KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 11): An agency under the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) has partnered with industrial tools and equipment players to drive energy efficiency practices in Malaysia.

According to a statement on Wednesday, Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corp (MGTC) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sweden-based ABB, Atlas Copco and Business Sweden, as well as Japan-based Daikin for the collaboration.

Particularly, the MOU is to drive advocacy for the improvement of minimum energy efficiency standards for industry equipment and systems; share best practices and innovative technologies to accelerate retrofitting of public and government buildings; engage key stakeholders including energy providers, regulators, users and influencers in knowledge-sharing dialogues on energy efficiency; and establish knowledge partners to expand the collaboration and to help industries identify technology and solutions that deliver the greatest value.

MGTC said the agreement is in line with the government’s commitment to achieve an average of 21% energy savings by 2040 under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR).

“With its cost efficiency and optimisation of resources, energy efficiency has been recognised as the most important lever in the NETR.

“Underpinning the value of urgent action in this area, as much as RM6 billion worth of investments from now to 2040 is expected, with smart device installation and government building retrofits being prioritised,” it added.

Witnessing the MOU’s signing at the 1st National Conference on Energy Efficiency, NRECC Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said there is a need for industries as well as cities to re-evaluate how they consume energy to ensure that it is in line with the evolving landscape — climate change and energy transition.

The MGTC is a government agency under NRECC mandated to accelerate green growth, advance climate action and further adoption of a green lifestyle.

ABB is a Sweden-based engineering company which provides various industrial equipment solutions. Sweden-based Atlas Copco Group and Japanese-based Daikin are both industrial tool and equipment manufacturers that specialise in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning solutions.  

Meanwhile, Business Sweden — an entity jointly owned by the Swedish state as well as the Swedish corporate sector — is mandated to attract international investment into the Scandinavian country as well as help companies in the country grow sales.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Dewan Rakyat passed the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Bill, which entails large commercial and industrial electricity and gas consumers to undertake compulsory energy audits every five years.