The Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, was honoured with the prestigious Anugerah Pembudayaan Lestari at the Anugerah Cemerlang Universiti Malaya 2024, held on 20 May 2025 at Dewan Tunku Canselor.
This esteemed award recognises the Faculty’s strong commitment and proactive efforts in championing sustainability on campus. The accolade highlights significant contributions to the Annual Sustainability Report of Universiti Malaya and the successful implementation of initiatives aligned with the UM Green Events Guideline: A Guide to Running Green Meetings and Events (2023) — notably the progressive move towards zero single-use plastics.
All sustainability initiatives were driven by Green@UMHealth, the Faculty’s dedicated sustainability unit. Launched in December 2024, Green@UMHealth is Malaysia’s first academic health centre to fully embed sustainability within healthcare practices.
Under Green@UMHealth’s leadership, the Faculty has rolled out impactful programs such as the “WasteWise: Clinical Waste Management for Greener Healthcare” workshop in partnership with B. Braun Malaysia, providing practical training on sustainable clinical waste management.
The Faculty also hosted the regional symposium “Greening the Future of Healthcare in ASEAN,” featuring experts from institutions like the National University of Singapore and Universitas Indonesia. In addition, the Faculty contributed to the National Climate Governance Summit 2025 through a satellite forum titled “Greening Healthcare: Building a Culture of Sustainability in Healthcare,” which brought together academia, industry, and healthcare professionals.
To raise awareness and engage a wider audience, Green@UMHealth has utilised various communication channels, including podcasts, bulletins, online videos, and newsletters. Most recently, the podcast episode “Green-ing Healthcare for the Planet,” broadcast on BFM 89.9’s The Bigger Picture, featured Professor Shireen Anne Nah, Head of Green@UMHealth, discussing the Faculty’s pioneering efforts to integrate sustainability into healthcare practices and promote environmental responsibility within the medical community.
Beyond outreach, the Faculty actively promotes interdisciplinary sustainability research and has integrated climate change topics into its undergraduate medical curriculum.
These efforts are fully aligned with the Universiti Malaya Sustainability Policy 2021–2030 and executed in close collaboration with the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and the UM Sustainable Development Centre (UMSDC).
With Green@UMHealth at the helm, the Faculty of Medicine continues to lead the way in advancing sustainable healthcare practices, setting new standards for a healthier and greener future.
