The Extend of Green Practices in Property Management in Malaysia

THE EXTEND OF GREEN PRACTICES IN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA

Associate Professor Sr. Dr. Norhaya Kamarudin (Leader)
Dr. Muhammad Najib Mohammed Razali
Associate Professor Sr. Dzrullkanian Daud

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)

Dr. Azlina Mohd. Yassin

Universiti Tun Hussien Onn Malaysia (UTHM)

ABSTRACT

The problem of decaying in environmental qualities of the urban areas suggests that buildings must be managed sustainably as they are the main contributor to carbon emissions. The sustainable move towards the practice of GPM requires all property and facilities managers to include in their management activities all aspects of green criteria. The aim of this research is to assess the green property management (GPM) for commercial buildings in Malaysia. In attaining this aim, there is a need to develop the framework for GPM assessment. The literature on the green management of property follows a structure of rules or institutions as a provision for green practices to be in place. In the Malaysian context, the Green Building Index (GBI) has identified six criteria for green building development. In this research, similar bases are used to integrate the green criteria with the property management standards. Thus, the framework comprises the relevant rules or institutions for property management and determination of the criteria. A tool was further developed to assess agents' behaviour towards GPM and how they see interest in GPM. On the empirical part, a survey on the property managers' assessment on GPM suggests that GPM is not widely practiced in Malaysia. This is evidenced by the responses that suggest that many are keen on energy and water savings and the technical aspects of green criteria, but aspects on the art of property management such as tenancy relations, health, and safety are still lacking. Further investigations on case studies showed similar results where green building management has an objective of meeting the specified performances of the relevant green rating authority by all means. The strict ruling for green has caused tenants to be uncomfortable, and strained relationships can arise. The findings suggest that although green criteria are important, there is a need to develop good tenant relationships. Some aspects of performance are required for green property management but must not cause other aspects of property management to be left out.

Key words: Property management, green criteria, institutions, tools, assessment.