ExxonMobil has appointed Shane Harris as president and chairman of ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc.
As lead country manager for ExxonMobil’s subsidiaries in Malaysia, Harris will be based in Kuala Lumpur, the oil and gas giant said in a statement.
The group said Harris succeeds Edward E Graham, who has been appointed as vice-president of ventures for ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions located in Houston, Texas.
Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy has emerged nationwide when about 8,000 people had cancelled their registration for vaccination on their MySejahtera app, mainly due to the misconception about Covid-19 vaccines they received from internet or any mass media without boundaries. It was as soon as the Government announced that the AstraZeneca (AZ) Covid-19 vaccine (“AZ vaccine”) will be part of the country’s national immunisation programme.
This had led to the Government announcing and launching the opt-in programme for the AZ vaccine in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor on 2 May 2021. However, public confidence towards the AZ vaccine could be observed when the available opt-in slots were fully booked by Malaysians within three hours of its opening on 2 May 2021. More vaccines are expected to arrive in Malaysia in the upcoming months to be administered to the population in achieving herd immunity.
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Kuala Lumpur, 21 June 2021 – A majority of Asia Pacific corporations (70%) are willing to pay a rental premium to lease sustainability-certified buildings in the future. This commitment aligns with broader real estate sustainability developments across Asia Pacific where 40% of corporate occupiers have already adopted net zero targets and another 40% are planning to adopt targets by 2025. The regional real estate decarbonization drive is also prompting 80% of corporate occupiers to prioritise locations that help them reduce carbon emissions, while 65% of investors will focus more on green building investments.
These insights come from the JLL Asia Pacific “Sustainable Real Estate: From ambitions to actions” report that surveyed over 550 corporate real estate leaders. Approximately 90% of companies in Asia Pacific agree that tackling emissions from real estate is essential in achieving a net zero carbon agenda – signaling a new era in regional real estate portfolio leasing and investment. For corporate occupiers who currently lease space in a green building, the majority are paying a rental premium of 7-10%, providing a benchmark for future sustainable leasing trends, according to JLL.
“For companies operating in Asia Pacific, any meaningful reduction in carbon footprint is tied directly to real estate. Corporate occupiers will increasingly demand real estate solutions that complement their sustainability agenda. This will lead investors to prioritise green investments, propelling the real estate industry transformation towards future-ready green buildings,” said Anthony Couse, Chief Executive Officer, APAC, JLL.
“As the Joint Exclusive Leasing Agent of the soon-to-be-completed Merdeka 118 tower, not only is it the newest icon in Kuala Lumpur’s skyline, but will also be the tallest building in Southeast Asia. Aligned with JLL’s sustainability ambition to “shape the future of real estate for a better world”, the Merdeka 118 tower will be the first tower to achieve Platinum Accreditation in all three categories for LEED, GreenRE and GBI,” says YY Lau, Country Head of JLL Property Services (M) Sdn Bhd. “In addition, the building is also the first in Malaysia to achieve the WELL Platinum Certification,” added Lau.
“Recognising the urgency and importance of sustainability, the Merdeka 118 tower accelerates the pace of sustainability with features such as high performance façade glazing, smart air recycling, grey water storage and re-use, solar panels, site wide material recycling and more,” says YY Lau.
The survey provides a comprehensive view of organisations’ sustainability journeys, with only a handful of corporate occupiers (21%) and investors (26%) identified as “Leading” in their category within the survey – defined by the strength of their sustainability goals which will move the needle on their carbon emissions reduction targets – scoring above 71 out of 100 total possible points. This indicates that a large majority of organisations need to do more to translate commitments to tangible actions. For instance, only 36% of occupiers have pledged to act on emissions that come from their suppliers and customers, in addition to their own operations, according to JLL data.
While firmer commitments from companies are necessary to accelerate the net-zero carbon ambitions, organisations have identified several barriers in achieving their sustainable real estate goals. Approximately 70% of occupiers report a lack of incentives from governments and support from landlords. Additionally, three out of four companies surveyed identified insufficient technological infrastructure as a hurdle to reaching their environmental goals.
Roddy Allan, Chief Research Officer, JLL Asia Pacific, commented, “Across Asia Pacific, society is shifting towards an emphasis on green and sustainable spaces in a bid to address the concerns on climate risk, and companies are willing to pay a premium to meet new demands. There is now a heightened responsibility among businesses to take demonstrable actions with their commercial real estate portfolio, which will increasingly rely on partnership between occupiers and investors to translate sustainability ambitions into actions.”
JLL’s “Sustainable Real Estate: From ambitions to actions” report was based on an online study of 478 occupiers and 76 investors from multiple countries across the Asia Pacific region, with a strong emphasis on Australia, China, India, Japan and Singapore. Respondents were asked questions to determine the position of their sustainability maturity journey. Each company was then assigned a maturity score between 0 and 100 to determine whether they are “Leading”, “On-the-Path” or “Starting Out”.
Download the report here
Vaccination of economic frontliners will be the country’s best proactive move to drive the economic recovery and ensure Malaysia retains its critical position in many global value chains. With the recent launch of the Public-Private Partnership Industrial COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PIKAS) program on June 16, AMCHAM held a webinar this morning featuring Texas Instruments Malaysia and Micron Memory Malaysia to talk about the pilot PIKAS models that are currently ongoing. The sharing session included lessons learnt, how the system was improved and more.
An informative session for companies that are unsure how PIKAS works especially since it was just launched and MITI is urging all industries that are not registered under PIKAS to do so immediately. Hope the session provided clarity to our members and thank you to our two member companies, Texas Instruments Malaysia Sdn Bhd & Micron Memory Malaysia Sdn Bhd for sharing the experience with us.
You feel stuck, your mind wanders aimlessly, the world seemingly becomes joyless. It’s“ languishing”–as sense of stagnation and emptiness that many of us are having during this pandemic.
Here are some tips for you!
Emulating the world-renowned TED-Ed conferences of ‘Ideas Worth Spreading’, High School students from The International School of Kuala Lumpur’s (ISKL) TED-Ed Club recently hosted their annual virtual TED-Ed Student Talks event. The theme was “Ikigai”, a Japanese term meaning “a reason for being” which was chosen to inspire others to stay resilient during these difficult times and focus on what is truly important to them.
With topics ranging from wealth disparity, genetic modification, open-mindedness, forced marriage, and gender stereotyping, these insightful High School TED-Ed speakers covered it all in an event that is worth watching! Their insightful arguments were well researched, critically reasoned, and communicated so effectively, they were the very embodiment of our School-wide Learning Results in action.
Diya N., Class of 2021 and President of the ISKL Ted-Ed Club, shared that by leading this project which is part of her International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program, she learned the importance of communication, collaboration, and adaptability. “My advice for anyone thinking about a Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) project (an IB requirement) is to do what you are passionate about and be sure to explore your different hobbies, interests, and ideas,” Diya adds. All speeches have been compiled on a Ted-Ed Student Talks website and available on ISKL’s Youtube page. Congratulations to all the ISKL Ted-Ed students on their thought-provoking speeches. A tremendous amount of work goes into preparing talks of this caliber, and the time and effort put into the event was evident.
Watch the video here
