This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 6, 2023 - November 12, 2023

Imagine living in a township where almost every amenity — shops, restaurants, parks — are only a five- to 10-minute commute, and where being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic is no longer a reality.

This may seem like a distant dream, but it is one of the many goals of living sustainably. Sustainable living occurs when one understands how one’s lifestyle choices have an impact on the world and finds ways to live better.

Gamuda Land chief operating officer Jess Teng explains that sustainable living not only promotes social and economic well-being, but also mitigates environmental risks. This is the company’s guiding principle when building its townships, she says.

“We see sustainable living as a strategic approach for us to achieve balance for our planet, homeowners and for the benefit of future generations.”

For Gamuda Land, there are three thrusts to enable sustainable living: greenery and biodiversity; integrated township and master planning; and future-proofing products through the use of Gamuda’s Next-Gen Digital Industrial Building System (IBS).

On township development, Teng says one of the areas of focus is greenery and biodiversity conservation. The company has committed to nurturing and planting one million trees and saplings by the end of this year via advance tree planting, a target it is close to hitting. She adds that each township also has its own park for the community.

“Town planning is about mindful planning, putting offices, shops, schools, universities and hospitals closer to one another to create and encourage an integrated living environment. It also includes greener modes of urban transport like e-mobility around the township, thus reducing the need for internal combustion engines,” says Teng.

Gamuda has its own IBS factory and 100% of Gamuda Land’s link homes will be built using Gamuda’s Next-Gen Digital IBS, she says. IBS is a construction methodology where components are manufactured in a controlled environment off-site before being transported to the building site.

“Conventionally, we have labourers on-site to build the houses. But when the pandemic struck, we had a labour shortage and several of our construction projects came to a halt. That was when we realised the importance of IBS,” says Teng.

According to her, building homes using Gamuda’s Next-Gen Digital IBS means the construction is 30% faster because everything is modularised and prefabricated and there is less wastage. The IBS also reduces the reliance on foreign labour by 55%, she adds. For homebuyers, there is more quality control due to greater consistency in construction work.

More importantly, the carbon emissions from IBS-built homes are lower. Teng says the company is taking it a step further by future-proofing its properties with a solar-ready system. This means they are pre-installed with conduits, there are space provisions for solar panel equipment and the roof has been strengthened to support solar panelling.

“So, when the homeowner moves in, he can immediately install solar panels and it’s hassle-free. This way, we can encourage them to go green. Many owners feel it’s too much work [to install solar panels] and as a developer, we can encourage them through these small initiatives,” she adds.

Of course, to encourage behavioural change, more needs to be done.

“Our principle and belief is that if we want to encourage behavioural change, we need to take the first step, which is to think from the homeowners’ perspective and provide the infrastructure,” says Teng.

“At Gamuda Cove, we have a 75km bicycle track and pedestrian path to keep people connected from one place to the next. We also have a tram that carries passengers and e-bikes to encourage people to move around without cars to reduce carbon emissions,” she adds.

“We provide all this infrastructure. We don’t know if people will use them but for us, we want to promote e-mobility so that people drive less,” says Teng, noting that at Gamuda Land’s twentyfive7 and Gamuda Gardens townships, the residents have started utilising the amenities.

Still, the biggest challenges to the creation of sustainable townships are cost and changing mindsets, says Teng. People tend to assume that with the added features, this means a higher selling price. The concept of sustainability is more accepted by the younger generation, but the older generation still has qualms about it.

“When I say a house is GBI-certified (Green Building Index) and it is a low-carbon township, those who are sceptical tend to question the benefit and cost incurred. But in fact, there is no additional cost that translates into the selling price because what we do is design and plan the infrastructure early on,” she says.

In order to mitigate this, the company works with like-minded partners to make it a reality, says Teng.

“For example, we will install up to 3,000kW of solar panels that are capital expenditure-free, where our partner funds the capex. Therefore, this cost is not transferred to buyers and yet they get to enjoy the energy savings. There are a lot of [similar] business models in the industry now,” she adds.

Teng notes that there is a growing trend of young families purchasing Gamuda Land homes as they value the sustainable amenities offered. The houses are built with biophilic design in mind, which is a concept used in the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions.

“These little green pocket spaces allow them to break away, especially during the pandemic,” she says.

When asked whether older properties should be upgraded to be more eco-friendly, Teng agrees. However, as a private developer, the company’s powers are limited. The biggest missing link in this initiative is government support.

“We learnt from mistakes of the past [when it comes to township planning] because we wanted to provide people with comfort and convenience,” she says.

What is needed from the government are incentives for sustainable developers or subsidies for homeowners who purchase sustainable homes. Something similar is currently being done in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, where EV manufacturers and EV owners enjoy financial perks.

“A number of homeowners don’t appreciate sustainability. But if the government incentivises the developer or homeowner, then they can be educated on the benefits of living in a green building,” Teng reasons.

“It will also encourage developers and other sectors to go green because ultimately, developers that do the right things to create a more sustainable future will benefit.”

Ultimately, she believes that like the practice of environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles that picked up over the last few years, sustainable living will eventually become the norm. In fact, she sees more people accepting the concept of sustainable living today.

“The trend is there, awareness is improving and I believe schools are trying to capture the importance of ESG and the fight against climate change. It is good to start young. My four-year-old child started looking into it and is aware of global warming, which is a good sign because this shows that a generational shift is ongoing,” says Teng.

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