The Environment Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Guangdong Province (GDDIIT) today (December 12) held the sixth meeting of the Hong Kong-Guangdong Joint Working Group on Cleaner Production (JWGCP) in Guangzhou. 

     The sixth meeting of the JWGCP was co-chaired by the Secretary for the Environment of the HKSAR Government, Mr Wong Kam-sing, and the Director-General of GDDIIT, Mr Tu Gaokun, to discuss and review the work progress in 2019.

     At today's meeting, in compliance with the policy direction of ecological civilisation construction under the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the JWGCP also agreed on the 2020 work plan, which focuses on the continuous promotion of the use of cleaner production technologies and management systems for energy saving by high energy consumption industries, and encourages the adoption of water saving technologies and recycling of wastewater by high water consumption industries. In addition, both sides will continue to encourage Hong Kong-owned enterprises to undertake cleaner production audits, and support relevant trade and industry associations to carry out trade-specific promotion and publicity activities on controlling volatile organic compounds at source by the enterprises.

     The meeting was attended by representatives of the Environment Bureau, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the Trade and Industry Department, the Innovation and Technology Commission and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong of the HKSAR; and by representatives of GDDIIT, the Department of Ecology and Environment and the Department of Science and Technology of Guangdong Province.

     Hong Kong and Guangdong have been jointly promoting cleaner production to tackle environmental pollution in the region. By adopting cleaner production, enterprises can improve their environmental performance and reduce pollutant emissions, in addition to increasing their economic benefits through energy saving.

     The Cleaner Production Partnership Programme was launched by the EPD in collaboration with the then Economic and Information Commission of Guangdong Province (now GDDIIT) in 2008, with more than 3 200 funding applications approved to date. More details of the Programme are available on the cleaner production website: www.cleanerproduction.hk/en_index.asp.

Ends/Thursday, December 12, 2019
Issued at HKT 16:41

NNNN