BEC Monthly Feature
BEC Anniversary Dinner 2014
BEC will host its Anniversary Dinner on 17 September at JW Marriott Hong Kong. The Dinner is a major celebration of BEC’s progress as we continue our mission in promoting and supporting the development of Hong Kong’s environmental excellence by actively engaging with the government, businesses and the community on a broad range of sustainability issues.
Members who are interested in reserving tables or tickets, please contact Ms. Jill Chow (T 2784 3942 | E jill@bec.org.hk). You may also visit BEC website for more details.
BEC Events
13 August 2014: BEC Business Discussion Forum – Biodiversity and Water
BEC organised this members-only discussion forum to learn more about and exchange views on the issues of biodiversity and water.
The forum started with a presentation by Mr. Mike Kilburn, member of the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (“BSAP”) Steering Committee, on the impact of biodiversity on the business community and the process of developing a BSAP for Hong Kong, which stimulated good discussions amongst the participants. It was followed by BEC’s presentation on the imminent water issues and then discussions on to work with the Government and other relevant stakeholders to promote more efficient use of water by the business community.
Comments generated from this forum will serve as valuable inputs for formulating BEC’s future policy submissions to the Government.
28 August 2014: BEC Leadership Networking Series
An interesting talk on the future development of environmentally-friendly vehicles took place at BEC Leadership Networking Series on 28 August.
Mr. Patrick Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Inchcape North East Asia and China, introduced the features of hybrid cars and its environmental benefits. He also highlighted the future technologies environmentally-friendly vehicles such as fuel cell vehicles.
Mr. Aaron Yim, Managing Director of Ricoh Hong Kong Limited, shared his company’s vision and missions toward environmental sustainability. He also introduced various green practices that have been implemented in Ricoh Hong Kong office.
BEC Upcoming Events
23 September 2014: BEC Policy Dialogue Series – Environmental Policies Progress Review with the Under Secretary for the Environment
Ms. Christine Loh, Under Secretary for the Environment, will meet with BEC members to give an update on the development of various environmental policies announced in the 2014 Chief Executive Policy Address, with particular reference to BEC’s recommendations submitted for the 2014 Policy Address in November 2013. As BEC has started the process of formulating recommendations for the 2015 Policy Address, it is opportune time to get first hand feedback from Ms. Loh on our recommendations last year, including any progress made so far, so that BEC’s recommendations for the upcoming Policy Address could be more focused and up-to-date.
BEC members are welcome to attend the event to share ideas and insights. To register, please contact Ms. Jill Chow (T 2784 3942 | E jill@bec.org.hk).
30 October 2014: BEC Leadership Networking Series
In the upcoming series, we are pleased to have Mr. Nick Leach, Director, Sales Support Asia, Scania (Hong Kong) Limited, to discuss the motives that drive heavy duty transport move towards sustainability. He will also take a look into the challenges that are faced by heavy duty transport and measures to deal with the issues. The keynote speech will be followed by sharing from Mr. Roberto Vazquez, Chief Technology Officer and Acting Chief Executive Officer, ASB Biodiesel Hong Kong Limited.
For registration and enquiry, please contact Ms. Joey Hui (T 2784 3958 | E joey@bec.org.hk).
BEC IEE Training Courses
BEC Institute for Environmental Education ("BEC IEE") organises various environmental training courses during September and October as follows:
Energy Management System (“EnMS”) Training Course (19 September) – This course will enable participants to implement more efficient energy management systems. These systems will allow managers to understand precisely where and how much energy is consumed, identify saving potential and adopt best practices.
Indoor Air Quality (“IAQ”) Management & Improvement (4th Intake) (17 October) – In this course, participants will have an overview of IAQ. They will also learn different chemical and biological components that affect IAQ and the ways to manage and improve IAQ.
BEAM Plus Familiarisation Training for Site Supervisors (24 October) – BEAM Plus for New Buildings, an environmental assessment scheme for buildings, requires site supervisors to supervise series of good site practices in order to fulfill pre-requisite requirements and attain credits for site management and supervision as well as testing and commissioning. This course offers a comprehensive review that enables site supervisors to know how to manage BEAM Plus for New Buildings related responsibilities.
Green Property Management in Office and Building (29 October) – This course covers the key concepts of green property management and essential green technologies and helps participants identify the best practices in offices and buildings.
Please visit BEC website to view more details and schedules of BEC IEE programmes. For registration and enquiry, please contact Dr. Veronica Chan (T 2784 3937 | E beciee@bec.org.hk).
BEC Partnership Programme
EPD Territory-wide Glass Bottle Recycling Programme for Housing Estates
To promote glass bottle recycling in Hong Kong and to pave way for the implementation of mandatory producer responsibility scheme, the Environmental Protection Department has commissioned BEC to coordinate the implementation of the glass bottle recycling programme in Hong Kong. As of August 2014, over 400 private housing estates and over 100 public housing estates have already participated in this programme.
Housing estates and residential buildings with property management offices are welcome to join this programme. To learn more about the programme, please contact Mr. Jonathan Li (T 2784 3921 | E em_admin@bec.org.hk).
BEC Members Corner
Mayer Brown JSM Legal Update
BEC’s General Member Mayer Brown JSM has written an article titled “Hong Kong Owner Successfully Appeals Against Conviction under the Air Pollution Control Ordinance”. The article referred in the recent case of HKSAR v. Wing Lok Construction & Engineering Co., Ltd. [2014] 2 HKLRD 669, in which the Court of First Instance allowed an appeal against the conviction of an owner of premises under s.77(2) of the Air Pollution Control Ordinance, Cap. 311 (APCO) for, when carrying out or causing the carrying out of work involving the use or handling of asbestos containing material in the premises, failing to appoint a registered asbestos contractor to carry out work.
To read the full article, please click here.
Eco-destination on Lamma Island
BEC's Corporate Member The Baroque on Lamma introduces its development project on Lamma Island, which is the third largest outlying island in Hong Kong. The island is characterised by its low-rise and low-density residential and tourism establishments. The project Site is located in a typical rural area in southern part of the island with three villages in the vicinity, namely Tung O Village, Yung Shue Ha Village and Mo Tat Village. These villages, once had around 500 villagers but now have only a few and mainly aged residents with the exception of Mo Tat New Village.
The objective of the project is to build an eco-destination in the form of a small seaside township comprising a low rise residential community, a resort hotel, a town centre market place and a marina that address the dire lack of yacht berthing in Hong Kong and to grasp the opportunity arising from rapid growth of international yachting activities in Asia. The project aims to preserve the natural environment of Lamma Island while at the same time revitalise the local economy with eco-tourism, eco-education and recreational activities The project is a sustainability-oriented development, proposing the implementation of numerous environmentally-friendly infrastructures such as facilities to utilise renewable energies, minimise consumption of fresh water and maximise waste recycling and reuse.
To know more about the project, please click here.
"BEC Members Corner" is dedicated to BEC members for the purpose of introducing their recent achievements, success stories, innovative ideas or solutions on environmental sustainability. Members are invited to provide us with an English write-up with a maximum of 200 words, which BEC will reserve the rights of editing and publishing. The submission deadline for the next E-newsletter is 24 September 2014 (Wednesday).
To submit an article or enquire about this section, please contact Ms Joey Hui (T 2784 3958 | E joey@bec.org.hk).
BEC Members Update
Please join BEC in welcoming the following member:
General Member
Lifa Air Limited
BEC Supporting Events
| Mar – Aug 2014 | Hang Seng Pan PRD Environmental Awards 2013/14 |
| Mar – Nov 2014 | Green Building Award 2014 |
| 11 – 12 Sep 2014 | BIM Year 2014 Project Client Summit |
| 13 Sep 2014 | HKIS Annual Conference 2014 |
| 19 – 20 Sep 2014 | HKICS Corporate Governance Conference 2014 |
| 15 – 16 Oct 2014 | International Conference on Sustainable Energy Policies and Technologies |
| 18 Oct 2014 | Exploring Alternative Fuel Vehicles in Hong Kong – Seminar 2: Electric Vehicles |
| 29 Oct – 1 Nov 2014 | Eco Expo Asia 2014 |
| 30 – 31 Oct 2014 | IFMA World Workplace Asia Conference |
| 27 – 29 Nov 2014 | 3rd International Conference on Climate Change |
| 1 – 6 Dec 2014 | APAC Innovation Summit 2014 |
| 2014 | 5th Hong Kong Corporate Citizenship Program |
| 2014 | Environmental Education Creative Competition 2014 |
| 2014 – 2015 | The "Let's Save 10L Water" Campaign |
| 2014 – 2015 | HKSTP Soft-landing Programme for Technology |
| HSBC Water Programme for Industrial Water Management |