GreenRE: Malaysia's net-zero push must shift from buildings to entire urban ecosystems
Malaysia's move towards net-zero emissions must extend beyond individual green buildings to whole urban systems, industry figures said at International Sustainability Week 2026. Speakers argued that sustainability should be measured by outcomes across neighbourhoods and cities, not just project-leve
Malaysia's transition to a net-zero future is shifting beyond individual buildings towards the broader urban systems in which they operate, with industry leaders calling for sustainability to be assessed at district and city level rather than project level alone.
Speaking at International Sustainability Week (ISW) 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, The Oval Partnership founding director Christopher Law said the scale of the challenge varies between cities, particularly when embodied energy is considered alongside operational energy. “If we just focus on net zero in operating energy, then for some cities it is the reluctance to give up coal fire or fossil fuel electricity generation. But if we take embodied energy into account, then the gap becomes enormous everywhere,” he said.
Law cautioned against treating resistance to climate action as uniform, noting that priorities differ across markets. “In many Western countries voters are less concerned about climate issues than, say, five years ago. They would rather focus on affordability issues. As a result many politicians and international corporations are now rolling back on their climate targets.” He added that green technologies such as wind turbines, electric vehicles and photovoltaic panels continue to gain economic momentum “despite the best efforts from some politicians to kill it”.
The Oval Partnership's “Open City” principle promotes permeable, human-scaled urban environments, with Law stressing that social and functional dimensions matter as much as physical form. “The development of the 'software' is equally important as the development of the physical design,” he said, adding that community participation is not merely aspirational but a practical requirement for governance.
GreenRE executive director Ashwin Thurairajah said sustainability commitments are increasingly judged on measurable outcomes. “Malaysia's cities won't be defined by how many sustainability pledges get made, but by the quality of outcomes delivered,” he said. As of 31 May 2026, GreenRE had certified more than 1,000 projects representing over 500 million sq ft of gross floor area. Annual greenhouse gas savings under the scheme rose from approximately 8,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2016 to more than 400,000 tonnes, while annual energy savings grew from around 16 million kWh to over 600 million kWh. Approximately 20,000 acres have achieved township-level certification.
Ashwin noted the figures reflect GreenRE's own data rather than the entire Malaysian green building sector, where multiple frameworks operate. He said certification was never meant to be the destination but the beginning of continuous improvement. “Future-ready cities need sustained collaboration between policymakers, developers, financiers, planners, architects, engineers, technology providers and certification bodies — each responsible for a different part of the same outcome: cities.”
For Malaysia, which targets net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 under its National Energy Transition Roadmap, the challenge lies in ensuring individual projects contribute to urban environments that are measurable, adaptable, resilient and capable of supporting surrounding communities. ISW 2026 was co-organised by GreenRE Sdn Bhd and Qube Integrated Malaysia Sdn Bhd on Sept 10 and 11 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) Kuala Lumpur, with EdgeProp as media partner.
