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Abstract This paper analyses the barriers to the adoption of the triple-bottom line of sustainability of the construction sector within the developing country of Malaysia. Barriers pertaining to sustainable construction (SC) were identified through a thorough review of the literature on the process of SC, which were then contextually customized via a pilot study and presented in the form of a hypothesized model. Primary data was collected via administration of questionnaire surveys to 122 construction stakeholders in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to statistically validate the final model of the barriers to SC. This paper fills the gap in the knowledge by focusing on the quantified contribution of the most significant barriers to the adoption of SC principles throughout the process of SC in the context of Malaysia. Findings of this paper uncover the most significant factors constraining the SC in Malaysia related to government, cost, knowledge and information, workforce, and client and market. The findings revealed that clear and effective legislative process is crucial for the enforcement of the integration of SC materials and practices as well as economics incentives which will ultimately lead to effective implementation of SC initiatives; hence, sustainable economic growth and efficient resource (energy, water and material) utilization. It is hoped that the findings provide guidelines for the government authorities so that they invest their efforts and allocate resources in more efficient way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption is a serious concern all over the world. Due to the limited amount of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) research on specific issues such as bribery, this paper aims to determine the extent of anti-corruption information disclosure in annual reports that demonstrate organizational commitment towards combatting corruption. The index consists of 40 items developed from an analysis of past literature and several organizations' published reports. The input data was based on observation of several organizations' annual reports, CSR and sustainability reports, past literature and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting indicators. The sample consists of 24 companies that participated in the ACCA Malaysia Sustainability Reporting Awards (MaSRA) and 34 Indonesian companies that participated in the Indonesia Sustainability Reporting Award (ISRA). The disclosure of anti-corruption practices (ACP) is still in its infancy in both countries. This study shows that the disclosure of anti-corruption codes of conduct and whistle-blowing practices was the most reported item. Interestingly, Indonesian companies disclosed higher amounts of ACP information compared to Malaysian companies. This is possibly because there is a higher level of coercive pressure to disclose ACP information in Indonesia compared to Malaysia. Further, there are several challenges to curbing corruption in Malaysia which potentially contribute to the low disclosure level of ACP information. This research contributes to CSR studies with a focus on anti-corruption practice, particularly in emerging economies. Some implications to improve the level of anti-corruption disclosure are also presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with the Paris Accord to cap global temperature rise to1.5°Celsius over the next 100 years, Malaysia submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) seeking to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030, which was changed to 2050 following the Marrakech Proclamation in 2016. This paper analyzes the implications of Malaysia's INDC and an additional proposal of continuing further climate control to cap temperature rise over the next century against the existing scenario in the country. The results show that the cumulative damage from climate change over the period 2010–2100 will amount to MYR2.1 billion under the present climatic regime. It will fall to MYR1.1 billion under scenario 2 and to MYR0.6 billion under scenario 3. Since the total abatement costs for scenario 2 (MYR14.3 billion) is close to that of scenario 3 (MYR14.6 billion) against the significant reduction in climate damage of the latter, the third proposal is the best alternative for Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) enables transferring technology from developed countries to developing countries, such as Malaysia, and simultaneously promotes sustainable growth. Although this has been proven, the contribution of Malaysian companies in CDM projects is low. Therefore, this study has been aimed at investigating the determinants of CDM adoption and its impact on companies' performances. Data were gathered by surveying 91 companies in the energy, agriculture, and forestry sectors in Malaysia implementing CDM projects. The data were analysed using the partial least squares technique. The results show that environmental regulations, competitiveness, and financial benefits have a positive impact on CDM implementation. Additionally, this study reported a significant positive effect of CDM implementation on economic performance. This paper extends the knowledge on the determinants and financial outcome of CDM implementation. The information given in this research might be beneficial for policy makers and managers in modifying tactics and strategies towards successful promotion of the CDM in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) to five companies under the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) project has shown that these companies have indeed achieved simultaneous benefits of economic gains and environmental sustainability. This paper highlights the experience of one of the companies, emphasising how one can leverage enablers and also overcome barriers to implementing MFCA in a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) in Malaysia. Driven by the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, the case company found most of its enablers within MFCA's own attributes. Additionally other factors such as the team composition, interpersonal communication, and efforts of the change agents were instrumental in the success of the MFCA implementation. However, the company was also constrained by its suppliers. More importantly, it is envisaged that a potential hurdle for MFCA advancement is when performance management issues are not addressed by higher management. Drawing upon the company's experience and the theoretical literature, other barriers that may also be encountered by SMEs in Malaysia are also discussed. These include for example, overcoming the traditionalist view held by most SMEs, persevering the implementation processes on their own without the direct assistance from MPC and several others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the new global economy, carbon emission has become an important worldwide issue. One key reason for this is the magnification of the transport sector, as millions of gasoline-based vehicles are plying on roads producing carbon emission throughout day and night. In order to impede these vulnerabilities and promote a more sustainable economy, one solution is to switch from gasoline-based vehicles to using green technology vehicles. There is growing agreement that electrification and the ability to ‘decarbonize’ this sector seems to be significant, as it helps to mitigate the high reliance on fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions. The introduction of electric vehicles has led the automotive industry to a whole new echelon, one with zero fuel dependency and increased fuel efficiency. While the usage of greener and cleaner vehicles, such as electric vehicles, is well supported with government policies and programmes, it is surprising that little information is divulged about the public acceptance of electric vehicles from the social perspective. Public acceptance and diffusion of this new green technology is relatively fresh and unknown in Malaysia. In fact, public acceptance can appear as a prevailing obstacle for market diffusion and encumber the development of technology adoption. The rationale of this paper is to conduct an exploration to determine the key predictors affecting the usage of electric vehicles acceptance in Malaysia. Malaysia has been referred to here, as electric vehicles are just being introduced as one of the initiatives to encourage a low fossil carbon technology within the transportation sector. More specifically, an empirical study using a survey questionnaire was distributed to 1000 private vehicle drivers in Malaysia. An electric vehicle usage model was proposed based on a literature review and a multiple regression model. The results demonstrated that electric vehicles acceptance in Malaysia can be explained as being significantly related to social influences, performance attributes, financial benefits, environmental concerns, demographics, infrastructure readiness and government interventions. In addition, the study offers a valuable wealth of information on the public acceptance of automotive players planning to market electric vehicles in Malaysia. It also offers sensible guidelines for the formulation of marketing strategies that will address the real wants and needs of future electric vehicles users. In the meanwhile, policy-makers should concentrate on the appropriate intervention and policy to encourage the development of electric vehicles as part of the strategy towards a transition to a low carbon society in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the Malaysian chemicals industry has been progressively growing over the past few decades, the industry associations had not been actively engaged with one another. The Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia was established to form a stronger and more cohesive representation from other sub-sectors of the industry such as oleochemicals, industrial gases, petrochemicals, paints, coating resins, fertilizers, biodiesel and pesticides, as well as their respective chemical traders, distributors and other service providers. Among its initiatives is the Responsible Care programme which has proven to be a very useful tool in promoting responsible practices among signatory companies that protect the environment, human health and safety. While the chemicals industry and related industries have adopted most of the responsible best practices to reduce their environmental impact, participation from small and medium enterprises has been low. This paper aims to provide an overview of the initiatives of the Chemical Industries Council of Malaysia, and assess its current position with regard to providing environmental, health and safety services to its members in view of the expanding global chemicals sector and the challenges it poses. It will also identify the main challenges faced by the chemicals industry, and propose measures to overcome them for the future competitiveness and sustainability of the chemicals industry at both regional and international levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its environmental and financial benefits for public and private sectors, adoption of the green roof (GR) system comprises barriers that have inhibited its application in Malaysia. Studies on the barriers to GR installation have been conducted worldwide; however, they are scarce in Malaysia. Moreover, in the literature, conventional methods are used for prioritizing the barriers, while the barriers to GR adoption are not differentiated among its types. In view of this argument, this paper identifies and prioritizes the barriers to GR installation using Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) and Fuzzy Best-Worst Method (FBWM), respectively. Of 20 identified barriers, six (for intensive GR) and nine (for extensive GR) were rejected using FDM, while the selected barriers were prioritized using FBWM. The findings reveal that "high initial cost" and "lack of awareness and knowledge" barriers to IGR and EGR installation are the most significant, respectively; while "challenges of installation" and "structural damage" are the least significant for both types of GRs. A comparative analysis was conducted to show the outperformance of used methods while the validity of the results was checked through case studies. The clear message of the results addresses the amalgamation of legislative enforcements with financial incentives and emphasis on the improvement of knowledge and awareness, which will ultimately lead to effective and widespread implementation of GR systems. The study provides practical guidelines for the stakeholders at the forefront by enabling them to grapple with the most significant barriers to GR installation. • Barriers inhibiting the adoption of IGR and EGR in Malaysia were identified using fuzzy Delphi method. • Fuzzy best-worst method was utilized, which provides a precise prioritization of barriers to GR installation. • Climatic barriers are observed as insignificant in tropical climate of Malaysia. • High initial construction cost of IGR installation is perceived to be the most significant barrier to its adoption. • Information and knowledge barriers are perceived to be the most important barriers for EGR installation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever-increasing need for clean and accessible energy sources, biomass has long been considered as a potential prospect. Malaysia is one of the leading suppliers and has the largest palm oil plantation in the world. Therefore, biomass from the palm oil industry appears to be a very promising alternative source of raw materials, including for renewable energy, in Malaysia. However, ensuring the environmental sustainability of the biomass supply chain (BSC) is one of the major challenges faced by the biomass industry. Therefore, this paper aims to assess the effect of changing the efficiency of transportation technology (TT) and production technology (PT) on the environmental sustainability of the palm oil BSC. We developed a dynamic simulation model to explore the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 50 years (2000–2050) for three palm biomass suppliers (Johor, Perak and Pahang) in Malaysia. Results show that supplier in Perak produced the highest rate of GHG emissions in the whole system. Also, suppliers in Johor and Perak had the highest GHG emissions with 180–240 million tonnes (mt) CO 2 equivalent (CO 2 e) and 375–400 mt CO 2 e, respectively, from transportation of empty fruit bunches (EFB) product. In terms of production, the supplier in Perak had the highest (and constant value) of GHG emissions (up to 160 mt CO 2 e). The analysis shows that the supplier in Pahang generated the lowest level of GHG emissions. Our findings suggest that improvement of the transportation and production efficiency of BSC should be the priority to work towards the sustainable development of the palm biomass industry. • Ensuring the environmental sustainability of biomass supply chain. • Dynamic simulation model for predicting GHG emissions from biomass supply chain. • Assessment of GHG emissions for palm biomass suppliers in Malaysia (2000–2050). • Effect of efficiency of transportation and production technology on GHG emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]