IOI Properties Group Bhd (“IOIPG”) continues to uphold its track record as an environmentally conscious community builder with its various developments within Bandar Puteri Puchong and Bandar Puchong Jaya. These include eco-friendly features and excellent connectivity in launches such as 2 Rio Office Park and 2Rio Residence in IOI Rio, as well as a range of public engagement and awareness events like the City Nature Challenge (“CNC”) 2024, CNC Kids Nature Walk, Town Park Night Walk, Earth Hour and Waste to Treasure campaigns.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, IOIPG builds for tomorrow, safeguarding the interests of future generations. We encourage the adoption of sustainable lifestyles today by putting the appropriate ‘hardware’ in place throughout our residential and commercial projects, including solar panels, electric vehicle charging points, bike-friendly lanes and more,” said Chung Nyuk Kiong, Senior General Manager (Puchong), IOIPG.
“We also foster a wider understanding and appreciation of nature and sustainability through fun and interactive sessions on the ground, encouraging the community to be part of ecological conservation and benefit from nature-based solutions together. These sessions have drawn strong support from the public, drawing a wide range of participants,” he added.
IOIPG’s latest programme in Puchong, the Nature Observation Night, was held in Bandar Puteri Town Park on 7 September 2024, in its third iteration in collaboration with the Society of Wilderness Malaysia (“SOWM”). The event drew more than 100 participants to the urban park to observe its flora and fauna, with reference to the Nature Exploration Wilderness Passport, a nature activity guidebook by SOWM President Calvin Soh.
Growing Puchong into a well-connected, pedestrian-friendly township
Named after the striated heron found along its riverbanks and ponds, Puchong started as a rubber estate and tin mining village serviced by a two-lane road. The town is now a bustling constituency with a growing confluence of major routes including the Damansara-Puchong Expressway, Bukit Jalil Highway and Shah Alam-Puchong Highway, as well as a population of more than 375,000, including 32,000 in Bandar Puteri Puchong alone.
IOIPG significantly invested into Puchong since venturing into the area with Bandar Puchong Jaya (1990) and Bandar Puteri Puchong (2000). This included widening of the main road (Jalan Puchong) into six lanes, developing the first mall in Puchong (IOI Mall) and building SJK(C) Harcroft – now SJK(C) Shin Cheng. It also improved road connectivity with the Bandar Puteri Puchong and Rio City Interchanges, and built covered paths and link bridges enhancing walkability to the Taman Perindustrian Puchong LRT station, Stellar Suites, Puchong Financial Corporate Centre, IOI Rio and The Cube commercial hub. These linkages serve to reduce traffic congestion and associated carbon footprint, in line with IOIPG’s commitment in adopting the Low Carbon Cities Framework (“LCCF”).
Sustainability in IOI Rio’s construction and operational phases
Along the way, IOIPG has crafted its launches in Bandar Puteri Puchong and Bandar Puchong Jaya with sustainability principles in mind throughout the construction and operational phases. This included the use of system formwork in 98% of development for 2Rio Residence, reducing material waste. Apart from that, 20% of aluminium formwork as well as the site workers’ accommodation cabin were reused from previous projects.
“Other sustainable development initiatives include utilising self-climbing platform systems in IOI Rio. These enhance speed & safety as well as quality control for external finishes. In the operational phase, we enable energy efficiency and invest in renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions with solar-powered CCTV timed lighting for common areas and motion-activated escalators, along with abundant landscape to provide shade and reduce urban heat island effects,” said Chung
“On the rooftop of 2 Rio Park, our solar panels operate with a peak capacity of 214 kWp, producing 824 GJ of renewable energy annually and avoiding 13.7.5 tC02 emissions. At the same time, we encourage alternative modes of transport with four installed electric vehicle charging bays, four bicycle nodes and ample biking lanes in and around the development. In addition, a demand-responsive transit (‘DRT’) shuttle stop next to IOI Rio facilitates last-mile connectivity to Puchong’s ample light rail (‘LRT’) network,” he added.
Complementing its residential and commercial components, the Bandar Puteri Town Park in IOI Rio is a signature 10-acre urban park developed by IOIPG, with recreational amenities such as an 80m boardwalk, hanging bridges, nature trail, secret garden, canopied social spaces, solar-powered lighting and more. It is home to over 89 flora and 135 fauna species, making it a hotspot for nature watching.
Fun, interactive public engagement events fostering greener lifestyles
Among its public engagement programmes, IOIPG has collaborated with SOWM since 2018, hosting nature observation events encouraging the community and public to observe and document flora and fauna species. This includes observations in Bandar Puteri Town Park, highlighting its natural beauty and deepening the community’s understanding of urban biodiversity.
IOIPG remains committed to conserving urban diversity across its developments. Since 2019, the Group has organised the City Nature Challenge in support of global biodiversity initiatives. This has seen 1,350 participants contributing to citizen science efforts in and around IOIPG townships and developments, recording a total of 12,440 observations and 3,549 species to date.
As part of the City Nature Challenge, a Kids Nature Walk was organised on 27 April 2024 in collaboration with Sekitar Kita, Club IOI and the IOI Kids Club. The nature walk brought participants on a guided observation tour through the Bandar Puteri Town Park, as kids and parents learned about urban biodiversity and recorded observations of flora and fauna species in the given nature journals.
“Through these initiatives, we enhance understanding and appreciation of biodiversity and its importance within our community. We complemented these efforts with the celebration of Earth Hour 2024, having a Night Walk on 23 March 2024 in collaboration with SOWM. The night nature event saw nearly 100 participants come together for biodiversity observation and plogging activities at the Bandar Puteri Town Park. During Earth Hour, participants switched off lights and lit candles together at the Town Park to raise awareness and inspire conversations about climate change and mitigation,” said Chung.
Rounding out its sustainability efforts, IOIPG held its Waste to Treasure campaign this year from 23 March to 26 May 2024. Launched in 2019, Waste to Treasure saw the Group inviting the community in and around IOIPG developments to embrace the Reduce, Reuse & Recycle movement by collecting and diverting waste materials from landfills, in alignment with the Group’s Sustainability Policy and Waste Management Policy. In total, 2021.1 kg of materials were diverted, including 93.3 kg of used cooking oil and 79 units of e-waste, with Puchong alone contributing 437.0 kg, 7.70 kg and 28 units respectively.
IOIPG’s sustainability efforts in Puchong are in line with the Group’s overarching Sustainability Policy, which focuses on elevating the economic, environmental, social and governance (“EESG”) performance of the Group. IOIPG’s inaugural sustainability roadmap further outlines strategies to create sustainable values for all and conserve the environment for vibrant and thriving communities. These strategies also aim to mitigate risks and leverage on opportunities while driving the Group’s business growth.
For more on IOI Properties’ sustainability initiatives, please visit www.ioiproperties.com.my/ioi-sustain. To learn more about the townships of Bandar Puteri Puchong and Bandar Puchong Jaya, please visit www.ioiproperties.com.my/township/bandar-puteri-puchong-puchong-jaya or call 03-8060 8833.
This article is provided by IOI Properties Group Berhad
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