1 TOWARDS AN INTEGRATIVE SUSTAINABILITY CONCEPT FOR RETROFITTING COMMERCIAL OFFICE BUILDINGS IN MALAYSIA 1 Suleiman Aliyu Shika, 2 Maimunah Sapri, 3 Shahabudin Abdullah, 4 Jibril D. Jibril and 5 Shahril A.R 1, 2,3,4, 5 Center for Real Estate, Faculty of Geoinformation and Real Estate, Universiti Teknologi, Skudai 81300 Johor Bahru, Malaysia Corresponding author:asshika1@gmail.com ABSTRACT A key global challenge of the twenty-first century is how to tackle climate change and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Buildings, which account for approximately half of all annual energy and greenhouse gas emissions, are an important target area for any strategy addressing climate change. Over the years, GHG emissions have been increasing in Malaysia. A significant share of these emissions can be avoided cost effectively through improved energy efficiency in retrofitting the commercial sector, while providing the same or higher level of energy savings. Non-domestic buildings account for 20% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This paper briefly provides an overview of the potential reduction in energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Malaysia as a means of retrofitting commercial building sector. Malaysia’s total demand of energy increased from 1,244 Petajoules (PJ) to 2,217.9 PJ in 2010. Commercial buildings, alone, account for about 32% of total energy consumption. In this regard, integrating concepts in terms of greater use of energy efficient technologies or options and behavioral changes can substantially reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the commercial sector. Keywords: Climate Change, Emission, Energy Efficiency, Retrofitting. INTRODUCTION Energy uses in office buildings is about 70–300kWh/m 2 per annum, 10–20 times that of residential buildings. Improving energy efficiency in buildings is one of the most cost- effective measures for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. One of the main causes of global warming A building retrofit is an improvement to building infrastructure, and often to operating and management practices, that reduces utility (energy and water) and maintenance costs. A retrofit starts with a thorough audit to establish current costs and opportunities for savings. Improvements to infrastructure typically include solar, wind, LED lighting, as well as