Many shopping mall operators and retailers talk about community engagement. But how many actually walk the talk?

At Setia Alam, 35 minutes from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, Australia’s Lend Lease and local equal joint venture partner, S P Setia, have opened a four-storey mall which reads like a textbook case of community involvement.

As the first western style mall in the city, it would have been easy to create the impression of a giant international conqueror sucking the retail spend out of the area’s traditional local retailers.

So the developers considered it essential to take the community with it, from day one highlighting the employment opportunities – both during construction and post opening – and the broader benefits to the environment.

“The vision for Setia Alam is the creation of a nature-inspired sanctuary and a vibrant urban hub,” explains executive VP of S P Setia, Khor Chap Jen.

“The opening of Setia City Mall will crystallise this vision and provide residents near and far with not just another retail mall, but a holistic lifestyle destination,” he said before the opening of its first stage in May.

Even during the construction period, Setia City Mall set the bar high, honored with a Gold Award by the Malaysian Society for Occupational Health and Safety, recognition of “outstanding implementation of health and safety systems, exemplary consideration for the safety of the surrounding public and for exceeding both local practice and industry requirements”.

It followed that up by becoming the first mall in Malaysia to receive Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Gold Award, recognising sustainability initiatives in energy and water efficiency, environment protection, indoor air quality and innovation.

Throughout development and construction, Setia City engaged with the community through social networking. It ran a competition on its Facebook page where local residents could win a tour of the mall during the construction phase and see what goes on behind the construction site fences.

A family day was organised where the children of project workers were given a unique educational experience.

Kids, aged between six and 15, were given an opportunity to learn about jobs in the construction industry, the importance of safety in the workplace and the responsibility of protecting the environment.

Last Christmas, the mall formed a partnership with local charity, Start, an organisation that provides creative outlets for underprivileged children. The children created videos posted on YouTube to both raise awareness of the charity and gather Christmas presents for needy children. Of course the centre received an identity boost from the campaign too.

Recruitment was another area where the centre focused on engaging with locals rather than competing with local businesses.

The mall booked out a convention centre in the city of Shah Alam and encouraged people seeking jobs in retail to attend an open day. With some 2000 jobs created in 230 tenancies and with mall management itself, prospective workers could see the range of retailers’ offers.

Philippa Holmes, Setia City Mall’s GM, said the initiative was intended to help keep jobs local.

“With the centre designed to be at the heart of the community, it’s very important to match the jobs available with local employees,” said Holmes.

At the open day, job seekers could learn about available positions, have on the spot interviews, and submit their resumes directly to employers actively seeking employees for the new mall.

With a 10.5ha park and al fresco dining area, the mall is billed as a destination for the family to enjoy life together.

Setia City Mall is designed to be a lifestyle experience, and while retail is an essential component, there is so much more to be enjoyed.

This is a mall with something for everyone, whether it is an international shopping experience, shopping in the best of Malaysian retailers, dining out with family and friends, watching a movie, keeping fit, wandering the park gardens, or watching the children enjoy themselves in the interactive play areas, Setia City Mall is setting ‘world’s best’ standards in mall development.

The mall is committed to social sustainability and will play an active role in the local community. One key initiative is a community waste recycling centre which will be set up as a buy back centre to commit local residents to a sustained recycling program.

Besides getting the community onside, publicity surrounding all these community initiatives has helped create a growing sense of anticipation about the new facility, which ensured the centre opened to solid trade from day one.

Shoppers at Setia can enjoy an international shopping experience with in excess of 50,000sqft of global fashion brands including Zara, Uniqlo, MNG, Guess, Esprit, La Senza, G2000, Cotton On, Timberland, Rip Curl, and Aldo.

There is also a long list of Malaysian retail brands, including Nicchi, F.O.S and Padini, as well as a 12,000sqft Parkson department store, a nine screen Golden Screen Cinema, Fitness First, electrical chains Courts and Harvey Norman, bowling alley, and an international standard supermarket.

* Robert Stockdill is director Inside Retail international and Asian content based in Ho Chi Minh City (www.InsideRetail.Asia). Darrell Wisbey is a partner in Impact Retailing based in Manila (www.impactretailing.com.au).

* This feature first appeared in the August/September 2012 edition of Inside Retail Magazine. For more stories like this, subscribe to Inside Retail Magazine’s bi-monthly print edition here