3 Successful Green Leadership Initiatives You Should Know About in 2019

#1 KLIA2: “EMBRACING ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR SUSTAINABLE AVIATION” BY MALAYSIA AIRPORTS

klia2 is the second terminal of the KL International Airport, which is under the management of Malaysia Airports, one of the largest airport operator groups in the world. The terminal is capable of handling up to 45 million passengers per annum and occupies a site area of about 232,000 square metres. Malaysia Airports has ensured that klia2 leads in Green Airport Sustainability (and is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and Malaysia’s aim of 45% carbon reduction by 2030.

Some green initiatives undertaken include:
  • Utilising chilled water for the air-conditioning cooling system
  • Efficient lighting planning
  • Smart travellator features that detect people movement
  • Energy efficient automatic baggage handling system
  • Utilisation of CO2 sensors to regulate airflow
  • Using renewable energy via solar farm to help generate electricity for terminal building’s operations
  • Using smart water efficient fittings to reduce water usage
Besides, klia2 embraced green architecture by emphasising on the design, material and impact on overall green sustainability. Among the vital outlines in this sustainability design features include building orientation to capitalise on daylight, shape of building to maximise the capture of rainwater and heat transfer, spatial organisation to maximise the space and energy usage, envelope design in materials used to reduce and absorb less heat.

Results:
  • Solid waste disposal was equivalent to 2018 tonnes.
  • For renewable energy, the solar farm generated 13,452,899 kWh electricity representing 32% of the terminal’s consumption.
  • Achieved a carbon reduction of 3,132tCo2 for year 2018

#2 SUSTAINABLE AGRI-FOOD PRACTITIONER – NEXTLAND BY NICE GARDEN

Within the lush green agricultural Dapi township of Yun Lin county in Taiwan is Nextland. What appears to be a cultural and creative park is actually a meat cutting and processing plant, as well as an agricultural museum. As the first fully transparent pork cutting factory in Taiwan, Nextland serves as a platform for education of agriculture and food safety. It provides good dietary information in a simple way to educate the public on what is good-quality pork and how good pork is produced. This innovative project aims to bring more sustainability and vitality to Taiwan’s agriculture, to promote animal welfare, to reinforce environmental protection and to reduce pollution.

Results:
  • The project has created nearly 100 job opportunities in the local area.
  • Won the honour of International Spotlight Tourism Factory of Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs.
  • The number of visitors has exceeded over 230,000 since 2016, and has steadily increased.
  • The quantity of meat processing increased from 1,135 in 2016 to 23,000 in 2018.

#3 TURN CARBON DIOXIDE INTO GREEN BY TAIWAN CEMENT CORPORATION

To support the Paris Agreement and to achieve a zero-carbon emission, Taiwan Cement Corporation (TCC) used Calcium-Looping technology for CO2 capture. They then used the captured CO2 to cultivate Haematococcus pluvialis, an algae which contains abundant of astaxanthin, which is recognised as the strongest antioxidant in the world, and an indispensable rare raw material in the health-care industry.

Results:
  • The unique design and technology used by TCC won the recognition of the 2014 Global R&D 100 Awards, and the “Astaxanthin application” has been recognised by the 13th National Innovation Award and the 5th National Industrial Innovation Award.
  • Designed the World’s first astaxanthin soba noodle, which is beneficial for health and reduces energy-consumption during the extraction process.