At the Sustainable Construction Symposium 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, YTL Cement Group executive director, Rachel Yeoh, called for the industry to “work smart with purpose” alongside working hard and collaboratively to advance sustainable construction.
She highlighted that industrialised building systems now feature in 45 per cent of Malaysian projects, cutting construction waste and emissions by 25 per cent. YTL Cement’s subsidiary Geo Alam Environmental is scaling operations to convert more waste into alternative fuels, while the company invests in low-carbon product R&D.
Yeoh urged for broader certification frameworks recognising low-carbon cement and concrete, noting that only 20 per cent of global systems currently do so. She welcomed the new SustainBuild Mark as Malaysia’s first ESG-based building materials certification.
With construction accounting for 20 per cent of Southeast Asia’s CO2 emissions, Yeoh stressed the sector’s ability to halve energy use and cut water consumption by 40 per cent through existing solutions. The symposium gathered 300 industry leaders to explore advanced technologies and innovative practices for greener buildings.
