Hong Kong, 14 January 2015 – The Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) welcomes the policy initiatives on promoting environmental protection and green building in the 2015 Policy Address made by C.Y. LEUNG, Chief Executive of the Government of the HKSAR. In response, the HKGBC calls on the Government to consider the following four recommendations to reinforce the development of green building in Hong Kong.
Energy Saving Measures in Government Buildings
The HKGBC welcomes the announcement of the new target of a 5% reduction in electricity consumption in government buildings under comparable operating conditions over the coming five years. We will proactively assist the Government to conduct energy audits for major Government buildings and provide concrete suggestions to enhance energy efficiency. We hope the example that the Government is setting will encourage the private sector and the general public to increase the momentum of green building development. In future, we hope the Government will set a higher objective in reducing the energy use to ensure Hong Kong achieves the aspiration of becoming a low-carbon city.
Green Procurement
The HKGBC welcomes the Government’s plan to expand the current procurement list, update specifications and verification methods and explore the wider use of recycled and other environment-friendly materials in public works projects. We suggest that the Government considers adopting the green construction material standard proposed in the “HKGBC Green Building Product Labelling Scheme”. This would drive the adoption of green procurement practices in both the public and private sectors.
Urban Planning
The HKGBC supports the Government’s intention to increase land and housing supply. We suggest that the Government should impose clauses in leases for private site developments in new development areas (for example the pilot “Smart City” project at Kowloon East and Hung Shui Kiu). These would require new development projects to achieve at least Gold rating under the BEAM Plus New Building certification scheme. We further suggest that the Government consider applying the “Green Neighbourhood” assessment tool that will be rolled out by the HKGBC this year. The tool will set new benchmarks to enhance the quality of the living environment for the community.
Conversion of Construction Materials
The HKGBC is pleased to note the Government’s review of the current rate of construction waste handling and its commitment to a recycling fund to encourage sustainable development in the recycling industry. The HKGBC has already launched an online sharing platform, “HK G-Share”, to help the industry and the general public to share and reuse construction and domestic materials. The HKGBC will collaborate closely with the Government to explore the feasibility of converting construction waste into recyclable materials.
The HKGBC is dedicated to raising industry and public awareness of green building and sustainable development in Hong Kong and around the world. Its initiatives include jointly organising the annual “Hong Kong Green Building Week”, hosting and promoting international sustainable building conferences such as the WorldGBC Congress 2015 and the World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 for Hong Kong, in conjunction with the Construction Industry Council. The HKGBC will proactively collaborate with the Steering Committee on the Promotion of Green Building to conduct these important global events, helping to build Hong Kong into a better, low-carbon and more ‘liveable’ city in partnership with the Government and the local community.