In a massive effort to gather leaders and the community to create awareness and drive the nation towards the achievement of the 17 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), Sunway Education Group partnered UN Malaysia to stage ‘Shine a Light on Sustainability: Rock the Goals 2019’ in conjunction with the Global Week to #Act4SDGs (September 20-30) and to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the UN SDGs.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, and provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At the core are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership, acknowledging that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

Speakers of each of the 17 SDGs take the stage

“The successful sustainable development agenda can only be achieved with continuous and coordinated partnerships involving governments, private sectors, civil service and individuals. I urge everyone to play a more active role for delivering sustainable change within the community. Together, we can create impact,” said His Royal Highness Tengku Amir Shah ibni Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj, Crown Prince of Selangor.

Dr Elizabeth Lee, Chief Executive Officer of the Sunway Education Group hoped the ‘Shine a Light on Sustainability: Rock the Goals 2019’ will further inspire the Sunway community and their guests to work together towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “The vision for that we are interdependent on each other, and with all life on earth, it is a symbiotic relationship. Only by understanding this, will we be able to work towards sustainable solutions for many of the issues in the world today,” she said.

Students and community groups come together to shine a light on sustainability

The Sunway Education Group is dedicated to championing sustainability within and around its campus. In its continuous effort to make the world a better and greener place, the Group strives to instill sustainable practices into various aspects of students’ education experience, and to nurture a community of socially and ecologically responsible global citizens of the future.

Launched in April 2019, the ThinkB4Print campaign was launched to create awareness and to encourage all Sunway Staff and Students to save paper out of concern for the environment.

Paper production has a direct correlation with deforestation. Despite availability of recycled paper, paper manufacturing uses mainly virgin materials (State of the Global Paper Industry 2018). The world’s forests are on the decline. Over the years 2010 – 2015, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) there was an annual forest cover nett change of negative 3.2 million hectares (FAO 2016). This includes trees cut down for paper production as the FAO definition of forests includes timber plantations.

A reduction in the amount of paper used by Sunway Education Group demonstrates its alignment with global issues concerning climate change. The private sector can align its business activities with responsible consumption because deforestation is the second-leading cause of climate change after fossil fuel burning (FAO 2018).

The ThinkB4Print campaign encouraged the reduction of paper consumption. This move further strengthened SEG’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), particularly SDG number 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production.

"We have very good printing facilities on campus, and we have made it easy for our users to print. At the same time, we are also very conscious of the huge cost to our planet. I would like to think that as our campus workplace becomes more mature, our colleagues and students will make conscious choices to print less and chose various digital alternatives instead,” said Tony Lee, Chief Information Officer, SEG.

The ThinkB4Print campaign was designed to enable a variety of paper-saving practices to reach targeted audiences using multimodal approaches. The campaign was the outcome of six months of preparation by both the IT Services of Sunway Education Group (SEG) and the School of Arts-Centre for Research Creation in Digital Media (SOA-CRCDM).

Making use of original video content and augmented reality (AR), the campaign started off in June 2019 with both a roadmap and ecofriendly printing guides interspersed together with a series of alternative solutions. Content was delivered over the course of five months to ease users into new printing and paper-saving habits. The series includes a video awareness campaign featuring printing tips and effective printer usage; transitioning towards cloud storage and adopting e-Campus solutions to event and administrative tasks. All campus staff were encouraged to participate in the campaign to reduce paper consumption with the long term goal of reduced paper found in the office.

The campaign strategically placed information tents at all University printer terminals (see photo below) to remind users to practice diligent paper usage. Integrating the campaign messages into existing IT assets in each department enhanced the campaign’s presence across campus. Each of these tents blended IT technical help with user education on reduced-paper printing practices and sustainability awareness. Operating within the nexus of the physical and the virtual space, the campaign went one step further to encourage uptake of AR technology as the primary means of accessing the technical and user education material.

SEG Printer Terminals were refitted with campaign information to encourage sustainable paper consumption

Staff and Students accessed additional information on deforestation and reduced printing practices

Supporting the campaign was Dr Elizabeth Lee, Chief Executive Officer of SEG. “At any organisation or institution such as ours, the consumption of paper for printing is extremely high. In this digital age, let us all strive to reduce paper consumption and move towards a paperless community, to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Despite improvements in energy optimization for reduced GHG emissions, the paper and pulp industry remains a high energy consuming and polluting sector. Particularly polluting is the pulping process, a core component of paper making, which requires chemicals (such as chlorine for bleaching) to process timber into pulp for final processing into paper. Wastewater and gaseous pollutants from these processes left untreated enter waterways and the atmosphere. In other words, paper production results in air, land and water pollutants while reducing forest cover. With these environmental impacts in mind, the outcomes of this campaign are in line with efforts to prevent environmental damage and to reduce global carbon footprint.

In her ThinkB4Print Campaign Video Message Dr Lee urged all SEG users “to reduce paper consumption and move towards a paperless community by practicing ‘Thinkb4Print-ing and adopting the e-Campus solutions that are being introduced by our IT Services.”

The ThinkB4Print campaign is a joint effort between IT Services and the School of Arts-Centre for Research Creation in Digital Media (SOA-CRCDM). It was supported by Branding and Corporate Communication, the Australian Matriculation (AUSMAT) Programme at Sunway College and the Centre for English Language Studies (CELS). Key members of the ThinkB4Print campaign include Loo Ooi Meng, Manager; Ong Kiat Ming, Section Head, and Wong Jian Xiang, IT Executive from IT Services, and Delas Santano, Audiovisual Producer, Centre for Research-Creation in Digital Media, School of Arts, Sunway University.

The campaigns ended in October 2019 with the continued hope that all on the Sunway campus continue efforts to reduce paper consumption.

References:

1. MacDicken, K., Jonsson, Ö., Piña, L., Maulo, S., Contessa, V., Adikari, Y., ... & D’Annunzio, R. (2016). Global forest resources assessment 2015: how are the world's forests changing?.
2. FAO, F. (2018). The State of the World’s Forests 2018‐Forest pathways to sustainable development.
3. Haggith, M., Kinsella, S., Baffoni, S., Anderson, P., Ford, J., Leithe, R., ... & Tinhout, B. (2018). The State of the Global Paper Industry 2018.
4. Wang, Y., Yang, X., Sun, M., Ma, L., Li, X., & Shi, L. (2016). Estimating carbon emissions from the pulp and paper industry: A case study. Applied Energy, 184, 779-789.

Sunway Education Group launched the #TheLastStraw campaign on 13th July 2018, to drive awareness for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). The campaign seeks to address UNSDG Number 14 – Life Below Water, and has committed to stop selling water in single use plastic bottles on campus from the campaign launch onwards.

The pilot initiative introduces the refilling stations on campus to eliminate the use or purchase of plastic water bottles on campus. an initiative that eliminates single-use plastic on campus and encourages a no single-use plastic lifestyle.

In April 2019, this is two additional sets of water dispensers have been installed on campus grounds at the following locations with a third proposed at the field:

• Jeffrey Cheah Hall
• University Building

Last Straw Campaign Water Dispensers at Level 1, University Building

With each member of the community playing a role in reducing the use of plastics and adopting more effective re-cycling, the Sunway Education Group Smart Sustainable Campus Committee hopes to assist the world in achieving its target of preventing and significantly reducing marine pollution by year 2025 whilst championing sustainability for future generations.

1st March 2019 marked the further reduction of single-use plastic on campus when the Sunway Education Group Management decided no straws will be given out on campus.

The campus has further encouraged reuse of materials rather than single use by conducting a metal straw giveaway. Students were seen lining up across the university foyer during the collection period, 12 – 14th November 2019, to redeem their metal straws.

Students during the Last Straw Campaign Metal Straw Giveaway

Formerly known as the Start It Challenge, the Make It Challenge is an annual hackathon organised by Sunway iLabs. Students are tasked to come up with solutions to address one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). Students were selected based on video submissions, where they mentioned their motive to participate in the Make It Challenge 2019.
 
The participants from Lancaster and Sunway University, on their ride along the beautiful paddy fields in Pendang, Kedah.

 
SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production was the theme for this year. Students started their programme with a trip to Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa to view food management in the hotel industry. As an experiential learning programme, all 17 students (5 from Lancaster University and 12 from Sunway University), together with the the Sunway iLabs team, visited multiple industries to better understand sustainable food, farming, fishing, waste and manufacturing processes.

This was followed by a longer trip up north to view sustainable fishing and manufacturing practices in Taiping, Perak where students visited a fishing village and charcoal factory. The next day, students visited Pendang and Gurun, Kedah visiting paddy fields and the Free The Seed factory. The Free The Seed factory produces biodegradable packaging using paddy straws.
 
The Sunway iLabs team on the 4 wheel drive and the students at the back, getting onto the lorry before taking a ride along the paddy fields

All 5 student teams came up with business ideas to address SDG12. Business solutions included gamified retailing solutions to encourage customers to bring their own reusable food containers and shopping bags; a restaurant food waste diversion application; and an ugly produce shopping application.
 
On the 26th night, all the teams stayed up, working on their ideas and practising their pitch as the final round was on the 27th afternoon. The judging panel consisted of innovation and sustainability leaders from PETROSAINS, Sunway Sustainability Solutions and BioBiz, UK.

The participants of Make It Challenge 2019 with the Sunway iLabs team and the panel of judges right after the announcement of winners at Sunway iLabs, Menara Sunway on 27 September 2019.

In partnership with United Nations Technology and Innovations Lab (UNTIL), Sunway iLabs organised a Reboot the Earth hackathon on 16 and 17 August 2019, to develop solutions addressing the climate crisis. Reboot The Earth was planned as a social coding event to bring budding computer programmers, scientists and interested parties together under the auspices of the United Nations to improve upon or to build new software program.

The Sunway iLabs team with Dr. Elizabeth Lee, CEO of Sunway Education Group, YB Syed Saddiq, Minister of Youth and Sport, and Evan Cheah, Vice President of Sunway Group, after the opening ceremony.

This hackathon was open to members of the public above the age of 18 with interest in innovation, technology and climate change. Participants were of different ages ranging from 18 to 30 years. The hackathon attracted a mix of college and university students, fresh graduates and working adults. 20-30 teams competed with team sizes varying from solo to four members.

Students formed groups, utilizing the open workspace at iLabs, Menara Sunway, and worked till wee hours of the morning.

Through a series of Tech Challenges by UNTIL held consecutively in four continents, Reboot the Earth provided young people, mainly tertiary students of different backgrounds such as tech, computer science, business and sustainability, with a platform to showcase their expertise in developing solutions based on climate change data. Participants were encouraged to localise solutions. Data points considered included: increase of temperature, changes in weather patterns, as a general overview over set geographic locations. Participants were given freedom of choice regarding technology, development tools and platform selection. Scoring emphasised the impact of the solution rather than technical expertise.

Present: YB Syed Saddiq, Minister of Youth and Sports, Evan Cheah, Vice President of Sunway Group, Dr. Elizabeth Lee, CEO of Sunway Education Group, Matthijs Van Leeuwen, Director of Sunway iLabs, and UNTIL team alongside the participants of Rebooth the Earth at the opening ceremony, gathering for a group photo..

Mentors coached participants to better understand the problem at hand and helping them to better gauge the feasibility of their solutions; no technical mentorship was provided. Some of the local issues students looked at were illegal deforestation, illegal poaching, and global warming. The variety of solutions from the participants included utilising used mobile phones to detect illegal poaching/logging and using drones to monitor natural resources.

The winner of Reboot The Earth Hackhathon 2019, Eshaan Menon (R) with Prem Nair (L), the UNTIL Officer of Information and Communications Technology at the prize giving ceremony.

The winner of Reboot the Earth Malaysia was a solo entrant, Eshaan Menon, who was given the opportunity of a lifetime to pitch his solution at the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 in New York City. His solution, entitled SawIt, uses blockchain technology and satellite data to identify palm oil plantation locations intended to monitor illegal activities, deforestation and burning of forests.

iLabs will be hosting a Green Talks series until December 2019 on the following topics: sustainable hotels, sustainable facilities and building management, sustainable interior design, sustainable construction and architecture, sustainable manufacturing and industrial operations, ethical consumerism, sustainable supply-chain management, sustainable landscaping, and sustainable food manufacturing. All talks are from 8:30am to 12:30pm, and attendance is free. More details and event registration can be found at https://www.zureli60.com/green-talks-with-business-malaysia.

Taking the going green initiative one step further, Sunway College collaborated with Rentwise early this year to sponsor 30 sets of refurbished Dell desktops and LCD monitors to Sekolah Kebangsaan St Mary in Kuala Lumpur. The computers form the school’s first computer lab, providing students’ the opportunity to gain computer literacy and knowledge.
 
As part of its ongoing CSR programme, the IT Services Department at Sunway College was happy to collaborate with Rentwise which refurbished the computers and will provide maintenance for the computers. Refurbished computers which are well maintained and serviced perform similar to new computers and are expected to last 3-5 years. The refurbishment of computers is in line with the “no wastage” policy shared by Sunway College and Rentwise, where both organisations aim to uphold green practices for a sustainable future.

The joint effort CSR program video between IT Services Sunway College and Rent Wise Malaysia.

IT Services have embarked slowly to turn conventional paper notices to electronically information by rolling out TV digital signage for front liner departments. Currently, we have implemented this new digital signage system to Admission Office , Student Life and AUP Office, VUMBA Office.

This TV digital signage works with Magic Info software which interface quite user friendly and easy to use. Training was provided to our users to learn how to design content into Magic Info Author and upload to digital signage server to be published out to the TV display. This enable our customers can experience to get more interactive information publicity in one screen with videos, advertising poster awareness and latest campus news.

Digital signage will reduce printing and usage of papers which IT Services aiming to uphold green practices for a sustainable future.

Together with Office 365 cloud service, Skype for Business has been a new option for user to communicate with each other, especially having simple desktop video conference with partners and colleagues around the globe.

Our Managed Print Service contract with Fuji-Xerox has been renewed. We have replaced current printers/Multi-Function Devices with a totally new upgraded fleet.
 
The new fleet of MFD printers comes with additional green FX MFD printer energy saving features as below:
a.   Fusing Unit with Induction heating technology
      - Warm up in 3 seconds
      - Melt toner at lower temperature
      - Eliminate preheating
b.  Standby mode
      - Sleep mode(2W) vs smart phone(4W)

c.   Zero waiting time
      - Smart welcome eyes

FX have been several awarded for GreenTAG Award 2014 for ApeosPort – V & DocuCentre by Malaysian Green Technology Corporation under MyHijau Programme & 11 others awards including “ISO9001/ISO14001 BUREAU VERITAS Certification”

The implementation of online booking systems for various needs has helped to eliminate paper/manual tracking whilst making it more convenientfor users to book a room, facility or an equipment online.

IT Services introduced eForms with workflows to help reduce administrative tasks and at the same time going paperless, to adopt a greener approach.

The Sunway MyCampus Mobile App is the official pocket guide to the Sunway Campus in Bandar Sunway. The App delivers news and events related to the campus community.

It includes an animated navigation to guide users to find their way around the campus. The app also comes with a staff directory and hotline contacts which is handy.

With the app, we will see a reduction in the need to provide physical handouts of news and events, campus location and staff directory listing.

Sunway University aspires to become an environmentally conscious campus aligning ourselves with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. With that, the Last Straw Campaign was launched on 13 July 2018.

Leading Marine Life conservationist in the country, Dato’ Simon Foong, CEO of Aquaria KLCC agreed to support our efforts and graced the launch alongside our Smart Sustainable Campus Ambassador Dr Elizabeth Lee.

#The Last Straw is the overarching theme of the campaign which will see the removal of plastic bottles, plastic containers, plastic bags, plastic utensils as well as plastic straws and any other single use plastic items like Chilli or Ketchup sauce sachets etc. All these will be done in stages to achieve a plastic-free campus by 2020.

The first phase of the campaign was to stop water bottles from being sold on campus and through the vending machines. The University then provided additional water stations so students can fill up their water containers. Staff and students were reminded to bring their own mugs and water containers through the “Living Green” poster reminders placed strategically around the campus.

The next phase will be to discourage the usage of plastic straw in drinks. From October 2018 onwards, anyone who requests for a straw on campus will have to purchase it.

Another Green Initiative is to grow different type of herbs which will be used by the Sunway Le Cordon Bleu, Institute of Culinary Arts as well as the School of Hospitality.

IT Services is the first department to implement full LED lighting system for new renovated office.
The key reason of adopting LED lighting as below:

 

• LED lights contain no toxic materials and are 100% recyclable, and will help to reduce carbon footprint.
• LED lights are resistant to shock, vibrations and external impacts, they make great outdoor lighting systems for rough conditions
• LED illumination produces little infrared light and close to no UV emissions.
• A low-voltage power supply is sufficient for LED illumination. This makes it easy to use LED lighting also in outdoor settings, by connecting an external solar-energy source.

A big step towards a greener future!

All desktop computers, devices and server devices purchase continue meet appropriate Energy-Star compliance standards for power consumption and support energy-conservation features (Version 6.1 effective September 10 2, 2014).
  Desktop models deployed will have energy-smart saving mode setting enabled, a simple but effective way of energy-conservation. You will notice your PC going into sleep or hibernation mode after a period of inactivity (such as meetings or short discussion).

Leveraging on application virtualization technology, SEG is the first institution to deliver computer lab applications to students’ devices. Students are able to run applications within their own notebook, anytime and anywhere while on campus.

The technology eliminate the need for building new labs, which result in saving of RM400,000 of capital expenditure and RM66,000 of yearly electrical cost.

The purpose of this campaign was to create awareness amongst the staff and students that a concerted effort was needed to reduce energy consumption . The launch was officiated by the Suruhanjaya Tenaga (ST) – Energy Commission of Malaysia. This initiative is part of the institution’s continuous implementation of energy management programmes to conserve energy and preserve the environment for our future generation.

The solar panels project took off in 2018. The objectives of installing the solar panel are below:

1. Energy Savings via Renewable Energy
2. Towards Self-Sustainability
3. Reduction of CO2 Emission
4. Educational Platform for Students
5. R&D Platform for Researchers

Malaysia enjoys an average of 4 to 6 hours of effective sunlight. As such, solar panels will help reduce the maximum demand for power consumption during the day. The University as invested over RM2 million with a payback of 6 years. The capacity of the solar system based on the simulation using the PVSyst for Sunway University is 600kWp.

Project Targets:
To reduce the dependency from Tenaga National Berhad, for the electricity supply and to be self-sustainable in the future;

The targeted building to use the solar energy is the South Building as their tariff per kWh is range between 0.43 to 0.509 cents. As such, there should be minimal use of electricity for the South Building.

Energy Saving Method

Major Findings

• Reduces energy consumption in the day time.
• Effective Sunlight is between 4 to 6 hours
• No Saving in MD charges without Battery Storage.

Locations for Solar PV System (Blue spaces)
The solar panels are installed on the University Building and the North Building rooftops.
Batteries 1000KW will be brought in 2 stages in 2019. The campus requires 3500 KW TNB Usage. As such, these batteries will allow us to save further on energy consumption. We hope to achive 11 million Ringgit savings in 30 years.

Originated from the GreenThink! initiative, please take advantage of our "eWaste Collection Day" to dispose your household big e-Waste items. FYI, bring the big e-Waste disposal items into our designated big e-Waste collection bin at Sunway University Building foyer for campaign day. For small e-waste items (phone, batteries, charger, …), you can dispose anytime into the green e-Waste collection bins fixed in various campus locations as below:

• Sunway College, North Building Level G, Cafeteria area
• Sunway University Building, Level UG, Concourse area
• Sunway Monash Residence, Ground floor (near management office)
• Sun-U Apartment, Ground floor (near management office)
• Sun-U Residence, Ground floor (near block B lift)
• SIS Building, foyer

On the “e-Waste Collection Day”, we have e-Waste collection trucks with standby workers to collect your e-Waste at Graduate Centre, you may drive your big e-waste items there and pass to them. This collection service is provided FOC, and there is no monetary return for the collected items. Items collected will be properly disposed in DOE-certified centres.

The campus GreenThink! is a venue for Sunway campus community to dispose unwanted electronic devices and electrical home appliances, instead of disposing as regular household rubbish that end up in landfill.

Year 2018	1,090kg	338kg (23/08/18)
Year 2017	623kg	1,563.5kg
Year 2016	878.5kg	581kg
Year 2015	1,386kg	1,336kg
Year 2014	338kg	567kg
Year 2013	740kg	674kg
Year 2012	12,433kg	168kg

Printing e-Waste backdrop wall sticker to stick to pillar wall permanently at new renovated cafeteria and e-Waste bin will be place together so look more incorporate design for promoting e-Waste disposal practice.

This design and cafeteria location was approved by Branding BCC and Facilities.

An annual initiative by the Sunway Education Group since 2012, e-Waste Disposal Campaign on campus was officially launched on 27th Oct 2016 by Dr Elizabeth Lee, Senior Executive Director of Sunway Education Group. To-date we have collected 21,055.5kg of e-waste, which would have otherwise dump into our landfills. In year 2016 total 2,450.5kg was collected and 623kg in first quarter 2017.

Staff and students of Sunway campus can conveniently dispose small e-Waste items such as spoiled mobile phones, batteries, chargers, and other electronic components via e-Waste collection bins placed at strategic locations throughout campus compound. For large household e-Waste items. They can bring in during the twice yearly e-Waste campaign days for the specially arranged disposal truck on campus to be disposed.

We ensure a DOE certified vendor, which advocates and supports restoration of the environment in order to preserve a cleaner and greener environment, properly disposes the collected e-Waste.

Update 18/3/2017:
This CSR effort won the “Special Recognition Prize” for #SUNWAYFORGOOD Competition at the 2017 Sunway Leaders Conference.

Malaysia's Sunway Education Group has held its latest green initiative is year with 'e-Waste Collection Day' to help increase awareness of the proper way - certified by DOE centres - to dispose unwanted electronic devices and electrical home appliances.
 
Speaking in Kuala Lumpur, the Group's director of IT Services, Tony Lee, said: 'Since its inception Sunway Education Group has collected more than 4,000 kg of e-Waste. Our passion for the environment ensures we remain keen to support innovative ideas that create a better planet.

Rainwater Harvesting was implemented in 2017 to reduce constraint on the limited clean water for human consumption. The rainwater is used to water the foliage on the campus grounds. Other initiatives by the Facilities Department include installing hand dryers in the campus restrooms to reduce paper usage and increasing the number of drinking water fountains to reduce usage of disposable water bottles.

All buildings within Sunway City are interconnected by an at-grade (pedestrian walk) and elevated pedestrian walkway (Canopy Walk) to encourage walking within the township. Additionally, a dedicated continuous cycling network is scheduled for completion by 2020.

Sunway City is currently one of Malaysia’s most connected cities, seamlessly linking the public road network, public transport and the nation’s first elevated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)-Sunway Line. Eco-friendly electric buses serve seven stations, linking the KTM Komuter rail service and Light Rail Transit (LRT). Commuters can travel to Kuala Lumpur city centre and Kuala Lumpur International Airport with ease.

Sunway City also provides a dedicated free shuttle bus service so residents, students and visitors can commute within the township, efficiently. There is ample space for parking bicycles at Sunway Pyramid Mall, Sunway Lagoon, Monash University Malaysia, Sunway Geo and all BRT stations to complete the multi-modal transportation system in Sunway City.

Malaysia’s first transit-oriented township (TOD), with seven key lifestyle components, offers an impressive array of housing, jobs, shops, restaurants and entertainment. Over the years, Sunway has invested more than RM300 million in improving Sunway City’s connectivity, accessibility, landscape and green efforts. This initiative supports Sunway’s growth as a tourist destination and value-generation hub for the nation.

As a TOD township, Sunway City is able to focus on development and activities that capture value, which is reinvested in communities and the nation.