MOH PILOTS RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS, SETS UP BRAIN CENTRE TO DRIVE SUSTAINABLE HEALTHCARE

PUTRAJAYA, April 28 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) is piloting renewable energy projects through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) at selected healthcare facilities within the Klang Valley, establishing the Centre for Healthcare Engineering Brilliance, Research and Innovation (BRAIN), and promoting biodegradable alternatives to support the circular economy.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said these initiatives are not standalone actions, but long-term investments in climate resilience, resource efficiency and sustainable healthcare operations.

“A sustainable health system also requires continuous innovation and smart financing,” he said in his speech at the Green Healthcare Facilities Conference 2025, themed From Vision to Action: Shaping the Future of a Green and Healthy Environment, here today.

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Also present at the event were Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Health director-general Datuk Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan.

In urging the sector to act boldly, Lukanisman shared that the next decade would require the health sector to move beyond compliance and minimum standards.

He said the ministry must lead with conviction, from how it designs buildings to how it operates critical systems, trains its technical teams, and engages communities in planetary health.

“A healthy planet is essential for healthy people. Thus, I urge each of you to take ownership of this mission. When the health sector acts with courage, others will follow,” he said.

Reflecting on the MOH’s journey under the Sustainability Programme 2015-2025, he said the ministry had made meaningful progress in advancing greener healthcare facilities over the past decade.

Among the achievements are the adoption of energy management systems across hospitals nationwide, green building certifications for operations and maintenance, improvements in indoor air quality, and the implementation of a sustainable waste management programme based on the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle (3R).

Lukanisman emphasised that MOH employees, engineers, healthcare professionals and concession company partners largely drove these transformations internally.

In 2023, the MOH launched the Carbon Neutral Healthcare Facilities Blueprint, a framework to guide healthcare facilities towards adopting renewable energy, improving water efficiency, and enhancing waste management as part of broader decarbonisation efforts.

“Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across the MOH by 2045, placing us ahead of Malaysia’s national net-zero target by 2050,” he said.

Underscoring the urgency, Lukanisman noted that the climate crisis is fundamentally a health crisis, as rising temperatures, extreme weather events, water insecurity and air pollution increasingly strain healthcare systems and impact vulnerable communities.

“Healthcare itself contributes significantly to the climate problem. Globally, the sector is responsible for nearly five per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

“Alongside healing our patients, we also have a responsibility to protect the environment. This is the paradox we face and the very reason this conference is so important,” he added.

-- BERNAMA