SUSTAINABILITY
Making Malaysia’s public healthcare system ‘greener’
Dr Khairul Azmy Kamaluddin, Ts Noor Muhammad Abd Rahman, and Dr Muhammad Syukri Imran Abdullah, discuss the advancement of sustainability programmes by the Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) to reduce carbon emissions within the country’s public healthcare sector.
The Malaysian public healthcare sector has aligned itself to the country’s national sustainability development programme roadmap, which allows for the adoption of green technologies and practices across public services, including the public healthcare sector. The country is moving forward towards more sustainable practices and lifestyles to address issues of climate change and unsustainable consumption, as well as inefficient water resource management. This article provides an overview and updates on the advancement of sustainability programmes by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Malaysia to reduce carbon emissions, particularly in the public healthcare sector. Major adaptations by MOH include energy-efficient building, adopting renewable energy resources to offset power demand, and waste reduction, as well as a green building initiative programme. MOH will continue to commit towards sustainability and make planetary health and the climate agenda a priority in its actions.
From energy efficiency to ‘green’ building initiatives The year 2015 marked a new milestone in Malaysian healthcare facility management (FM) practice, when the Sustainable Energy Management Program (SEMP), Reuse, Reduce and Recycle (3R) Program, and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) management, were first introduced. Under the new FM contract, the FM companies acted both as facility managers and Energy Service Companies (ESCOs). As ESCOs, the companies are involved in a range of energy management services, such as energy audits and energy consumption monitoring, as well as implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The SEMP model applied in
government hospitals is based on a regional certification system or ASEAN Energy Management Scheme (AEMAS), which adopts ISO 50001:2011. To further
Figure 1. Recognition at a national level of highly energy-efficient government hospitals.
strengthen the efficient management and conservation of energy, MOH has imposed a hospital energy policy on all government-run healthcare facilities since 2016. The introduction of the policy was a crucial step in kickstarting the green building agenda for the public healthcare sector. There are already around 60 Energy Managers hired by the FM companies to implement the hospital SEMP with the aim of achieving the highest Energy Management Gold Standard (EMGS) rating. As of June 2022, all government hospitals and institutions under the FM contract have met the minimum certification requirement. At least 55 hospitals have managed to achieve the highest 3-Star rating offered by the energy standard. This has led to national
recognition of several hospitals by the government through the national energy award (see Fig 1).
Figure 2. One of the two Malaysian hospitals that managed to achieve ‘Platinum’ under the globally recognised LEED standard.
Carbon management hierarchy Up to December 2021, the estimated total monetary savings achieved from the SEMP programme amounted to about RM 210 million (£35.6 m). This translates to 500 GWh in electrical energy savings, or about 360 kt in reduced carbon emissions. MOH has been adopting strategic options in the carbon management hierarchy – starting from improving working processes, being energy-efficient, and moving towards using renewable or alternative energy sources. The Green Building Initiative is an ongoing effort by MOH to decarbonise its healthcare facilities. The ‘greening’ effort emphasises efficient use of building energy and water supply, the use of renewable energy, adopting waste reduction measures, enabling re-use and recycling practices, good indoor environment quality management, and consideration of the environment in the design, construction, and operation, of buildings. There are currently already 14 government hospitals in Malaysia that have registered under the US Green Building Council LEED ‘green building’ certification programme. The programme provides a framework for hospitals to shift from ‘business as usual’ towards improving efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and creating healthier places for staff and patients.
August 2023 Health Estate Journal 19
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