Kuala Lumpur: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is piloting renewable energy projects through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) at selected healthcare facilities within the Klang Valley, establishing the Centre for Healthcare Engineering Brilliance, Research and Innovation (BRAIN), and promoting biodegradable alternatives to support the circular economy. Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni emphasized that these initiatives are part of long-term investments in climate resilience, resource efficiency, and sustainable healthcare operations.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni stated that a sustainable health system necessitates continuous innovation and smart financing. He delivered these remarks during his speech at the Green Healthcare Facilities Conference 2025, themed From Vision to Action: Shaping the Future of a Green and Healthy Environment. The event was also attended by Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Health Director-General Datuk Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan.
Lukanisman urged the health sector to act boldly, indicating that the coming decade requires moving beyond compliance and minimum standards. He emphasized that the ministry must lead with conviction in designing buildings, operating critical systems, training technical teams, and engaging communities in planetary health. He stressed the importance of a healthy planet for healthy people, encouraging stakeholders to take ownership of this mission, suggesting that when the health sector acts courageously, others will follow.
Reflecting on MOH's journey under the Sustainability Programme 2015-2025, Lukanisman highlighted meaningful progress in advancing greener healthcare facilities over the past decade. Achievements include the adoption of energy management systems across hospitals nationwide, green building certifications, improvements in indoor air quality, and the implementation of a sustainable waste management program based on the 3R principles-reduce, reuse, and recycle.
He noted that the transformations within the MOH were largely driven by its employees, engineers, healthcare professionals, and concession company partners. In 2023, the MOH launched the Carbon Neutral Healthcare Facilities Blueprint, aiming to guide healthcare facilities in adopting renewable energy, improving water efficiency, and enhancing waste management as part of broader decarbonization efforts. The goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across the MOH by 2045, ahead of Malaysia's national net-zero target by 2050.
Lukanisman underscored the urgency of addressing the climate crisis, describing it as fundamentally a health crisis. He pointed out that rising temperatures, extreme weather events, water insecurity, and air pollution are increasingly straining healthcare systems and impacting vulnerable communities. He further emphasized that healthcare itself significantly contributes to the climate problem, accounting for nearly five percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Lukanisman concluded by highlighting the responsibility of the healthcare sector to protect the environment alongside healing patients, acknowledging the paradox and importance of the conference.