The British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce is proud to present the second Malaysia Climate Action Week (MCAW) – an exciting five-day programme that features organisations and individuals who have taken active steps towards climate action through insightful discussions and site visits. This year, we also look to inspire many more to A.C.T. – adapt and collaborate to transcend the impacts of climate change through hands-on experiences.
Malaysia Climate Action Week 2022 Recap
Through the A.C.T. Now Conference, the BMCC recognised and showcased companies that adapted to climate risk by adopting resilient development strategies with their innovative technology and solutions.
With the conclusion of the Malaysia Climate Action Week, the Chamber hopes businesses will monitor, optimise and tailor their responses and actions against the effects of climate change regularly while industry leaders are encouraged to strengthen their commitments to the climate cause.
Moving forward, the BMCC is encouraging more companies to register their pledge to plant 70 trees per company at https://bit.ly/pledge-qgc2022. With the Malaysia Climate Action Week confirmed to return in October 2023, we expect more partners to come on board to support this programme and make it even bigger and more successful!
Day 1: UK Smart Building and Renewable Energy Solutions Webinar
The curtain raiser for the Malaysia Climate Action Week was a webinar showcasing expertise from UK businesses. Guest speakers from the UK companies were Diba Salam RIBA ARB, Founder and Creative Director of Studio DS; Robert Easson, Founder and CEO of Easson Energy and Stuart James, Sales Director of Marlec Engineering Co Ltd. They shared valuable insights on topics including wind-off grid solutions, master planning smart cities and smart energy building management.
Organised by the BMCC in collaboration with Climate Governance Malaysia (GCM), the webinar also featured opening remarks by Dato’ Seri Johan Raslan, Council Member of CGM, while Ir. Ashwin Thurairajah, Executive Director of GreenRE Sdn Bhd moderated the session.
Watch the replay of the webinar here:
Day 2: A.C.T. Now Conference
The conference, a highlight of the Malaysia Climate Action Week, drew almost 200 participants and brought together renowned sustainability practitioners and stakeholders to present transformational initiatives and actionable solutions in line with this year’s theme of A.C.T. Now.
H.E. Charles Hay MVO, British High Commissioner to Malaysia attended the conference and in his speech, he said action against climate change remained an important work for the High Commission. He highlighted the importance of strong climate ties between Malaysia and the UK with the signing of the Climate Partnership in June 2022 to develop cooperation on climate and biodiversity.
Meanwhile, Mark Arthun, Chair of the BMCC, and Managing Director and Site Leader of Smith & Nephew Operations Sdn Bhd said the private sector’s role was extremely crucial to support the government of Malaysia’s aspirations on carbon neutrality and to achieve net emissions objectives. He added that these ambitions and plans could only be achieved with ongoing efforts and collaborations by a wide network of stakeholders from both private and public.
The first session, which focused on creating ESG-engaged organisations, featured Mark; Shirley Loh, Regional Managing Director of Owen Mumford Sdn Bhd; Brian Fischel, General Manager of Reckitt Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam; and Dr Jayalakshmy Ramachandran, Associate Professor of Nottingham University Business School (NUBS) Malaysia. The session was moderated by Jennifer Lopez, CEO of BMCC.
The second session was moderated by Martin Haeger MBE, Board Member of BMCC and Director of HL Design Group. The speakers in the panel comprising Dato’ Sri Azmi Abdul Aziz, Chief Executive Officer of YTL Construction (Rail Division); Datuk Seri Michael Yam, President of the Chartered Institute of Building; Ts Kenny Wong, Managing Director of Veritas Environment Sdn Bhd and Leo Leow, Country Director of Turner & Townsend Sdn Bhd shared their thoughts about exploring various ways the built environment sector could contribute to achieving climate goals.
Besides the panel sessions, Daniel Lee, Public Affairs and Government Relations Senior Manager of BMCC, who is also leading the BMCC Sustainability Interest Group, presented a summary report on the success stories of organisations committed to the BMCC Climate Action Pledge in 2021. There was also an eco-exhibition that showcased sustainable products and services at the conference.
Youth Action Video Competition
The video competition for students, organised in partnership with the University of Nottingham Malaysia, aimed to celebrate and recognise youth’s role in climate action by featuring their innovative ideas via video to bring positive impacts in their schools or colleges, community or wider society in Malaysia. Students submitted a short video with a short essay explaining the video on “Innovative Ideas to Raise Awareness or Reduce Impacts on Climate Change”.
H.E. Charles, accompanied by Mark and Professor Sarah Metcalfe, Provost and CEO of the University of Nottingham Malaysia presented prizes to the top three finalists of the Youth Action Video Competition. The winners were:
- First Prize: Greenlist team from Prince of Wales Island International School
- Second Prize: Two Bees, One Habitat team from Prince of Wales International School
- Third Prize: Group of 3 team from Methodist College Kuala Lumpur
The BMCC congratulates all the winners for their participation.
Day 3: BMCC Appreciation Night
Held in conjunction with the Malaysia Climate Action Week, the specially organised dinner was a token of gratitude for BMCC members, partners and other important stakeholders for their unwavering support and collaborations throughout the year.
Throughout the evening, several short films focused on climate issues and sustainability by filmmakers of Studio Birthplace were shown to guests. Studio Birthplace is dedicated to telling stories of our generation’s most pressing issues on the environment. Sean Lin, Executive Producer and Co-Founder of Studio Birthplace also explained to the audience about the work done by the company and the philosophy behind the studio’s work.
Day 4: The Queen’s Green Canopy Tree Planting
The BMCC is proud to collaborate with the British High Commission Kuala Lumpur to encourage companies to be part of the Queen’s Green Canopy Tree Planting initiative. Each company can pledge to plant 70 trees per company to demonstrate its stance on climate change. This is also geared towards Malaysia’s 100 million tree-planting campaign under the purview of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
HRH The Regent of Pahang Crown Prince Tengku Hassanal Ibrahim Alam Shah graced the event together with Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah, Kuala Lumpur Mayor and senior government officials from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
Our tree-planting partners, Animal Projects and Environmental Education Sdn Bhd (APE), and Yayasan Hijau Malaysia will facilitate the planting and maintenance of the contributed trees on behalf of companies throughout Malaysia.
To start the ball rolling on the tree planting initiative, the BMCC together with our members have pledged to plant nearly 500 trees. We thank all of our tree planting pledgers to date – HSBC, BP, Reckitt, Institute of Chartered Accountant of England & Wales (ICAEW), YTL Group, British Standard Institute, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings, University of Nottingham Malaysia, AstraZeneca, HLA Design and Halal Street UK.
Day 5: Nocturnal Urban Forest Walk
Steven Wong and Wayneson Tay guides from Shah Alam Community Forest, led 20 participants on a night walk into a natural forest reserve, which was home to diverse flora and fauna. Equipped with headlamps, the participants spotted animals such as non-venomous snakes, frogs, slow lorises and more.
The activity was intended to invoke a love for nature and develop a sense of collected responsibility to preserve our flora and fauna from rapidly diminishing due to human activities.
Our Partners
The success of this year’s Malaysia Climate Action Week would not have been possible without the support from various partners. The BMCC wishes to extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to our supporting partner.
