Sustainable Development Goal 6 – “Ensure Availability and Sustainable Management of Water and Sanitation for All” is perhaps one of the least discussed SDGs in Malaysia, particularly in the corporate space. This is as 92% of the Malaysian population has access to clean water, while 82% has access to sanitation services (World Health Organization, 2015), rendering the perception that Malaysia, in terms of the aforementioned SDG, is doing good.

However, Malaysia as a whole can still do better, if we float the question “Why not 100% access to clean water and sanitation services?”. The focus area in designing solutions for this issue should be on marginalized and special groups, those displaced by natural disasters, development projects and construction. On this, GCMY believes corporate Malaysia can play a role to provide water access to said groups, namely Orang Asal tribes in various rural areas in Malaysia.

Since 2009, First Solar has decreased the manufacturing water intensity (water consumption per watt produced) by 64%. This is due to significant improvements in module efficiency, manufacturing throughput, and the implementation of water conservation and recycling projects in our manufacturing and recycling operations. In 2019, First Solar’s manufacturing water intensity decreased by ~46% due to the increased throughput and efficiency of our Series 6 manufacturing process and water recycling initiatives.