The Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) will require all new building plan submissions here to incorporate energy efficient Overall Transfer Thermal Value (OTTV) and Roof Insulation codes, starting August 2017.

For this purpose, Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai has requested the Malaysian Green Building Confederation (MGBC) to formulate guidelines to be adopted by the building industry for both residential and non-residential buildings.

"Sustainable development is one of the most debated topics in the built environment industry. It is because the industry is responsible for 30 percent of the global greenhouse gas emission (GHG)" said Yeo, adding that air conditioning contributed a substantial 60 percent of energy consumption in Malaysian office buildings.

He added that whilst West Malaysia amended the uniform building by-law (UBBL) and gazetted it in August last year, Singapore had made American-introduced OTTV submission mandatory for over ten years.

"OTTV submission is now compulsory for all non-residential buildings and roof insulation is compulsory for all buildings. The goal of OTTV assessment is to minimise the energy consumption by reducing the solar heat coming through the building envelope, thus improving the energy efficiency of the building" said Yeo.

"OTTV is an essential factor as they can be a huge influence that reflects the energy consumption of the buildings" he added.

Yeo said Kota Kinabalu also needed roof insulation to minimise solar heat coming through the roof, which is also one of the most important design decisions for energy-efficient buildings.

At the MGBC launching ceremony, the mayor said MGBC and the participants of the discussions would come up with a resolution and guidelines for the codes upon completion of the seminar.

MGBC Sabah Chapter chairman Mok Juang Yun and committee members, representatives from Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM), Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM), Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM), Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM) and Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (SHAREDA), as well as the DBKK technical departments representatives were among those who attended the event.