BEC Events
Breakfast Meeting with Under Secretary for the Environment
On 29 January, over 120 business leaders, academics, and industry professionals joined a breakfast meeting with Ms Christine Loh, Under Secretary for the Environment of HKSAR, to hear directly from the Under Secretary on the environmental measures announced in the 2013 Policy Address and voice their opinions on those issues. During this 2-hour meeting, Ms Loh expressed strong interest in listening to and working with BEC and its members in tackling various environmental issues in Hong Kong. She also welcomed continual dialogue with BEC in a number of issues raised during the meeting, including construction waste management and traffic management. During the panel discussion, BEC Chairman Prof John Chai reiterated that the business community represented by BEC is pledging to be involved in the environmental efforts Government is planning to coordinate.
More information on the breakfast meeting is available here.
BEC Seminar: Enhancing Corporate Disclosure on Water Risk
Sponsored by Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), BEC hosted an invitation-only seminar with 40 senior executives on 23 January to discuss issues related to water risk management and corporate disclosure. Experts from Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited, NBIM and the Carbon Disclosure Project shared insights about the HKEx ESG Reporting Guide, the investor angle to water risk management and the importance of addressing water disclosure. The follow up panel – represented by HSBC, PGGM, Power Assets Holdings, Asian Bamboo and Swire Beverages – discussed the challenges of water disclosure, the information needs of investors and the associated benefits that companies can enjoy when improving water efficiency.
BEC Leadership Networking Series: Sustainable Information Technology – Where do we Stand?
About 40 BEC members, partners and colleagues were inspired by the presentations in BEC Leadership Networking Series on 31 January.
Mr Kim Salkeld JP, Head of Efficiency Unit, Chief Secretary for Administration's Office of the HKSAR Government, talked about how the process efficiency and service quality of public services can be improved by information technology.
Mr Koeman Chan, Business Development Manager of VHSoft Technologies Co Ltd of Yau Lee Holdings, explained and demonstrated to the audience how project management of the construction industry can been effectively executed via mobile devices.
BEC Members Event
Site Visit to Holiday Inn Express SoHo Hong Kong
On 18 January, 35 BEC members joined a site visit to Holiday Inn Express SoHo Hong Kong, world’s first high rise building achieving Triple Platinum of Green Certificates in Hong Kong, US, and Australia. Apart from visiting various environmental facilities and green materials applied in the hotel, such as chilled peltier headboard in guestrooms, solar hot water collector system and the external greening, participants also learnt about the technical aspect for incorporating environmental measures in the building, and more real case essentials of building energy efficiency.
BEC Activities
BEC Welcomes 2013 Policy Address
BEC welcomes the policy measures in Chief Executive’s 2013 Policy Address delivered in January 2013, which have announced a number of environmental measures including air quality, waste management and green building. BEC agrees that these should be on the top priority of the agenda. It is our pleasure that Government has taken into account our recommendations submitted in June 2012 and early this year. BEC is generally supportive of the approach and direction taken by Government on the topic of environment and sustainable development for Hong Kong. BEC looks forward to more open dialogue with Government in the coming days.
Please visit our website for BEC’s submissions to HKSAR Government, and our responses to the 2013 Policy Address.
Roundtable Sharing on Green Economy
On 21 January, Mr Hendrik Rosenthal, Director of Policy & Research of BEC, joined a strong panel of environmental experts to discuss "The Future of Hong Kong's Green Economy" as part of the China Daily Asia Leadership Roundtable series. Hendrik shared BEC's views about the environmental initiatives proposed under the 2013 Policy Address and emphasised BEC’s willingness to work with the Government to drive Hong Kong towards a greener city. Among the panelists were Ms Christine Loh, Under Secretary for the Environment, who also delivered a keynote presentation and Mr Richard Lancaster, BEC Board Director and Managing Director of CLP Power.
CCBF Members’ Exclusive Carbon and Construction Workshop
In early February, BEC’s initiative Climate Change Business Forum (CCBF) hosted a Members’ Exclusive Carbon and Construction Workshop, designed to encourage best practice sharing among sophisticated market players on emerging systems to estimate, manage and minimise CO2 emissions in construction projects. Representatives from CCBF member companies Gammon Construction, Leighton, MTR and Towngas were among the event speakers.
Later in the month, CCBF will debut the third annual Hong Kong Business Survey on Energy Efficiency and Climate Change. The survey reveals that companies want a clean and competitive Hong Kong. Business is willing to shoulder some of the costs, yet they are also seeking market opportunities for green growth. They are turning to Government for support. Survey results will be shared in full at CCBF’s public event “Which Way Forward? Jump-starting Hong Kong’s Low-carbon Economy”. Business policy and economic experts will discuss the roles of Government and business in compelling the low-carbon economy, and offer advice on the way forward. Full event details can be found on CCBF’s website.
HBF “Our Harbour” Photo Competition
BEC’s initiative Harbour Business Forum (HBF) is organising “Our Harbour” Photo Competition to showcase the best of Victoria Harbour. The competition looks for photos that can best capture the beauty and uniqueness of the Harbour. Photo entries falling into one of the six categories can be submitted online through the website or the Facebook page on or before 28 February. While the public will be invited to vote online to select the winners of the three Public categories and the two School categories, a judging panel will review and select winners of the Professional category. For enquiries, please contact Ms Dorothy Lam at 2784 3938 or dorothy@bec.org.hk
BEC Upcoming Events
7 March 2013: BEC Leadership Networking Series
The upcoming BEC Leadership Networking Series will put on a Chinese flavour to celebrate the Lunar New Year. To be held on 7 March (Thursday), the event will take the form of paid Chinese dinner. More details of the event and the registration method will be released soon. Please stay tuned or contact Ms Skyla Chan (skyla@bec.org.hk) for more information.
24 May 2013: BEC EnviroSeries Conference 2013 – Holistic & Sustainable Waste Management
The EnviroSeries is BEC’s flagship conference that aims to provide a common platform for government officials, business leaders and experts to discuss and address key issues related to environmental sustainability in Hong Kong. The first of 2013 series will be held on 24 May at JW Marriott Hong Kong. We will discuss regional best practices, policy framework, technologies and practical steps that will help Hong Kong move forward in tackling waste management issues. For sponsorship and speaking opportunities, please contact Ms Patricia Poon at 2784 3922 or patricia@bec.org.hk.
BEC Upcoming Members Events
20 February 2013: Industry Visit to North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill
BEC will host an Industry Visit to North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill, a 35 million square meters non-hazardous solid waste disposal facility in Hong Kong, on 20 February 2013.
At the NENT Landfill, leachate treatment system and landfill gas management system have been installed to manage these two pollutants properly. In addition, landfill gas has been turned into synthetic natural gas, a kind of renewable clean energy, for commercial use. Participants can understand how landfill can become a useful resources to society.
The visit is limited to BEC members only. To register, please return the registration form to membership@bec.org.hk. For more information, please contact Ms Jun Ng (jun@bec.org.hk)
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7 March 2013: Site Visit to Energizing Kowloon East Office
From this visit, members can have a close look to the innovative and green aspects of EKEO building - Hong Kong's first low carbon temporary office and attains the BEAM Plus Platinum (Provisional) rating. The Megaman showroom demonstrates how the innovative LED lighting can be best exploited that provides best alternative and true replacement of traditional light sources in a sustainable approach. Through this visit, members could understand visionary and integrated approach, as well as key sustainable features in the development of the Office.
The visit is limited to BEC members only. For more information, please contact Ms Jun Ng (jun@bec.org.hk).
BEC Members Corner
BEC Council Member Schneider Electric (Hong Kong) Limited organised a high-level event with The International Energy Agency (IEA) on 5 December 2012. IEA issues the World Energy Outlook (WEO), which is considered as the reference in terms of energy figures and analysis, every year. Schneider Electric has contributed to the WEO on a large part dedicated to Energy efficiency.
Jean-Pascal Tricoire, President & CEO of Schneider Electric, and Fatih Birol, Chief Economist of IEA, presented the key highlights of the WEO, focusing on Energy Efficiency. At the same time, a panel discussion titled "Unlocking the potential of energy efficiency" was held with the participation of high-level experts from different backgrounds and industries to share best practices around energy efficiency case studies and answer the questions around its concrete benefits and its operational deployment.
More details of the event are provided here.
“BEC Members Corner” is dedicated for BEC members to introduce their recent achievements, success stories, innovative ideas or solutions in environmental sustainability. To submit an article, please provide your English write-up with maximum 250 words to us, who will reserve the rights of editing and publishing. The submission deadline for upcoming BEC e-Newsletter is 20 February 2013 (Wednesday).
To submit an article or enquire about this section, please contact Ms Joey Hui (joey@bec.org.hk) or Ms Skyla Chan (skyla@bec.org.hk).
BEC Supporti ng Events
| 22 Sep 2012 - 2 Mar 2013 | Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge 2012 |
| 4 Feb 2013 - 31 July 2013 | FHKI Hang Seng Pearl River Delta Environmental Award |
| 22 March 2013 | HKIE Annual Seminar: Green Building - Challenges for Innovation and Excellence? |
| 5 May - 8 May 2013 | International Conference on Solid Waste 2013: Innovation in Technology and Management |
| 9 May 2013 | Integrate 2013 Facility Management Conference |
BEC Members Update
Please join BEC in welcoming the following members:
Council Member
The Link Management Limited (Upgraded)
Corporate Member
Chime Corporation Limited (Chinachem Group)
Crestron Asia Limited
Kum Shing Group Holdings Limited
Nissan Global Company Limited
NWS Holdings Limited
SITA Waste Services Limited (Upgrade)
General Member
BioZone Scientific International Limited
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Kai Shing Management Services Limited
Park Rich Environmental Technology Limited
Turnkey Group Limited
Winner Medical (Hong Kong) Limited