The Commitment of Local Authority Offices toward Sustainable Energy Practices

Abstract

Globally, there is a strong trend among local authority offices towards focusing on energy sustainability. This movement is vital as they faced challenges in managing their assets due to financial constraints and declining resources. This study aims to investigate the commitments of the local authority offices in Malaysia towards sustainable energy practices. The objective of this study was to identify the sustainable energy initiatives implemented within the selected local authorities in Malaysia as a case study. For this research context, ‘the commitment’ refers to the extent of information found concerning sustainable energy initiatives undertaken to manage their assets. Eight (8) semi-structured interviews with FM practitioners representing the eight local authorities from the City Hall and Municipal Council categories were conducted. Generally, the commitment of the local authority offices in Malaysia towards sustainable energy implementation was still at an initial stage, with seven (7) related initiatives identified. However, the introduction of energy-saving techniques, energy-saving technology, energy-saving equipment, and encouraging the involvement of officers and staff in energy-saving was the most significant initiatives identified. Therefore, given this perspective, the proactive role of local authorities is needed towards sustainable energy implementation. Indeed, this organisation have to take the lead in achieving sustainability goal.