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The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:
Around 150 recipients of Green Organisation Labels, Environmental Labels and Carbon Reduction Certificates under the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) were honoured today (July 23) in recognition of their contributions to environmental protection.
The Permanent Secretary for the Environment/Director of Environmental Protection, Ms Anissa Wong, delivered a speech at the ceremony, held at the Hong Kong Productivity Council Building, and expressed her gratitude to the HKAEE participating organisations and companies for supporting the scheme and their efforts in going green.
Organisations joining the Wastewi$e Label and Energywi$e Label programmes under the Environmental Labels scheme have recycled nearly 190 000 tonnes of waste paper, metal and plastics and saved a total of over 81 million kilowatt-hours of energy. Moreover, participants in the Carbon Reduction Certificates scheme have cut more than 114 000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Ms Wong said these results were encouraging.
Also officiating at the ceremony were the Chairman of the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC)'s Awards Committee on the HKAEE, Mr Thomas Ho; the Vice-chairman of the ECC, Professor Jonathan Wong; and representatives of HKAEE joint organisers. In addition to the awards presentation, representatives from award-winning organisations shared their environmental insights and green practices.
The HKAEE aims to encourage businesses and organisations to adopt green management practices and to recognise those that contribute to protecting the environment. Its Environmental Labels and Carbon Reduction Certificates schemes have been very well received, with about 5 000 and 540 applications filed respectively since they were introduced. The Green Organisation Labels scheme is a new scheme introduced this year aiming to recognise companies and organisations which have adopted various environmental practices.
The Environmental Labels and Carbon Reduction Certificates schemes are open to application all year round. There are four Environmental Labels, namely Wastewi$e, Energywi$e, IAQwi$e and Productwi$e. The labels encourage efforts in waste reduction, energy saving, improving indoor air quality and enhancing the environmental attributes of products. Participating organisations are required to define goals that will benefit the environment in a specific way and an Environmental Label will be granted to each organisation that successfully achieves a specific number of the associated environmental goals.
The Carbon Reduction Certificates scheme encourages participants to measure and reduce their carbon footprint in local buildings or business operations and provides third-party verification on the reporting of overall carbon reduction. Certificates are granted to participating organisations as testimony to their effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions for their buildings and business operations.
The newly launched Green Organisation Labels scheme recognises HKAEE participating organisations which have obtained the Wastewi$e Label and Energywi$e Label or Carbon Reduction Certificate, and have met one of the specific criteria, e.g. having obtained a Participation Certificate of the HKAEE Sectoral Awards, or having signed an environment-related charter.
Since its introduction in 2008, the HKAEE has been jointly organised by 11 organisations, namely 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' & Exporters' Association, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Productivity Council. It is sponsored by the Environment and Conservation Fund.
For more information on the HKAEE, please visit the website at www.hkaee.org.hk or call the HKAEE hotline at 2788 5903.
Ends/Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Issued at HKT 17:40
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