THERE are some loud proponents for green in the corporate world. Most of them are young, had their education overseas, grew on the green culture and have an opinion. Below are some comments:
Ruth Yeoh, director of investments at YTL group
“Through my father Tan Sri Francis Yeoh, I learned the importance of protecting the environment even in business ventures. My father has taken me on a lot of his business trips, and when he built his first island resort on Pangkor Laut, he built it in a sustainable way.
“I remember planting seedlings and shrubs near the beach of Pangkor Laut with my father, before the island became the world class destination it is today. Three-quarters of the island’s rainforests remain preserved till this day.
“Later, as a Built Environment student, I remember how a self-powering sustainable home was built on the premises of the campus where I studied. I was very impressed that with the advancement of green technology, we can maintain development while preserving the Earth’s limited resources. Little things make a difference and these inspirations of sustainability have stayed with me until today.”
Sam Tan, executive director of Ken Holdings Bhd
“We forget where we come from and how our ancestors used to live. We cannot lose sight of where we are heading. It is not fair to tell people to go backwards. We can only move forward. With global warming, as a developer and builder, the responsibility falls on us to build in a sustainable way.
“My father started this business 30 years ago. We are not just developers, we are also builders. We do not leave it to architects to just give us pretty pictures. When he started the business, my mother worked with him. Holidays used to be visiting the work sites and those trips have influence me in no small way in my work today. Our objective is to reduce waste and this we have done with Ken Bangsar.”
Serina Hijjas, Hijjas Kasturi Associates Sdn director and a proponent of Malaysia’s Green Building Index
“I’m raised on the green culture. It is something that is very much a part of me. Much of being green has to do with reducing consumption in any form. The more urban we are, the more we consume. We need to reduce electricity consumption by 30% to 50%.
“On a wider scope, (green business) is where the biggest market is going to be.”
