Malaysia’s premier purpose-built venue, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) has recently invested in a food composter machine to expand its waste management efforts. This latest initiative aims to develop a circular economy model for the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) precinct, to help transform it into a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) hub and create a sustainable meetings destination in Malaysia.
The Centre’s General Manager, Alan Pryor, shared, “In our endeavour to manage event-KLCC generated waste responsibly, investing in our own composting machine is another significant step. Since including composting as part of our process, we have recorded a 30% decrease in the overall food waste disposed of. We are also collecting more data, through which we can better study delegates’ consumption behaviour. This enables us to plan food production more efficiently and cater to customer-based cooking, which results in reduced food waste and less food cost. One of the long-term plans of the composter is to also provide non-chemical-based fertilisers to the 50-acre KLCC park adjacent to the Centre.”
According to the World Resources Institute, out of 100 billion tons of resources that enter the economy annually, only 8.6% get recycled and used again. Since 1970, the use of resources has tripled and could double again by 2050 if business continues as usual.
“We understand how critical it is to move away from a linear economic model to a circular model. Our focus is on creating a regenerative system that helps us better use finite resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect the well-being of our biodiversity and boost the business of the various entities that make up the KLCC precinct,” continued Pryor.
The iconic integrated KLCC precinct is a 100-acre city-within-a-city development comprising the world’s tallest twin towers, a world-class purpose-built venue, numerous 4- to 5-star hotels, a shopping mall and a lush recreational park all nestled together.
Aligning its business priorities to the Twelfth Malaysia Plan, the Centre’s goal is to make this business event haven a sustainable meetings destination where organisers and delegates can meet, eat, sleep, and play responsibly, and have the opportunities to leave long-lasting positive impacts on the country and its people.
Acknowledging the venue’s commitment to sustainability, the Centre was recently invited to participate in the Malaysia Urban Forum 2022 to share its sustainable goals and the efforts undertaken by the private sector and a myriad of stakeholders involved in the sustainable transformation of urban cities.
