MQDC, a leading property developer, has announced “Nature Positive & Carbon Negative by 2050”, a key climate change goal under its founding commitment to developing projects and innovations that enhance the quality of life for all life.
Visit Malaisirirat, CEO of MQDC, said: “As a leading property developer with a focus on well-being for all life, or ‘For All Well-Being’, covering not just our residents but also society and the entire environment for the past 30 years, the company recognizes the challenge of climate change, affecting all lives more and more, including biodiversity loss. MQDC has therefore moved to help address the global crisis through its new mission for sustainability, with a positive effect on nature and net-negative carbon dioxide emissions: ‘Nature Positive & Carbon Negative by 2050’.
“MQDC’s dedication to innovation and research is all about enabling our projects to achieve the mission at the core of our operations for the past 30 years: “For All Well-Being”, or sustainable well-being for all life. We realize that biodiversity loss and global issues affect the whole world’s well-being. So we aim to use our innovations, inventions, and new research to help solve the world’s environmental crisis,” said Malaisirirat.
MQDC’s projects, both completed and under development, feature a variety of innovations for sustainability (sustainnovation) at their core. The Forestias is now underway and provides a template for reducing global warming with its extensive forest. Research to promote ecosystems is also applied at 101 True Digital Park. The innovative lifestyle complex has consistently supported activities to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The “smart city” development is also certified to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) by 576.449 tons, equivalent to 60,678.84 trees, over 30 months.
Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC), one of MQDC’s 6 research and innovation centers, provides strategic planning and innovation to help operations achieve these missions.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Singh Intrachooto, Chief Advisor to RISC by MQDC, a key unit in advancing “Nature Positive & Carbon Negative by 2050”, said: “This mission is a major undertaking for MQDC. Countries around the world have set a common goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero carbon by 2050. MQDC has chosen an aggressive mission for the same year of net negative. The world is in crisis. All sectors must cooperate to solve these problems urgently. Tackling environmental challenges is a core mission for RISC by MQDC, which has always been dedicated to research to empower organizations that care about the environment and the well-being of all life.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Singh said that RISC by MQDC is confident it can achieve this great mission by implementing “Life Cycle Thinking” and “Life Cycle Assessment”. MQDC is collecting data to track the carbon footprint and the direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions of all the subsidiaries of its parent group, DTGO Corporation.
The strategy will operate from now until 2050 to achieve the “Nature Positive & Carbon Negative” goal as follows:
- Zero-Energy Buildings
To achieve zero-energy buildings, MQDC applies design standards with global know-how for smart and energy-efficient buildings. The company also promotes good quality of life, applying passive design to reduce energy consumption with fresh air and heat exchange. Residents enjoy a healthy setting without heavy reliance on air conditioning. District cooling and central utility plants (CUPs) can boost efficiency and integrate renewables. Solar cells can generate clean electricity. EV chargers can support using electric vehicles instead of combustion engine vehicles. - Reduce Construction Impacts and Employ Circular Economy Selecting materials that reduce construction impacts in line with the circular economy starts with design for eco-friendly, low-carbon, or recycled materials, such as green concrete or wood products. Careful design reduces construction waste, including using modern technology with less environmental impact. Circular economy principles are key to the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy. Applied to real estate, this approach sees buildings as banks of materials. These materials can eventually be assembled into a new building in place of demolition and huge quantities of waste.
Nature-Based Solutions and Enhanced Biodiversity
MQDC creates green spaces committed to “For All Well-Being”, offering more than just attractive trees. These areas absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and purify the air for residents, improving the quality of life for humans and the rest of nature. The spaces help replace lost green urban areas and host local plants, which need less water and fertilizer than non-native species and withstand environmental conditions better.
ClimateTech & Innovation
Investment and research in technologies such as Direct Air Capture (DAC) for capturing and storing carbon dioxide for industrial use, or carbon-absorbing materials, can help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
RISC has researched and invented innovations with real-world applications. The Forestias, for example, sets a template for integrating woodland with residences to reduce carbon emissions. The project features renewables, high-efficiency utilities, and a complete forest ecosystem, as well as district cooling and a central utility plant (CUP).
RISC also sets standards with a “Sustainability Framework” for all projects by MQDC and its affiliates to ensure eco-friendly development.
“It’s not just big projects like The Forestias, but also projects like Whizdom, Mulberry Grove, and others in the future. District cooling, central utility plants (CUPs), and green roofs with habitats for plants and insects are ‘sustainnovation’ to realize ‘For All Well-Being’, the well-being of all life, which we have always achieved,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Singh.
