Forest City aerial view — more than 60% of the master plan is dedicated to non-built green space (Source: Forest City SFZ).
While international headlines previously called Forest City a ghost city, its buildings earned LEED Gold Pre-Certification, and its development programme supported the restoration of 9 km of mangroves along the Johor coastline. Forest City SFZ's updated summary presents a clear, verifiable record of its environmental performance, including 2.86 million m² of green space, LEED–Core and Shell (CS) Gold Pre‑Certification, 400+ documented species, 40+ international awards, and a live coastal restoration programme.
Natazha Harris, CEO of the Johor Investment Promotion Agency (IMFC-J), noted: "In the first four months of this year, we recorded 48 investment enquiries related to the Forest City SFZ. The potential investment value under discussion is estimated to reach several billion ringgit, with the annual target of RM2 billion expected to be surpassed. Several companies have progressed to advanced negotiations and feasibility studies, with key sectors including financial services, the digital economy, green technology, and high-value-added services. At the same time, areas such as renewable energy, carbon management, and sustainable urban development continue to attract strong interest."
ESG Performance in Context: The JS-SEZ Investment Corridor
With the JS-SEZ master plan nearing completion — targeting accelerated growth across 11 key sectors and aiming to contribute RM 260 billion to Johor's GDP by 2030 — Forest City SFZ is positioned to improve cross-border connectivity and attract investors seeking bilaterally supported investment opportunities.
As ESG criteria increasingly shape institutional real estate and infrastructure investment decisions globally, Forest City SFZ offers corporates and investors a verifiable record to evaluate across four key pillars: green space, LEED-CS Gold Pre-Certified buildings, biodiversity, and ongoing restoration efforts. Each pillar provides measurable environmental data points, while the 2024 Special Financial Zone designation added a governance dimension: a government-backed framework now bilaterally endorsed through the Malaysia–Singapore JS-SEZ agreement signed in January 2025.
In 2024, Malaysia officially launched the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF), requiring listed companies and large enterprises to adopt IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The Singapore Exchange has also implemented comparable requirements for its listed entities, reflecting a growing regional emphasis on transparency and accountability in sustainability practices. Forest City continues to advance the adoption of robust sustainability standards and performance indicators. It serves as a strategic platform that encourages businesses and investors to prioritise environmental stewardship while promoting balance between economic development and natural ecosystem protection. Through a range of structured and recurring environmental initiatives within the Forest City SFZ, companies are provided with meaningful opportunities to implement and demonstrate ESG practices, building tangible track records in environmental responsibility.
For enterprises operating within the SFZ, this integrated environment—where land and marine ecosystems are carefully preserved—enhances their environmental performance and strengthens their sustainability credentials.
Foundation for ESG Performance: 2.86 Million m² of Total Green Space
Green space serves as a foundational layer of Forest City SFZ's ESG framework, supporting quantifiable outcomes across building certification, biodiversity preservation, and coastal restoration progress.
The master plan dedicates over 60% of the total land area to non-built space, translating to 2.86 million m² of green infrastructure. This includes two golf courses, public parks, landscaped residential zones, and mangrove corridors that extend along the Johor coastline.
As of 2026, this green space supports more than 400 officially documented species on site. Beyond enhancing its appeal as a destination, this rich biodiversity serves as tangible evidence of sustained environmental stewardship. The island's mangroves are critical contributors to biodiversity, as they support fish nurseries and bird populations while protecting the coast against erosion.
Land allocation at this scale, defined at the master plan stage, establishes a more stable foundation for future ESG targets and initiatives. For investors conducting ESG due diligence, the green-space ratio represents a structural commitment that cannot be replicated through incremental upgrades.
Building Credentials: LEED-CS Gold Pre-Certification
Forest City's LEED-CS Gold Pre-Certification, a premier international sustainability standard for green buildings, provides an externally validated benchmark for sustainable building design. The standard is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), an independent third party recognised globally.
Pre-Certification represents verified design intent and formal commitment to sustainable performance criteria. It is evidence that environmental performance was embedded in project planning, not retrofitted. The standard covers energy modelling, water efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality, among other categories. The credential offers an independently verified data point aligned with global sustainability standards.
In addition, Forest City's environmental protection and sustainable development efforts have also received third-party recognition. In 2022, Forest City received the Sustainable City and Human Settlements Award (SCAHSA), presented by the United Nations Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS), for Global Model of Green and Intelligent Construction. In addition, Forest City has received other SCAHSA awards, such as the 2020 Global Model of Coastal Ecological Environmental Protection Award and the 2021 Global Model of Low-Carbon City Planning and Design.
Coastal Restoration: Mangroves, Seagrass, and Marine Life
While third-party certification documents existing ecological value, coastal restoration demonstrates active investment in expanding environmental outcomes. Forest City's programme focuses on mangrove restoration along the Johor coastline, a globally recognised climate adaptation strategy. Mangroves can store three to four times more carbon per acre than tropical forests. They also serve as natural barriers against storms, help prevent erosion, and support fish nurseries.
During the development phase, the landscape department implemented mangrove protection initiatives, including monitoring the mangrove coastline, collecting seeds, and supporting germination in the nursery. Now, Forest City regularly collaborates with professional environmental and research institutions, serving as a platform for advancing initiatives in climate action and biodiversity conservation. In a recent collaboration with HOPE 100, around 250 participants planted more than 1,000 mangrove saplings to help maintain the stability and health of mangrove ecosystems, providing tangible evidence of progress as longer-term restoration work advances.
The coastal design extends beyond mangroves to include 4 km of accessible beachfront coastline for residents and visitors, shallow coves and mudflats, and 250 hectares of seagrass habitat preservation. Seagrass meadows function as significant long-term carbon sinks, reinforcing the programme's climate relevance. In collaboration with Country Garden Pacificview, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) launched a long-term monitoring and assisted recovery programme (2015–2025) focused on the seagrass ecosystem at Merambong Shoal, located near Forest City and recognised as the largest seagrass habitat in Peninsular Malaysia.
These restoration efforts are already yielding results. Since the programme's inception, the number of seagrass species at Meambong Shoal has increased from 8 to 12, alongside a corresponding expansion in seagrass coverage. The area now supports diverse marine life, including dugongs, flounders, sea cucumbers, seahorses, and various fish species, with more than 100 species recorded. The collaboration between both parties remains ongoing.
The Long-Term Proposition: Nature and Commerce in Harmony
Forest City SFZ's environmental investments are not isolated from its commercial proposition. The same green infrastructure that supports biodiversity and coastal restoration efforts also underpins a growing ecosystem of leisure and tourism amenities, creating revenue streams for long-term economic growth in the JS-SEZ.
The mangrove corridors, 4 km coastline, and sea fishing programmes are open to day visitors and weekend travellers, weaving green conservation into the travel experience and positioning Forest City as an emerging eco-tourism destination within the JS-SEZ corridor. For details, see Forest City's tourism facilities.
Golf represents another convergence of environmental planning and commercial return, integrating ecology and landscape design. The Forest City Golf Resort features two critically acclaimed courses with abundant water features and landscapes surrounded by vast mangrove forests. The courses attract regional and international players to Johor annually: the Jack Nicklaus Legacy Course (par-72, 7,386 yards), which has ranked within the top 50 of the 2024–2025 Asia-Pacific Top 100 Golf Courses list, and the Liang Guo Kun Classic Course (7,138 yards), which has ranked in the Top 100 Golf Courses in Asia for six consecutive years.
Conclusion
Forest City SFZ's latest ESG credentials indicate measurable sustainability progress, evidenced by LEED–CS Gold Pre-Certification, verified green-space and biodiversity metrics, and an ongoing coastal restoration programme.
For investors and corporates navigating tightening ESG disclosure requirements, these metrics offer a credible basis for due diligence. While prior "ghost city" narratives suggested limited prospects, current verifiable records from the U.S. Green Building Council, 40+ international awards recognising planning and sustainability excellence, and bilateral government endorsement through the JS-SEZ framework provide a significantly more informed and current basis for assessment. The SFZ incentive structure and MM2H programme round out the proposition, positioning Forest City SFZ not merely as an environmental benchmark, but also as a credible long-term destination for capital and talent alike.
