Green Dreams, Hard Realities: The Hidden Struggles of Operating and Maintaining Green Office Buildings in Malaysia

Abstract

The main purpose of Green Buildings (GBs) is to support environmental sustainability and improve occupants’ health and well-being. Many GBs fail to achieve their sustainability goals during the operation and maintenance (O&M) phase. The majority of existing studies focus on energy performance but there is limited research about the practical management of GBs especially in the Malaysian context. The study investigates these obstacles to enhance facility management effectiveness and sustainability of Green Office Buildings (GOBs). The main reason that GOBs are targeted is because they represent a key segment of commercial real estate with high operational demands, where the gap between design intentions and actual performance is often most visible.

The research employed a qualitative method which included semi-structured interviews with eight professionals who work in GOB operations. The participants were chosen through purposive sampling because they managed certified green office buildings under different ownership models such as government, REITs and corporate sectors. The NVivo software was utilised to analyse interview data through thematic analysis.

The research reveals multiple connected problems which affect building performance over time. The tropical climate of Malaysia combined with outdated green technologies results in rising energy consumption and maintenance expenses. The combination of specialized vendor dependency and limited in-house expertise and owner-tenant priority conflicts makes daily operations more complicated. The additional problems include high certification renewal expenses together with inadequate water conservation measures and decreased performance in buildings with low occupancy rates. The observed challenges demonstrate a major discrepancy between the intended certification standards and actual operational practices.

The research provides essential knowledge about the real-world obstacles that facility managers encounter when maintaining green performance after certification. The research demonstrates the necessity for flexible management approaches together with technical capability development and better integration between green building regulations and operational field requirements.