@ green | May-June , 2022

Western Digital named Asia ’ s First World Economic Forum Sustainability Lighthouse

THE WORLD Economic Forum has recognised and awarded Western Digital ' s factory at Batu Kawan , Penang , Malaysia , as a Sustainability Lighthouse .

By leveraging its vertically integrated smart factory model and implementing 4IR technologies such as IoT sensors , digital twin modelling , analyticspowered plant management system and lights-out automation with machine learning , the site achieved a normalised ( per unit ) reduction in energy by 41 per cent , water consumption by 45 per cent and material waste by 16 per cent , while growing 43 per cent ( Compound Annual Growth Rate ) in the last four years .

It is the first World Economic Forum Sustainability Lighthouse in Asia and an added designation on top of the site ' s earlier entrance into the Forum ' s Global Lighthouse Network , a community of 103 world-leading manufacturing facilities and value chains using Fourth Industrial Revolution ( 4IR ) technologies to increase operational performance and environmental sustainability .

“ As the world grapples with many challenges , it is remarkable to see how Lighthouses are yielding sustainability benefits while achieving business goals , which we call eco-efficiency ,” said Francisco Betti , Head of Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains , World Economic Forum .

They will explore expansion of solar system implementation

Significantly , the signing ceremony marks the partnership during the celebration of Earth Day , when the world comes together to act boldly , innovate broadly and implement equitably to effect positive change for the planet .

Through this partnership , Shizen Malaysia will install , own , and operate a 10 MW peaking grid , and Top Glove will purchase the electricity generated by Shizen Malaysia for 20 years .

This newly inked partnership builds on previous collaborations between Top Glove and the renew- able energy developer that started in November 2021 . The initial collaboration on the rooftop solar power plant enabled Top Glove to generate clean and cost-competitive renewable energy for its factories , reducing the company ’ s average electricity cost while lowering its carbon footprint .

Top Glove Executive Director , Lim Cheong Guan , said : “ Climate change is a global phenomenon that affects our lives . Malaysia has set a goal of becoming a carbon-neutral nation by the year 2050 , contributing its part to the global agenda to combat climate change .

“ As a homegrown Malaysian company with a global reach , Top Glove is responsible for supporting this national agenda of minimising the impact that our operations have on the environmental management system . In this part , we are working closely with Shizen Malaysia on a solar energy component to achieve our goal of reducing the Company ' s carbon emissions intensity by 25 per cent by FY2025 as Top Glove aims towards becoming carbon-free in the future .”

Shizen Malaysia CEO , Alvin Koh , said : “ We are delighted to expand on a long-term partnership with Top Glove , a Company that shares our vision of a greener world for all .

“ Given the growing awareness on the benefits of renewable energy ( RE ) and its importance in lessening global warming , we are confident that more industry players will turn to RE as part of their environmentalist agenda .”

To date , eight of Top Glove ' s factories in Malaysia have been equipped with solar energy systems , while plans are underway for 16 more factories by 2023 . With this PPA , Top Glove ' s total solar capacity will increase from 5.34 MWp to 15.47 MWp , saving about 13,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually .

This is the equivalent of planting around 400,000 trees to absorb this amount of CO2 . — @ Green

Malakoff signs MoU with ITOCHU on decarbonisation initiatives

MALAKOFF CORPORATION Berhad , a member of the MMC Group , headquartered in Kuala Lumpur and ITOCHU Corporation , headquartered in Tokyo , Japan , have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU ) to conduct a feasibility study on decarbonisation via the utilisation of hydrogen / ammonia in Johor ( Feasibility Study ).

The MoU was signed in conjunction with the Asia Green Growth Partnership Ministerial Meeting 2022 Public-Private Forum hosted by Japan ’ s Ministry of Economy , Trade and Industry ( METI ). The forum aims to disseminate the importance of industry-governmentacademia efforts , innovation promotion and international cooperation to accelerate pragmatic energy transitions in Asia .

The objective of this MoU is to record the understanding between Malakoff and ITOCHU in respect of the development of an ammonia receiving terminal and the decarbonisation of coal-fired power plants owned by Malakoff through ammonia cofiring , and the development of a new combined-cycle gas turbine power plant utilising high hydrogen content fuel , subject to the outcome of the Feasibility Study and further discussions between both parties . — @ Green