorities level.
ii. To develop street lighting product criteria and specification
as a new product group to be incorporated in the
existing GGP guidelines.
iii. To review and update available lighting product criteria
under the Eco-Labelling Scheme.
iv. To support the implementation of environment-friendly
lighting and explore and demonstrate the most viable
financing mechanism that can help the application of
GGP in the field of products and services for lighting.
v. To support and strengthen the LCCF implementation
in local authorities as part of the drive to further reduce
greenhouse gases emission through energy efficiency
measures which indirectly contribute to a higher GGP
value.
vi. To stimulate awareness and instil green lifestyle among
the local authorities’ staff on energy savings and related
cost potentials by the energy efficiency programme and
the purchase of green products and services.
The project will contribute to the reduction of GHG emission
from the energy savings or electricity consumption
reduction provided by the lighting retrofit activity, which
is in line with the national target to reduce GHG emissions
intensity of GDP by 45 per cent by 2030 relative to the emissions
intensity of GDP in 2005.
The numbers of lighting to be retrofitted during the project
implementation and the number of pilot local authorities
might be not that high.
However, Shamsul said: “There is a vast scale-up opportunity
considering there are 150 local authorities in Malaysia
and a significant amount of conventional lighting is still
used.”
Stakeholders
The main stakeholders involved in this project include the
lighting suppliers and manufacturers, to supply LED lighting
or provide leasing mechanism, as well as SIRIM, to
review and update available lighting product criteria under
the Eco-Labelling Scheme.
The Public Works Department (JKR) on the other hand
advises on the technical specification or requirement
according to standard while, the Ministry of Finance (MoF)
will oversee the implementation of the GGP. The Ministry
of Environment and Water (KASA) also plays a critical role
Facilitating
sustainability
through
Green
initiatives
BY KHIRTINI K KUMARAN
The Malaysian Green Technology
and Climate Change Centre (MGTC) is
also tasked with coordinating the Green
Technology Master Plan (GTMP) to
implement strategies and initiatives.
MGTC Chief Executive Officer Shamsul
Bahar Mohd Nor said its target was to
reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emission
by 45 per cent.
The GTMP outlines the strategic plans
for green technology development to
create a low-carbon and resource-efficient
economy. Shamsul said: “We have this
task to ensure that we achieve a certain
target of GHG emission and we are looking
at 45 per cent reduction of carbon dioxide,
which also comprises nitrous oxide and
methane gases.”
It takes a lot of effort from the
government, which is working towards
what they preach through the Government
Green Procurement (GGP) initiative
launched in 2013.
Thus, MGTC is working on several
green initiatives under the GGP, which
includes the MyRelamp project, focussed
on supporting lighting energy efficiency at
the local authorities’ level.
Another initiative under the GGP is the
MyHIJAU Mark and Directory (MyHIJAU),
which is an effort to promote the sourcing
and purchasing of green products and
services in Malaysia.
The directory brings together certified
green products and services that meet
local and international environmental
standards under one single mark. MGTC
manages the MyHIJAU and is responsible
for the promotion, business advisory,
verification and monitoring of certified