REHDA Youth Hosts “Green Tour” of Four Award-Winning Green Developments in the Klang Valley

Petaling Jaya, 1 March 2011

The Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association Malaysia Youth Body (REHDA YOUTH) hosted a Green Tour showcasing four environmentally-friendly landmark developments in the Klang Valley. Held for the first time, this tour aims to educate the public on Green Buildings through hands-on learning, providing unique insights through a physical showcase of award-winning green developments namely 1First Avenue, Challis Damansara, GTower and Ken Bangsar.

The tour was officiated by Yang Berhormat Dato’ Wira Chor Chee Heung, Minister of Housing and Local Government at One World Hotel, and kicked off after Datuk Seri Michael Yam Kong Choy, President of REHDA, addressed attendees on how “green” buildings can improve sustainability and conserve the earth for future generations. Developers of the respective developments also presented a case study of their projects.

All participating developments have acquired green certifications from either Malaysia’s Green Building Index (GBI) or Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority’s (BCA) Greenmark.

Datuk Seri Michael Yam commented that REHDA’s long term vision of building sustainable developments in Malaysia begins with educating the members of the public on what building “green” truly means.

“We encourage all developers and building professionals to continuously keep abreast with green technology even at the developmental stages of a building. This tour offers its participants great insight into four extraordinary, award-winning properties that have gone through extraordinary lengths to rethink the conventional means of construction.

“The biggest challenge to the flourishing of green developments is a right understanding and receptivity the consumers in appreciating green buildings, which leads to being ready to pay more upfront in exchange for lower operating costs in the future. Generally, developers are ready to go green but it is the purchasers who may not be ready to invest in such features due to affordability or lack of awareness. At the end of the day, developers have to be sensitive to market forces which influence how the property is designed and developed.”

The Green Tour’s main sponsor is AkzoNobel - the world’s largest global paints and coatings company, which have under its belt well known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International and Eka. AkzoNobel’s commitment to support this initiative indicates their unwavering support towards the green cause. “We are proud to support the Green Tour initiative by REHDA Youth as the objective of this tour is in line with our global corporate vision. Over the last few years, sustainability has become firmly anchored in our regular business processes. Sustainability is fully integrated in our strategy. We are also pleased that our full suite of ICI Dulux Interior paints are low odour, low VOC and awarded with Green Label and Sirim Eco-Label accreditation. We have defined special focus area’s where we want to make a step change to become a true sustainability leader. As such, corporately we feel responsible to support an initiative such as the Green Tour,” said Mr. CW Goh, Managing Director of ICI Paints Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. ICI Paints Malaysia is the manufacturer of Dulux paints.

About AkzoNobel

AkzoNobel is the largest global paints and coatings company and a major producer of specialty chemicals. We supply industries and consumers worldwide with innovative products and are passionate about developing sustainable answers for our customers. Our portfolio includes well known brands such as Dulux, Sikkens, International and Eka. Headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we are a Global Fortune 500 company and are consistently ranked as one of the leaders on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. With operations in more than 80 countries, our 55,000 people around the world are committed to excellence and delivering Tomorrow’s Answers Today™.