Guess what? I just went to the International Greentech and Eco Products Exhibition and Conference Malaysia (IGEM 2013) yesterday, the region's largest green technology and eco-products exhibition which was held in Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLCC) for four days since 10th October 2013. I took the KTM from Subang Jaya to KL Central then we took LRT straight to KLCC. The less-than-an-hour journey was simple and easy without much hassle (thanks to my touch n' go card, I think everyone in KL should get one). For students, we can only attend the exhibition on the last day (the previous three days were for professionals and businessmen). The reason I attended this first green event that I have ever attended (yea, there were soooo many first time since I came to KL) was to collect information for presentation of the subject Man and Environment. Our lecturer requested us to take part in this event and it was really eye-opening!
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| I print-screened this on the official website of IGEM 2013 as I was lazy to copy everything, haha. |
It was the 4th IGEM with the theme 'Advancing Green Growth and Global Entrepreneurship' organised by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Malaysia. The exhibitors were from countries all over the world that covered sectors such as building materials & design, eco products & services, energy, government, green financing, ICT, manufacturing, resources recovery management, transportation & logistic and the list went on. Many of the green products made their first appearance in Malaysia here! I felt so proud to be one of the people who got to know these first, haha.
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| The Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water of Malaysia, the organiser of IGEM 2013! |
The person-in-charged of each booth was very helpful and friendly even when they found that I was not a potential customer (not now, at least) they provided me as much information as I need. Through this event I found that being green is not just under the field of environmental science but under every aspect of our life. Hybrid cars, solar energy, biogas, flush-free toilet, organic pesticide etc... Innovations make everything possible by replacing the material used with biodegradable or recycled materials and reducing the usage of raw materials and energy. New technologies (some are quite long existed, but still new to Malaysia) from German, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and other countries are making their way into Malaysia, a still developing country especially in green technology. A very good sign indeed! Can you feel my excitement??
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| Glow-in-the-dark tiles come with two colours from Bespoke Concrete Products LTD, UK. According to the person-in-charged, it can absorb UV light and glow for 8 to 10 hours. It can also last for over 25 years and is maintenance free! This save a lot of energy required for roadside lamp! Don't you think it is romantic? Haha. I believe it can minimise light pollution too. |
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| Paper products like food container and foot massage mat made of recycled paper and sugar cane fibre! Advice from the person-in-charged of Telic Paper Sdn Bhd: except laminated paper, even paper with food stain can be recycled, so please don't throw them away. This company was started about thirty years ago producing egg cartons. So glad that there is a huge company processing recycled paper. |
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| Clothing made of 50% or more bamboo fibre. It is just as comfy as cotton clothes although the price is slightly higher, about 10-15% more. Believe it or not, the technology comes from China! By using this technology, we can reduce the usage of synthetic cloth which is less eco-friendly. |
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| Agricultural products using sustainable integrated farming by IRIS Corporation Berhad. The water from bore, pond or rainwater harvest is first and foremost being used to rear Jade Perch (as shown in the bottom left photo) which requires good quality water, followed by fish requires less pristine water such as Patin and Tilapia and finally tolerant fish like Catfish and Guppies. Wait, it is not the end yet. The used water is utilised for duck weed cultivation (as shown in the bottom right photo) and the duck weed is a good source of protein for fish. This company has the AutoPot System which saves water and fertilisers during plantation of melons, vegetables, herbs and flowers. The agri waste is then used for mulching (encourage microorganism growth) as feed for poultry. The poultry waste is then used for worm culture and the worm is used to feed the fish. This cycle makes farming more sustainable! |
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| One thing I love about Penang, the green environment and policy! Penang Green Council was established in 2011 to promote greener lifestyle among Penangites. They are currently running a project named Penang Green Office Project where companies are encouraged to do the quiz online about the sustainability of their offices. If they score more than 70%, they will be granted the label of green office which comes with benefits! |
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| Sounds familiar? It's Alam Flora Sdn Bhd which collects domestic waste! |
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| Malaysian Timber Certification Council, a government-linked company, According to the person-in-charged, there are ONLY 10 certified sustainable forests in Malaysia that produce timber! This means that non-sustainable or illegal logging is still active out there! |
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| MARDI! We can see how sustainable agriculture works. |
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| UPM's booth! They sell the sustainable technologies of manufacturing the products, not the products, silly me... |
When I was in secondary school, I had been looking through newspapers and magazines to find out more about the course of environmental science but I rarely found one from the private colleges. I looked through the information from private colleges was because only if there were demands for this course they would advertise about it. Until last two years, private universities such as Nottingham and Monash started to promote about Environmental Science, I was thrilled! As I studied in matriculation, the only option I could go for was public university (unless I got a scholarship). So I chose University Putra Malaysia instead of other universities as it is the only university with the Faculty of Environmental Studies (erm, I think I mentioned about this before) and I don't feel regretted and I love this university very much!
Now the green trend is rising, even if I would end up doing something else besides environmental science field, it would be related to green technologies (no more worries that I would be jobless in the future for taking this unpopular course). I am still very excited about it right now, haha. It is the hope of every green human that we are going towards sustainable living. Students! Don't let go the opportunity to attend this event next year as it is important that we are aware of these kinds of technologies which could be crucial for our future! I shall come again next year, next next year, next next next year and so on because green improvement and development never ends.
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| Green banners, banners everywhere... |
P/S: Information of each product or company is based on interviews, not from their brochures or official websites. And this post included only a very very small portion of the whole exhibition. You guys should really really come and see with your own eyes. The dedication of people promoting green products there was very motivating!
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