Going Green: The Way

Forward in Creating
Sustainable Businesses
by
Zainura Zainon Noor, PhD
Institute of Environmental and Water Resource
Management (IPASA)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
zainurazn@utm.my

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

 Going Green…

The future of technology is most

definitely green. With rising energy
costs and the threat of global
warming, many businesses are now
recognizing the benefits of using
technology to reduce their carbon
footprint and to minimize waste,
while having a positive impact on their
business.
 The People in the Know...
“Our way of life will change radically, not only
over the next 50 years but over the next 10
years. In my mind, those changes are a bigger
“
business opportunity than the Internet ever
was.”

Thomson Reuters

“Global warming is the largest economic

opportunity of the 21st century...”

John Doerr, Kleiner Perkins Venture Capitalist

 Green Technology
Understanding the Concept
 The field of “green technology” encompasses a
continuously evolving group of methods and materials,
from techniques for generating energy to non-toxic
cleaning products.

 The present expectation is that this field will bring innovation

and changes in daily life of similar magnitude to the
“information technology” explosion over the last two decades.
In these early stages, it is impossible to predict what “green
technology” may eventually encompass.

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 GreenDefinition
Technology
Understanding the Concept

Unlike a traditional industry cluster – Green Technology is

identified not by a connected supply chain but by the
objectives of the products and services that are developed
within this industry;

 Lowering greenhouse gas emissions,

 Increasing the efficient use of natural

resources, and

 Improving air and water quality

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 GreenDefinition
Technology
Understanding the Concept
Green Technology spans all levels of education
and skill sets including those used for;

 Research & Development of

alternative energies,

 Building new efficient homes and

facilities, and

 Operating cleaner more efficient

utilities

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 Other Areas of Green
Technology
 GREEN BUILDING
Green building encompasses
everything from the choice of
building materials to where a
building is located.

 ENVIRONMENTALLY  GREEN CHEMISTRY

PREFERRED PURCHASING
This involves the search for
products whose contents and
methods of production have
the smallest possible impact
on the environment, and
mandates that these be the
preferred products for
government purchasing.
The invention, design and application
of chemical products and processes to
reduce or to eliminate the use and
generation of hazardous substances.
 GREEN NANOTECHNOLOGY
Nanotechnology involves the
manipulation of materials at the scale
of the nanometer, one billionth of a
meter. “Green nanotechnology” is the
application of green chemistry and
green engineering principles to this
field.

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 Other Areas of Green
Technology
Industrial Ecology
Industrial Ecology: -
- No waste

- Energy efficiently utilized (possibly solar power)

- No materials beyond those required to start the

system

- Complete recycling within the system

Firms interconnected through the practice of industrial

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ecology constitute an industrial ecosystem
Guitang Group, beyond sugar refining in China
Sugar Alcohol
Compound
Fertilizer
Alcohol
Sugar cane Molasses Alcohol Fertilizer
residue
farm plant
plant
Filter sludge Cement Cement
Sugar
Sugar mill
refinery
cane White sludge
Black
liquor NaOH NaOH
Pulp recovery
Bagasse
plant
Paper
Wastewater Pulp mill Paper
 Other Areas of Green
Technology
Design for Environment
Design for environment considers environmental
impact at all stages of a product lifetime (e.g. life
cycle analysis):
•Raw materials acquisition
•Manufacturing
•Packaging
•Distribution
•Installation
•Operation
•Ultimate fate

Firms interconnected through the practice of

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industrial ecology constitute an industrial
 Other Areas of Green
Technology
Design for Environment
cradle-to- raw material extracting
grave & processing
manufacturing
design
paradigm
recycling

cradle-to-
end-of-life repair
reincarnation
& reuse packaging &
design distribution
paradigm

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product use
 Other Areas of Green
Technology
Design for Environment
DfE Example - Xerox
Raw Materials New Components Build

Certified Closed Loop Certified Deliver

Reprocessing Recycling Reprocessing

Return to Customer Use

Suppliers Sort/Inspect

Third Party Remove

Recycling

Materials for Dismantle

Recycling

Alternative Disposal Goal:

Uses Zero to Landfill
 Other Areas of Green
Technology
Green Products and Services
A green product is one that uses
smaller amounts of materials that
are less hazardous to produce and
that have a lower potential to
expose people or the environment
to hazardous substances,
pollutants, and wastes in its use and
disposal, e.g. – a hybrid car.

A green service provides the same

for a service, e.g. - a good public
transportation system
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 The Driver
Green Technology’s growth is being
driven by :-
Impacts of the ‘current technology’ to the
environment e.g. climate change to
global warming
Demand for sustainable energy sources &
materials due to advances in technology
and increased costs of traditional energy
and
Legislation commodities
and government policies
providing incentives and requirements for
cleaner development and green technology
The opportunity for economic development
and profit

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 The Driver
GHG Emission/Climate Change

GHG % Contribution
to Global
Warming
CO2 50%
CH4 20%
N2O 10%
HFCs 15%

PFCs Trace
SF6 Trace
 The Driver
GHG Emission/Climate Change

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 The Driver
Ranking- Environmental Performance
Index
• EPI initiators
– Yale University Center for Environmental Law and Policy
– Columbia University Center for International Earth
Science Information Network
• Collaborators
– World Economic Forum, Switzerland
– Joint Research Center of European Commission, Italy
• One of the crucial policy categories is climate
change
− CO2 emissions which gives 25% out of total score
• Website
– http://epi.yale.edu
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 The Driver
Ranking- Environmental Performance
Index

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 The Driver
Ranking- Environmental Performance
Rank Environmental Health
Index
EPI for Malaysia
Ecosystem vitality
26 96.7 71.2
Indicators Score Indicators Score
Sanitation 93 Regional ozone 95.1
Drinking water 98.3 Sulfur dioxide emissions 95.9
Urban particulate 92.5 Water quality 69.6
Indoor air pollution 94.7 Water stress 99.2
Health ozone 96.7
Conservation risk 99.4
Effective conservation 97.3
Critical habitat 66.7
Marine protected areas 32.7

Irrigation stress 100

Growing stock 97.9
Agricultural subsidy 96.0% 96.0
Marine trophic index 100
Trawling intensity 60.5
Intensive crop land 97.1
Burn land area 99.9
Pesticide regulation 90.9

Carbon emission per capita 73.7

Carbon emission 54.4
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Industrial CO2 emission 83.6
 The Driver
Towards Sustainability

Many unsustainable aspects of technology cause environmental

pollution, loss of land productivity, and exhaustion of essential
resources.

We enter the anthropocene in which human influences dominate.

Sustainability can be defined as managing Earth and its resources

so that future generations may have hospitable conditions and a
satisfactory standard of living for an indefinite period of time.

If we do not change direction, that will not happen!

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 The Driver
Towards Sustainability
Evolution of the environmental movement from
pollution detection and treatment to sustainability

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 The Driver
Transforming the Economy

 Status Quo → climate change and green

tech have been separate areas of focus

 Climate change → regulations and emission

trading (cap & trade)

 Green tech → business opportunities,

revitalize industry and the economy, green
collar jobs, exports

 Align policy and business objectives/actions

to achieve sustainable energy infrastructure
 The Opportunity of Green
Technology
The growth and expansion of green
technology offers an opportunity that is
seldom found in economic or workforce
development, the chance to support
dynamic economic growth, while
improving the environment and re-
invigorating employment opportunities for
individuals that have struggled in the
knowledge-based economy.
 The Opportunity of Green
Technology
Economic Growth
Green technology employers exist in an
innovative, profit driven environment.
Venture capitalists have invested billions
in this industry, and employers have
indicated they expect to increase
employment substantially both important
indicators of dynamic economic growth.
 The Opportunity of Green
Technology
Environmental Sustainability
Green tech as a whole is focused on
developing effective solutions to the
environmental challenges of the day using
the latest innovative technologies.

The underlying objective of most firms in

this industry is to attain greater
sustainability in how we produce and
provide goods and services.
 The Opportunity of Green
Technology
Equitable Opportunities
The growth of other high-technology clusters has
not necessarily created new jobs for all facets of
the workplace, often times those individuals that
do not have a bachelor’s degree or higher are left
out of the economic dividends generated from
emerging clusters. Green technology and its
promise of advanced manufacturing and
assembly occupations can provide economic
opportunity for a broad array of educational
backgrounds.
 The Opportunity of Green
Technology
Employment Opportunity
Green
Technology
the
Workforce
Opportunities in
Malaysia

Energy &
Technology Building Public Sector &
Solar power Design Utilities
Wind power Construction Planning
Energy Storage & Building Materials Energy
Transportation Water
R&D

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 C-Level Market Drivers
Convergence on Green and
Infrastructure
1. CEO – viable strategy in new era, stakeholder pressure

2. CFO – business case with new revenue streams and higher

ROIs

3. CTO – new product and operational competitiveness

4. CIO – beyond cost effective solutions, IT solutions to

enable new revenue streams

5. VP responsible for CSR, sustainability, environmental

reporting upward and outward –beyond managing risks, to
capitalizing on opportunities

Bottom Line: Corporate Brand is Paramount

 Linking Green Technology,
Climate Change, Disclosure &
Action
Verified Offset Verified Excess
Credits Permit

Demand Demand
GHG Reduction GREEN
$$ $$ Corporation
Projects TECH
Sales Sales

Green Tech GHG

Verified GHG Commodities and Verified GHG
Responsible Revenues Value Chain Responsible
Products Products
Green Technology from Business
Perspective
Barriers
Internal to the companies:
- Lack of information and expertise
- Low environmental awareness
- Competing business priorities, in
particular, the pressure for a short
term profits
- Financial obstacles
- Lack of communication in firms
- Middle management inertia
- Labour force obstacles
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Green Technology from Business
Perspective
Barriers
External to the companies:

The failure
of existing
regulatory
approaches

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Green Technology from Business
Perspective
Motivators and Drivers
Internal to the companies:

Improvements in productivity and

competitiveness

Environmental management systems

and continuous improvement

 Environmental leadership

 Corporate environmental
reports

Environmental accounting

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Green Technology from Business
Perspective
Motivators and Drivers
External to the companies:

 Innovative
regulation  Soft loans from
Financial
 Economic institutions
incentives
 Community
 Education involvement
and training
 International
 Buyer – trade incentives
supplier
relations

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 Governmental Effort

Development of a new government

legislative and regulatory framework
that would support development of
green technologies and promote a
culture of resource use optimisation.
 Governmental Efforts
Implementation of ‘Green Policy’ which seeks to
promote low-carbon technology & ensure
sustainable development while conserving the
natural environment and resources.

Aims

To provide a conducive environment for Green Technology

development which includes the introduction & implementation of
innovative economic instruments, and the establishment of effective
fiscal and financial mechanisms to support the growth of green
industries.
 Governmental Efforts
Objectives of the policy include: -
1. To decrease energy consumption while enhancing economic
development.

2. To facilitate growth of the green technology industry and

enhancing its contribution to the national economy.

3. To increase innovation in green technology development.

4. To enhance Malaysia’s green technology competitiveness

globally besides ensuring sustainable development for future
generations.

5. To enhance public education and awareness about green

technology and encourage its use in everyone’s daily lives.
Governmental Efforts

Green
Policy

Environmen

Economy
Energy

Social
t
 What’s Next?
Future Governmental Effort

Incentives for the private sector that

adopts green technology
 List of Achievements
 Up till June 2009, Malaysia has attracted more than RM 12 billion in
investments from the solar photovoltaic industry through foreign direct
investments.

 Perak will become the first state in Malaysia to adopt the Power
Purchase Agreement (PPA) for solar energy - a financial scheme which
allows users capital-free access to solar equipment over a long-term
contract to buy electricity at a fixed price lower than that charged by
utility companies.

 MPOB will invest RM60 millions to build three biodiesel plants

 List of Achievements
 A property-developing company in Malaysia, Sime Darby, has
embarked on developing Energy Efficiency (EE) and sustainable
townships. 13,200 houses currently under construction in its two
townships will be equipped with EE building materials, such as solar
power heating and energy-saving light bulbs.

 TNB pays a biomass power plant RM0.21 per KW/hour and to a mini
hydro power plant RM0.16 per KW/hour for electricity produced.
When they sell carbon credits, the plants earn additional RM0.03 per
KW/hour. This is 15-18% more revenue.
“If we do not change direction, we are likely to
end up where we are headed,” (old Chinese
proverb).

“If we make the effort to learn its language,

Earth will speak to us and tell us what we
must do to survive.”

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