Malaysia’s 1st Green Mall, 1 Utama Shopping Centre has consistently invested in the latest green technology and adopted best practices in energy and water conservation since its inception in 1995. Green lease partnerships has also been introduced to its retail tenants to incorporate environmental initiatives and promote sustainable materials into fit-out and operations as part of 1 Utama’s greenprint journey towards being a net zero mall by 2050. In recognition of its outstanding green building features, 1 Utama has been awarded the prestigious GreenRE Platinum certification, the highest rating under GreenRE, making it the first platinum rated mall in Malaysia.
Scaling up from the recent opening of its one-stop recycling hub 1RECYCLING CENTRE (1RC) that seamlessly rewards shoppers with digital Green Points via a QR system through the 1 Utama SuperApp, the mall has once again leveraged on digitalization to develop ForestONE – a groundbreaking mobile app game that gamifies tree planting – the very first of its kind to be developed by a Malaysian mall.
Shoppers who recycle at 1RC can opt to convert their Green Points into ForestONE virtual water via the app to water and grow their virtual tree until it reaches maturity. For every in-game achievement, players will earn an e-Tree Certificate and 1 Utama will match and plant a real tree for every virtual tree grown.
Officiated by YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability, the ForestONE launch event was attended by 1 Utama Director Tan Sri Teo Chiang Kok together with ForestONE sustainability advisor GreenRE and Zero Waste Malaysia where all representatives engaged in a symbolic tree planting ceremony.
Commented YB Nik Nazmi, “1 Utama should be commended for supporting tree planting programmes not just in the mall but also within the Bandar Utama Township. With mobile tech so ingrained in our lives, I am confident that the younger generation and more green makers in the community will play ForestONE and through this fun ecological game, be inspired to help green the planet, one tree at a time.”
“ForestONE was designed to digitalize 1 Utama’s reforestation efforts as the latest initiative under our mall’s sustainability greenprint that aligns closely to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In the game, shoppers can select a variety of indigenous Malaysian trees to plant such as merbau, meranti, chengal, mersawa, keruing and belian. Through ForestONE, we aim to protect and conserve these endangered species by tree planting activities at our Arboretum, a garden space adjacent to Rainforest dedicated to cultivating trees, said Tan Sri Teo Chiang Kok, 1 Utama Director. “We are proud to be our shoppers’ tree planting partner.”
YB Nik Nazmi, accompanied by Tan Sri Teo, also officiated the ribbon-cutting ceremony of 1RECYCLING CENTRE, marking the official opening of 1 Utama’s innovative one-stop recycling hub. The hub seamlessly integrates technology, sustainability, and rewards into a singular recycling solution, empowering shoppers to actively champion zero-waste lifestyles.
ARBORETUM @ LG RAINFOREST
The selection of trees available in ForestONE have been carefully curated by 1 Utama’s famed consultant botanist Dr Francis Ng for their ability to absorb more carbon from the air. Besides tracking the amount of CO2 sequestered collectively per tree in the game, players will also be able to visit their adopted trees labelled with their name and e-Tree Certificate number at the Arboretum, Central Park and within Bandar Utama.
GAME FEATURES
ForestONE offers a plethora of captivating game features that enable players to craft their very own personalized forest complete with diverse themes and landscapes. Additionally, players can unlock missions that reward bonus water and water their friends’ trees in a friendly leaderboard to further accelerate tree growth. The game also features Surprise Trees for redemption of in-app redemption gifts.
- Build your Dream Forest by customizing ForestONE with different themes and landscapes.
- Look out for Surprise Trees which will be released under ‘Tree Selection’ to plant.
- Redeem in-app Rewards such Eco-gifts and shopping E-vouchers!
- Unlock Missions to earn free water and boost tree growth.
- Check-in Daily for 7 consecutive days for extra bonus water.
- Invite Friends to play and water each other’s trees.
HOW TO PLAY
- Download and login to the latest version of 1 Utama’s mobile SuperApp with an active ONECARD account and tap on the ‘Green’ icon and select ‘ForestONE Game’ to start playing.
- Begin your tree planting journey by selecting a seedling to plant from a list of rare indigenous Malaysian Trees.
- Fill up watering can with virtual water converted from Green Points to water and nurture your seedling into a mature tree.
- Successfully complete all growth stages (Level 1 to 4) to receive an e-Tree Certificate under ‘My Forest’ and 1 Utama will plant a real tree to reduce your carbon footprint on your behalf.
- Track the amount of C02 sequestered and the number of trees planted displayed under ‘Profile’. The more you play, the more trees you can grow to achieve your green goals.
SUSTAINABILITY @ 1 UTAMA
1 Utama has long been at the forefront of sustainability, benchmarking forward-thinking green building that provide an exceptional shopping experience while reducing its carbon footprint. In December 2023, the mall was awarded the prestigious Platinum GreenRE Green Building provisional certification in recognition of its outstanding green building and socially sustainable initiatives. These include:
- Pioneering the Ice and Chilled Water Storage Systems that produces ice and chilled water during off peak hours using idling generating capacities of the power grid to save 30% of electricity.
- Building Automation System (B.A.S) that programmes the mall building to utilize energy at optimal levels for lights, escalators, lifts, water pumps, building motors etc.
- Largest on-site Solar Photovoltaic (PV) and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) panels covering 273,296 sqft, installed extensively across 1 Utama’s rooftop and carparks to generate sustainable energy and power the mall.
- Rainwater Harvesting System reduces demand for treated water up to 30%, while additional water efficient fittings such as low flow taps and half flush cisterns save even more water.
- LED lights, sensors and natural daylighting reduces lighting load by 50%.
- One-stop recycling hub 1RECYCLING CENTRE encourages shoppers to recycle E-waste, PET beverage plastic bottles, aluminum drink cans, fabric, clothes, paper, carton boxes, lanyards and books.
- Digitalizing 1 Utama’s SuperApp and developing a (i) CO2 Tracker that calculates carbon footprint for recycling and green activities (ii) Green Points Rewards System (iii) ForestONE tree planting game.
- Largest on-site retail Food Waste Management System W.I.S.E with Food processes 4,000kg food waste from 160 F&B tenants daily into 100% organic fertilizer. A 750 sq ft experiential viewing gallery is located at LG Promenade for visitors to watch the recycling process live.
- Providing complimentary Electric Charging Stations to cater for all types of EV cars.
- Building connection pedestrian bridges to the BU MRT Station for easy access to public transportation.
- Developing green tourism attractions: (i) 4-storey Rainforest enclave with 100 species of Malaysian forest trees, koi fish ponds, aquarium and overhead suspension bridge (ii) The Secret Garden largest rooftop garden in South East Asia is housed on a 30,000 sq ft green roof with plants grown with 1,600 tonnes of biochar soil for carbon sequestration.
