Gamuda Rise NewsletterGamuda Rise NewsletterFreepik.com.my
Ong Jee Lian and Sheena Wong
Since publishing our first Sustainability Statement in 2016, we have taken huge strides and achieved progress in disclosing our environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
The pressure for ESG disclosure often mounts with a mixture of anxiety and enthusiasm. We must consider these ESG-driven questions in everything we do – what are the risks? How do we measure and manage them? Where should we focus? And, what opportunities have we identified to create value in new ways?
As we look back at the first three quarters of 2021, ESG has become mainstream for Gamudians. We held a series of aggressive communication programmes on the topic and started the year with Group-wide online training to bolster ESG understanding across departments. As a result, fruitful discussions arose with feasible ESG ideas and working teams were established.
This led to a crucial milestone in June – the crystallisation of a comprehensive ESG framework with the Gamuda Green Plan 2025 (GGP 2025). Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) were identified to spearhead our sustainability initiatives under GGP 2025 to enable more informed and effective decision-making.
The adoption of renewable energy (RE) is a key focus of GGP 2025. The solar power space is a large area for RE generation. There are ample opportunities for Gamuda to leverage on this growing clean energy space to deliver the greatest impact in decarbonising our electricity grid and fostering public-private partnership to raise Malaysia’s RE generation mix.
In support of a low carbon economy as outlined in our GGP 2025, various carbon reduction strategies and resource efficient programmes have been implemented at our developments. To learn more about our ESG progress and achievements throughout the year, read our Sustainability Report 2021 here.
Not forgetting the S in ESG – measuring the social impacts of our socio-economic development programmes is also a crucial material matter for the Group as we engage with a range of important stakeholders throughout our business operation and project delivery.
This year, we continued our participation in the global sustainability index agencies that rate companies by their ESG performance, namely Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia Index and MSCI ESG Ratings, which we saw an improvement in our ratings from the previous year.
To continue our progress in ESG apects, more sustainability related learning modules are now included in the training calendar by Gamuda Learning Centre (GLC).
In spurring the interest of ESG knowledge among staff, the concluded Stage 1 of Climate Action Change (CAC) programme from April to August was effective in sustaining a continuous learning environment. Subsequently, to promote action on ESG, Stage 2 of the CAC Programme will start in November to drive behavioural and cultural change at both our workplace and home.
Primarily driven by GGP 2025, the Group is making significant forays into RE with an ambitious initial target to develop over 300MW of our own RE assets in the next five years. We are accelerating our growth in this area through active and strategic engagements with market players, policymakers, and potential strategic partners both locally and internationally.
Gamuda’s RE venture can be divided into two streams: internal needs and external opportunities. In the immediate term, Gamuda Land Quayside Mall’s rooftop PV, currently under the design and construction stage, will achieve commissioning by the first quarter of 2022. Other rooftop solar projects planned in the pipeline include Gamuda Digital IBS, Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club, and more. On the external front, we are eyeing a larger scale of asset play for business growth through strategic engagement with potential land owners and partners to co-develop RE assets such as solar farms.
In recent years, RE has been taking the world by storm without sparring Malaysia, mainly driven by the increasing awareness of climate change and ESG investing. For Malaysia, solar and hydropower are the two most viable renewable sources. We see tremendous potentials for strategic play in the RE realm as the Group heads towards a low carbon business pathway.
For more details and assistance, write to
Joshua Kong Sing Hoe
JoshuaSHKong@gamuda.com.my
Puganesan A/L Thiruselvan
Renewable Energy Lead
PuganesanThiruselvan@gamuda.com.my
Developing our people and aligning the learning with business goals is vital to ensure the implementation of GGP 2025.
On a broader scale, we incorporated ESG awareness learning modules for all employees across the Group to instil the fundamental understanding of ESG topics.
Going deeper, we formulated new training opportunities related to ESG expertise, such as sustainable planning, natural resources and waste management, climate science, social impacts and governance.
In tandem with our business demands, there are also certification courses for colleagues working in relevant areas that are recognised by professional agencies or regulatory bodies, such as Department of Environment (DoE), Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia (REHDA), SIRIM, ISCA and more.
All Gamudians are encouraged to attend the new learning modules to gain a holistic understanding and build capacity on ESG. Stay tuned to the release of the Gamuda Learning Centre training calendar for 2022!
For more details and assistance, write to
Tan Tho Wei
TWTan@gamuda.com.my
Joshua Gunam A/L James Gunam
Assistant Manager – Training and Development
JoshuaGunam@gamuda.com.my