The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:
The Acting Chief Executive, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, today (April 29) presented awards to the winners of the 2018 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to commend them for their green management practices and their contributions to environmental protection. Winners of the 2018 Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards (HKGIA) and organisations certified as Hong Kong Green Organisations (HKGOs) in 2018 were also recognised at the presentation ceremony.
The HKAEE commends organisations in 15 different sectors that have demonstrated outstanding environmental performance. The three judging criteria are green leadership, programme and performance, and partner synergy. The number of entries competing for the HKAEE in 2018 reached a record high of 1 959, more than a fivefold increase compared with 2008, when the awards were launched. A total of 47 organisations won gold, silver or bronze awards this year, and 161 received certificates of merit. To commend company management and employees for their dedication in enhancing the environmental performance of their respective companies and the community, seven awardees were selected under the new Outstanding Green Achiever Commendation Scheme. In addition, to encourage event organisers to adopt environmental practices and reduce waste when organising outdoor events, 14 events were honoured as Green Outdoor Events at today's ceremony.
At the presentation ceremony, the Acting Chief Executive, Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said that the impacts of climate change had become imminent and Hong Kong could no longer remain aloof from the issue. All sectors of the community should work together to actively implement measures to deal with climate change urgently.
Mr Cheung said, "To set a good example, the HKSAR Government has introduced a number of initiatives to drive Hong Kong’s low-carbon transformation, including encouraging power companies to replace coal-fired electricity generation units by cleaner energy units, introducing a Feed-in tariff in the private sector, and providing support and facilitation measures for those participating in renewable energy (RE) development.
"The Government has also spearheaded RE development (e.g. installing solar photovoltaic panels at suitable locations in reservoirs and landfills) and actively promoted building energy-saving programmes."
Mr Cheung expressed his warmest gratitude to the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) for organising the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Department and nine other organisations to encourage business and private sectors to jointly combat climate change.
The HKGIA aims to encourage local organisations to tackle environmental challenges using new ideas that will benefit the environment. The three assessment criteria are level of innovation, environmental achievements and cost-effectiveness, and practicability and contribution to society. Among the 75 entries this year, six gold awards, silver awards, bronze awards or certificates of merit were granted.
The final adjudication for the 2018 HKAEE was chaired by former Chairman of the ECC Mr Lam Chiu-ying; the ECC Vice-chairman, Mr Hui Yung-chung; former Chairman of the Awards Committee on the HKAEE Mr Thomas Ho; and the Convenor of the Education Working Group under the ECC, Ms Sylvia Chan. The adjudicating panels also comprised representatives of major business chambers, professional bodies and government departments.
The Hong Kong Green Organisation Certification (HKGOC) aims to benchmark the green performance of organisations and encourages them to sustain their environmental initiatives in waste reduction, energy saving, carbon reduction and indoor air quality improvement, as well as to strengthen environmental attributes in products.
Participating organisations are commended as HKGOs if they can demonstrate certain environmental achievements such as possessing certificates under the HKGOC, winning HKAEE awards, signing any of the environment-related charters launched or supported by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government or possessing a valid ISO 14001 certificate. To date, over 2 100 organisations in 15 different industry sectors have attained HKGO status. At the ceremony today, representatives from 989 organisations which became HKGOs in 2018 were presented with certificates in recognition of their environmental achievements.
Also attending today's ceremony were the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing; the Chairman of the Environment and Conservation Fund Committee, Mr Douglas Woo; the Chairman of the Awards Committee on the HKAEE, Mr Conrad Wong; the Acting Permanent Secretary for the Environment/Director of Environmental Protection, Ms Irene Young; and representatives of the joint organisers.
The HKAEE and the HKGOC are jointly organised by the ECC, the Environmental Protection Department, the Advisory Council on the Environment, the Business Environment Council, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Hong Kong Chinese Importers' and Exporters' Association, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Productivity Council. The HKAEE and the HKGOC are sponsored by the Environment and Conservation Fund.
The 2019 HKAEE, the HKGIA and the Outstanding Green Achiever Commendation Scheme are now open for applications while the HKGOC and the Green Outdoor Event Commendation Scheme accept applications all year round. The ECC will hold a number of seminars in May and June for winning organisations to discuss their experience of going green. Organisations wishing to learn more about the schemes may obtain details at the seminars. For more information, please visit the website at www.hkaee.gov.hk or call the hotline 2788 5903.
