The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre has kicked off 2012 in top form and has been awarded ‘Best Convention Centre in Asia’ in the MICE Report Awards 2012.
Datuk Peter Brokenshire, General Manager, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre said, “This is excellent news for the Centre and indeed, will motivate us to ensure we continue to deliver on our quality commitment, to maintain, and where possible exceed, guests expectations. Such recognition also boosts our position as one of Asia’s leading convention centres, a world-class facility offering innovative products and services to meet the evolving needs of international clients.”
And the Centre was not the only one to bring home an award. Malaysia was voted ‘Best MICE Country in Asia’ for her state-of-the-art facilities and excellent service.
According to En Zulkefli Hj Sharif, Chief Executive Officer, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), “We are pleased that Malaysia has proven herself once again as a leading MICE destination in the region. We shall certainly continue to work closely with our various local industry partners to further enhance the country’s status and reputation as a business tourism destination to reckon with on the global stage.”
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) has also retained its EarthCheck Bronze Benchmarked Convention Centre Certification for a fifth consecutive year following the successful completion of the annual EarthCheck benchmarking assessment.
“Retaining our EarthCheck Bronze certification affirms the Centre’s commitment to being an internationally recognised convention centre that operates its business in a responsible and sustainable manner. It also reflects our support of the long-term sustainability goals of the business tourism sector in Malaysia,” said Datuk Peter Brokenshire, General Manager, Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
“The efforts and dedication demonstrated by every team member across the board are integral to our endeavour to maintain this globally-recognised and respected certification. The benchmark set by EarthCheck is also a strong motivator for us to continue implementing sustainability best practices in our business operations.”
Citing the Centre’s recent investment of RM2 million to retrofit and improve the lighting efficiency for its five exhibition halls totaling 10,000 sq m as an example, Brokenshire said that albeit the Centre’s electricity consumption varies month to month, depending on the number and type of events, the use of LED bulbs should see electricity consumption dip to the 63 kWh to 70 kWh range, or 28% of the current energy usage and “based on an estimated 5,000 hours of use per year for all five halls, this could result in a saving of some 800,000 kWh per year or, around RM250,000 a year.”
The EarthCheck certification encompasses 8 areas of assessment, Policy, Energy, Water, Waste Sent to Landfill, Community Commitment, Paper Products, Cleaning Products and Pesticide Product.
According to Brokenshire, of these, five ie, Energy Consumption, Waste Sent to Landfill, Paper Products, Cleaning Products were above best practice level at 46.2%, 93.3%, 14.8 points and 15.2 points respectively and Policy which received a star rating.
Over the next 12 months, the Centre aims to achieve best practice level in the remaining three assessment areas, he concluded.