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A total of 48 Hong Kong-owned manufacturing enterprises and three sourcing enterprises have been recognised as "Hong Kong - Guangdong Cleaner Production Partners" at a presentation ceremony of the Hong Kong - Guangdong Cleaner Production Partners Recognition Scheme held in Guangzhou today (November 25).
The scheme is jointly organised by Hong Kong's Environment Bureau (HKENB) and the Economic & Information Technology Commission of Guangdong Province (GDEIC).
Officiating at the presentation ceremony, the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, said, "Promoting cleaner production to enterprises is a key initiative of Hong Kong-Guangdong co-operation efforts in improving the environment in the region. Close collaboration efforts have been made by both sides in the past few years.
"After a technical support pilot project introduced at the end of 2006, HKENB and GDEIC then jointly launched the five-year Cleaner Production Partnership Programme in April last year. Since then, Hong Kong - Guangdong co-operation has been stepped up on all fronts to promote cleaner production practices to enterprises of both sides," said Mr Yau.
"To further galvanise our efforts in promoting cleaner production, HKENB and GDEIC jointly launched the Hong Kong – Guangdong Cleaner Production Partners Recognition Scheme in August this year to give recognition to the efforts of Hong Kong-owned factories and commercial enterprises in pursuing cleaner production," he added.
Also attending the ceremony today were the Deputy Secretary General for Guangdong Province, Mr Lin Ying; Division Chief of the Department of Energy Efficiency of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Mr Bi Jun Sheng; Vice-Director of GDEIC, Ms Bi Zhi Jian, and about 300 representatives from governments, trades and industries and enterprises of both Hong Kong and Guangdong.
The Cleaner Production Partnership Programme has been widely promoted in cities in the Pearl River Delta region. The results are encouraging, the Deputy Secretary General for Guangdong Province, Mr Lin Ying, said.
The five-year Cleaner Production Partnership Programme was launched in April 2008. The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), working with environmental technology service providers in Hong Kong and Guangdong, collectively provide professional advice and technical support to Hong Kong-owned factories in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region to encourage and enable them to adopt cleaner production technologies and practices, thereby making a contribution to improving regional air quality through reducing emissions and enhancing energy efficiency.
So far, more than 380 funding applications have been approved and more than 100 awareness promotion activities have been organised under the programme.
Under the Hong Kong - Guangdong Cleaner Production Partners Recognition Scheme rolled out in August 2009, the Hong Kong and Guangdong governments will jointly award a commendation, "Hong Kong - Guangdong Cleaner Production Partner (Manufacturing)", to Hong Kong-owned enterprises which demonstrate active participation in cleaner production so as to encourage their continuous efforts in cleaner production. In addition, sourcing enterprises which actively encourage their Hong Kong-owned factory suppliers to adopt cleaner production will also be granted a commendation, "Hong Kong - Guangdong Cleaner Production Partner (Supply Chain)" .
In response to the feedback from industries, the Government of the HKSAR plans to further extend the scope of the programme to provide professional advice and technical support to Hong Kong-owned factories in the PRD in the area of effluent reduction and control.
More details of the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme and the Hong Kong - Guangdong Cleaner Production Partners Recognition Scheme are available on the HKPC's cleaner production website: (www.cleanerproduction.hk/en/main.asp).
Ends/Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Issued at HKT 17:29
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