The airport operator received an award at the Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) 2019
SEPANG – Malaysia Airports has received the Asia Responsible Enterprise Award (AREA) 2019 for spearheading sustainable green initiatives and creating value to the aviation industry. The airport operator received the award for its sustainability initiative for klia2 at the prestigious award ceremony that was held in Hilton Taipei Sinban, Taiwan last week. A total of 64 projects and business leaders were recognised at the event that is regarded as the top corporate social responsibility (CSR) awards in Asia. It honours corporations for championing sustainable and socially responsible business practices.
According to group chief executive officer of Malaysia Airports Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin, the organisation embarked on the project entitled “Embracing Energy Efficiency for Sustainable Aviation” to achieve various positive environmental impacts in 2018. The Group’s Sustainability Framework encompasses five pillars which include sensible economics, environmental consciousness, inspiring workplace practices, approachable organisation ethics, and memorable airport experiences. He said, “As one of the world’s largest airport operator groups, long-term business sustainability is crucial to the Group. We focus on holistic value creation to address economic, social and environmental risks. Winning this Green Leadership Award is a validation of the outcomes we have achieved as a result of the strategies we have put in place.”
“In the case of the development of the klia2 terminal, we took the lead in ensuring that the infrastructure is environmentally responsible and resource efficient throughout its lifecycle. Following this, we further strengthened our commitment by establishing the KUL Sustainability Charter where we would be in a position to influence the practices of all stakeholders at our airport to be environmentally responsible. As such, we hope that this award will also serve as a further inspiration to all our airport stakeholders to fully embrace the KUL Sustainability Charter which is also aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” Raja Azmi further added.
Malaysia Airports has been actively putting in place various strategies that have helped the award-winning second terminal of KL International Airport (IATA Code: KUL), klia2 to exceed its carbon reduction objectives. Examples include utilising chilled water for the air-conditioning cooling system and planning efficient lighting around the airport. There are also the usages of smart travellators that detect people movement, energy efficient automatic baggage handling systems, and also CO2 sensors to regulate airflow. Two other key practices by Malaysia Airports are the usage of renewable energy via a solar farm that generates electricity for the terminal buildings’ operations, as well as the implementation of smart water efficient fittings to reduce water usage.
klia2 also managed to dispose 2,018.52 tonnes of solid waste which has been considered a minimal amount. For renewable energy, the solar farm generated 13,452,899 kWh electricity representing 32% of the terminal’s consumption. The terminal achieved the carbon reduction target of 132tCo2 for 2018, the target set for 2019 is a 5% increment from the previous year at 3.288.6tCo2. It is capable of handling up to 45 million passengers per annum (mppa) and also embraces green architecture by emphasising on the building design, material and impact on overall green sustainability.
Among the vital design features that promote sustainability include building orientation to capitalise on daylight; shape of building to maximize the capture of rainwater and heat transfer; spatial structure to maximise the space and energy usage; and envelope design in materials to reduce and absorb less heat. On top of that, green initiatives were also undertaken for waste and pollution management. klia2 was designed based on energy efficient design criteria and was certified Gold in Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Certificate.
Raja Azmi also shared that our sustainability practices is an on-going effort where new green initiatives are constantly implemented. These initiatives are spearheaded by the organisation’s Environment Management Committee (EMC) under the Malaysia Airports’ Green Airport Strategy Roadmap. The EMC is led by IR Khairiah Salleh, general manager for engineering who is also the Chair of the Airports Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific Regional Environment Committee.