Landasan Lumayan Sdn Bhd (LLSB), the implementers of the Selangor Maritime Gateway (SMG) initiative, was named the global gold winner in the Sustainability in Government category at the prestigious Green World Awards 2023 held yesterday.
Another Malaysian entity, the Melaka Historic City Council, (MHCC) was named the global silver winner in the same category, and later named the global gold winner for the Environmental Policy category.
The top award – the Green World Champion – for the category was won by Grupo Ambipar, a Brazilian company that provides environmental conservation services.
The awards ceremony took place at the Holiday Inn Miami International Airport, the United States, yesterday.
The Green World Awards is a global campaign to find the world’s greenest countries, companies, and communities.
LLSB competed against over 500 nominees worldwide in this year’s edition. It is known for its efforts to improve Sungai Klang, to make it viable for new economic opportunities, and for the social wellbeing of communities along the river.
Norita Sidek, the chief executive officer of Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated), the holding company of LLSB, accepted the award, together with LLSB director (corporate services) Nini Shazrina Ahmad Shamli.
The award was presented by Roger Wolens, founder and chief executive officer of The Green Organisation – an international, non-profit environment group dedicated to recognising, rewarding, and promoting environmental best practices around the world.
“This international award is an important recognition of the work we are doing in Selangor to rejuvenate Sungai Klang by striking a balance between development and conservation,” said Norita, who also sits on the Board of Directors of LLSB.
“SMG is a project that goes beyond beautification to address water management, water security, and sustainable development.
“This initiative involves multiple stakeholders, and as such, the success of the SMG project can only be achieved through partnerships with like-minded organisations.”
The SMG initiative by LLSB is being recognised for pooling together resources and collaborations to:
● remove over 85,000 metric tonnes of waste since 2016.
● improve the river water quality, from Class V to a Class III, on average
● successfully deliver an upgraded riverside public park at Taman Awam Pangkalan Batu Klang.
● upgrade a mangrove conservation park near Port Klang, which will open soon.
● initiate River Education Trips with local fishermen operating river taxis.
● begin flood mitigation works via the deepening and widening of 56km of river.
● start sustainable development work to raise the value of the surrounding area and provide potential income opportunities and job creation to local communities.
This is the second international award won by LLSB for the SMG project. The company previously secured a silver for the Best Government Sustainability Initiative at the Gulf Sustainability Awards 2022.
MHCC is also no stranger to international recognition, having been made a certified member of the Organisation Of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) last year, and was the grand winner Of Jean-Paul L’allier Prize For Heritage of the OWHC in 2021.