BEC Events
22 November 2013: BEC EnviroSeries Conference “The Future Energy of Hong Kong – Reliable, Affordable and Low Carbon”
The second Conference of BEC EnviroSeries 2013,entitled The Future Energy of Hong Kong – Reliable, Affordable and Low Carbon, was successfully concluded. Over 140 business leaders and executives, government officials, environmental experts and academics joined the discussion to identify and discuss key issues that will lead Hong Kong towards a more sustainable energy pathway.
Miss Vivian Lau, JP, Deputy Secretary for the Environment of the HKSAR Government graced at the Conference and delivered the keynote speech to share the government’s perspective and set the scene for the robust discussion of the day.
28 November 2013: BEC Leadership Networking Series
Experience on water management and resources efficiency was shared at this Leadership Networking Series.
Mr Antoine Mussillon, Managing Director of Veolia Water (South China) Limited, provided an overview on water management and shared ways to minimise water footprint. Ir H S Wong, Assistant Director / Mechanical and Electrical and Ir Charles Law, Electrical Engineer of Water Supplies Department introduced the application of Genetic Algorithm for online optimisation of pump schedules to forecast the daily water demand and enhance energy efficiency.
11 December 2013: BEC Seasonal Cocktail
Over 140 business leaders and executives, government officials, sustainability professionals and academics joined BEC’s Seasonal Cocktail to celebrate the festive season together. The Cocktail is a special occasion to conclude another year of progression as BEC continues to engage with various stakeholders in promoting and supporting the development of Hong Kong’s environmental sustainability. We wish to take this opportunity to wish everyone a joyful holiday season and a prosperous year of 2014.
BEC Member Events
1 November 2013: BEC Eco Tour to Nam Sang Wai
At this Eco Tour, nature interpreter Dr Ching Wai-keung introduced the different types of migratory birds that can be found in this Wetland. Participants were then guided to the riverside to view the habitats of mudskipper, fiddler crab and spoonbill. Participants have enhanced their knowledge on common living species and vegetation in Nam Sang Wai through this tour.
21 November 2013: Industry Visit to Kowloon City Sewage Pumping Stations
In this visit, participants were guided by Mr Alex Wong, Project Engineer of Drainage Services Department of the HKSAR Government to view the green features in No. 1 and No. 2 Sewage Pumping Stations. In addition, Mr Eric Siu, Senior Resident Engineer of Atkins China Limited and Mr Kentis Beh of A. Lead Architects Limited have delivered presentations to further introduce the two stations. Participants have enjoyed the greenery on the roofs and appreciated the proper enclosure and ventilation system that divert the odour emissions to standard odour scrubbing devices of both stations.
BEC News
BEC Waste Management Advisory Group Members Joined Engagement Session to Promote the Sustainable Development of Recycling Industry
Invited by the Steering Committee to Promote Sustainable Development of Recycling Industry, members of BEC Waste Management Advisory Group joined the stakeholder engagement session on 15 November 2013. BEC also submitted a written summary of views to the Steering Committee subsequent to this engagement session.
BEC Partnership Programmes
HSBC Living Business Awards Presentation 2013
The HSBC Living Business Awards Presentation Ceremony 2013 was held on 25 November 2013 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Since its launch in 2004, the HSBC Living Business Programme has been helping local small and medium enterprises become more competitive and productive by incorporating socially and environmentally sustainable practices into their business operations. Entering its ninth year, the Programme not only focused on the sustainability of an individual business or corporation, but moved a step further to promote sustainability along the supply chain.
This year, the Awards received over 1,000 applications in showcasing their companies’ sustainable contributions to the Hong Kong community and environment. BEC would like to take this opportunity to thank all the companies who entered the Awards and congratulate all the awardees and certificate winners for developing their business with the community, the environment and their employees in mind.
Moving the Construction Sector Towards Sustainable Development
Sustainable construction is a way for building the industry towards achieving sustainable development. In promoting sustainability to the construction businesses in Hong Kong, BEC has conducted a series of industry engagements with the construction stakeholders in developing corporate sustainability initiatives for small and medium enterprises (“SMEs”) in the construction sector, with the support of the Sustainable Development Fund. The key influencing factors of corporate sustainability in construction SMEs are: Construction Procurement and Subcontracting Practices, Manpower Sustainability and Employee Caring, and Environment Health and Safety. A SMEs Guidebook and a Recommendation Paper were published and reported in the presentation forum on 10 December 2013. Four briefing workshops will be held in the next 2 months to present the Guidebook in details and illustrate ways to use the Guidebook in a step-by-step manner.
For more information, please contact us (construction.sd@bec.org.hk).
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Competition Launched
BEC is pleased to participate in the citywide competition called Samsung Solve for Tomorrow as environmental advisor. The launching ceremony was held on 26 November 2013 where BEC’s CEO, Ms Agnes Li spoke on the importance of nurturing environmental conscious younger generation in leading Hong Kong towards a sustainable pathway.
Solve for Tomorrow invites students to develop ideas on how technology can be used to improve Hong Kong’s environment. The competition aims to empower students by providing them a platform to discuss and solve environmental issues in the city. In addition to receiving prizes, winners of the competition will have a chance to see their ideas come to life through the Samsung Realization Plan. The deadline for submission is 2 January 2014.
Please click here for further details.
BEC Upcoming Event
23 January 2014: BEC Leadership Networking Series
BEC Leadership Networking Series serves as a regular networking platform to facilitate experience and best practice sharing through active dialogues among members, government representatives and the broader community in a relax and open atmosphere. In the upcoming event, topics on sustainable living and environmental laws will be discussed.
For more information, please contact Ms Amy Chung (amyc@bec.org.hk).
BEC Members Corner
Power Assets Wins Accolade for Carbon Disclosure
Power Assets Holdings Ltd., mother company of BEC Council Member The Hongkong Electric Company Limited, achieved the second best disclosure score for Hong Kong and South East Asia under Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) 2013, in recognition of its disclosure of information about the Company’s measurement and management of its carbon footprint, climate change strategy and risk management processes and outcomes in a transparent, complete and comprehensive manner.
Apart from providing energy infrastructure to support the sustainable development of Hong Kong for more than 120 years, Power Assets also supplies electricity to the city – a major Asian financial hub with an excellent reliability surpassing 99.999%. Committed to environmental protection, Power Assets implements various measures to reduce emissions including harnessing renewable energy and using natural gas for power generation. The company has developed Hong Kong’s largest solar PV and wind power facilities and maintain a significant portion of natural gas in its fuel mix. As compared with 2005 when coal was the main energy source, its carbon emission has been reduced by 12%. Acknowledging to CDP that good disclosure and performance scores are used by investors as a proxy of good climate change management or climate change performance of companies, Power Assets is keen to communicate its sustainability performance to stakeholders with greater transparency and more disclosures that will benefit its business, customers and the community at large.
Please click here to learn more about Power Assets.
Photo caption: Mr T C Yee, General Manager (Corporate Development) of HK Electric, a subsidiary of Power Assets, received CDP Award from Ms Christine Loh, Under Secretary of the Environment, the HKSAR Government.
Hysan Place Wins ULI’s 2013 Global Awards for Excellence
Hysan Place, situated at 500 Hennessy Road, Causeway Bay that was developed by BEC Council Member Hysan Development Company Limited, has been named a 2013 winner in the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Global Awards for Excellence.
Hysan Place comprises 15 levels of Grade A full harbour view office space and 17 floors of retail outlets. Its shopping mall offers exciting tenant mix and its quality office space attracted many top international tenants.
Beyond its commercial successes, Hysan Place was awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard (LEED) Platinum certification for Core and Shell by the United States Green Building Council, and is the first mixed-use office and vertical mall complex in Greater China to be so awarded. It also received the highest Platinum certification by Hong Kong’s BEAM Plus standard for new buildings.
Widely known as the property development industry’s most prestigious awards programme, the ULI Global Awards recognise superior development efforts based on good design, leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnerships, environmental protections and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial success. In this year’s Awards, Hysan Place is one of the twelve winners selected from 27 finalists and many more original entries from all over the world.
For more details, please click here to visit Hysan’s corporate website.
Phasing Out Pre-Euro IV Diesel Commercial Vehicles
BEC General Member Mayer Brown JSM recently published a legal update on The Air Pollution Control (Air Pollutant Emission) (Controlled Vehicles) Regulation which will come into operation on 1 February 2014. The Regulation aims at phasing out about 80,000 existing pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles and setting a service life limit of 15 years for diesel commercial vehicles newly registered on or after 1 February 2014. Pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles, equipped with compression-ignition engines, comprise goods vehicles, light buses and non-franchised buses, irrespective of whether or not such vehicles are used on a commercial or non-commercial basis. The justifications for phasing out such vehicles are that doing so will improve roadside air quality and reduce emissions that are harmful to human health. It will also help to achieve the Air Quality Objectives set to come into operation in 2014. As an incentive to owners to phase out their pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles, the government will offer an ex-gratia payment ranging from 27 to 33 percent of the average taxable values of the new vehicles.
The legal update in full can be found here.
"BEC Members Corner" is dedicated to BEC members to introduce their recent achievements, success stories, innovative ideas or solutions on environmental sustainability. Members could provide us 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 upcoming E-Newsletter is 20 December 2013 (Friday).
To submit an article or enquire about this section, please contact Ms Joey Hui (joey@bec.org.hk).
BEC Members Update
Please join BEC in welcoming the new General Member:
China Energy Conservation & Environmental Protection (Hong Kong) Investment Co., Limited