A systematic review on green practices in the Malaysian construction industry: Status, challenges, key motivations, rating systems and technology evolution

The construction industry is vital to Malaysia's economic growth by contributing to the gross domestic product, job opportunities and improving the social well-being of the society. However, the industry also significantly impacts the environment, accounting for 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of energy consumption. Currently, Malaysia ranks 30th globally in carbon emissions. In response, the government has launched several national policies to mitigate the effects of unsustainable development. However, the acceptance rate by the construction industry remains unsatisfactory. This study aims to provide an in-depth review on the status of sustainable and green construction practices in Malaysia while also providing awareness for the promotion of green practices in the development of the Malaysian construction industry. The study was conducted using the PRISMA protocol to systematically retrieve and screen articles for review, covering the period from September 2023 to December 2023. A total of 142 articles were reviewed to answer the following research questions: observing the current status and prospects of the green movement in Malaysia's construction industry, reviewing the benefits of implementing green practices, discussing the challenges and strategies for empowering these practices, examining Malaysia's green construction rating system, and identifying the evolution of green building technology and construction methods supporting sustainable practices. This study reveals that, despite Malaysia's long-standing environmental policies, the construction industry is seeing a limited adoption of green practices with less than 5% of buildings certified “green”. The main challenges include high costs, limited knowledge and low awareness among stakeholders. Furthermore, while the world progresses towards Industrial Revolution 5.0, Malaysia's construction industry struggles to adopt Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Industrialised Building System (IBS). According to the analysis, financial incentives, awareness campaigns, and stricter enforcement of policies are key drivers to uplift the challenges. The study also identifies a knowledge gap in sustainable construction practices during the construction phase of buildings. Through illuminating these facets, this study aims to support the government's goal of making Malaysia a green country and provide guidelines for the government and other organisations to enhance environmental protection actions through green construction-related activities. Therefore, it is recommended for further studies on green practices during the construction stage and the practices adopted by contractors in Malaysia in conducting green construction.

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