Environmental Report

• About This Report
• Organizational Profile
• Environmental Policy
• Our Vision
• Environmental Management
• Our Triple Role
  • Corporate Citizen
  • Regulatory Authority
  • Service Provider
• Key Results in 2002
• Awards and Recognition
• Independent Assessment
   on Environment Report
• Data and Facts
• Feedback

Environment Management

Our commitment to environmental responsibility goes back a long way. For example, we have been paying attention to energy efficiency for many years; we set up our Energy Efficiency Office in 1994 to drive for energy efficiency and conservation programmes in Hong Kong. In our own operation, we recognise that more can be done in managing the environmental impacts arising from our operations and activities. In 1999 we took the decision to establish a formal Environmental Management System (EMS) and was awarded an ISO14001 Corporate Certificate in 2000.

A best practice

At EMSD we conduct periodic inspections and internal audit to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements. In addition, we invite external body to conduct ISO14001 audits to ensure our compliance with international standard

• Environmental Management Structure

  

  　

  Quality, Environmental & Productivity Steering Committee – comprising an assistant director and senior management from major business areas and support functions – ensures that all quality, environmental and safety policies are properly implemented and impetus of respective management systems is maintained.

  　

• Environmental Management System

  The Environmental Management System (EMS) sets the standards that EMSD must, as a minimum, comply with the legal environment protection requirements. It provides a comprehensive framework to help each Division to systematically managing its daily operation in an environmental responsible manner. In 2002, the EMS had been renewed and rationalized to encompass 10 distinct but coherent divisional level management systems, all of which are internally and externally audited to the ISO 14001 requirements.

• Identifying Environmental Impact

  

  The EMS has enabled EMSD to internalise the P-D-C-A cycle philosophy to educate, raise awareness, communicate with stakeholders and checking its effectiveness to ensure all environmental aspects are identified so that proactive control measures can be taken in our activities to eliminate or minimize their impacts on the environment.

• Significant Environmental Aspects

  To conserve the environment, the first priority is to avoid creating adverse environmental aspect and to reduce their impacts. We are aware that our operation can create environmental aspects during our services to some existing systems. We are carefully identifying and evaluating issues with significant environmental aspect in the first place to ensure that we can exert a positive influence to reduce their impacts. This process not only helps us to have a clear overview of how we affect the environment and use of resources, it also helps us to reduce environmental impacts from our activities and to achieve cost savings and productivity improvement.

• Audit Mechanism

  

  Regulatory compliance inspections and operational evaluations have been woven into the daily routine in EMSD. We have over 100 staff trained to perform ISO 14001 internal auditing. They performed around 80 man-days of cross-division internal audits in year 2002 to ascertain the effectiveness of the EMS in each Division. Our EMS is also subject to independent external Certification Body surveillance audits in six monthly basis.

• Training and Awareness Promotion

  To upkeep the environmental awareness of our employees and new recruits, regular training programmes have been developed. The programme includes general awareness for all employees and regulatory-compliance training for team leaders and selected staff members. Specific courses are organized for managers and internal auditors. More than 3,370 man-days have been invested in this aspect to date. Such training and development effort will be maintained so as to prepare each EMSD employee to discharge their duties in an environmental friendly manner.

• Communication with Stakeholders including the Public

  We listened to our stakeholders who include our customers, employees and the general public and recognised their interest on our environmental performance. We conduct regular surveys for both EMSD employees and our customers to gauge their feedback in order to form our future targets for improvements. We publish the annual Environmental Report since 1999 by posting them onto our Internet.

  As a Service Provider to all trading services clients, we go the extra mile of providing professional advice on energy savings to help them improve their overall environmental performance.

  As a Regulatory Authority, we are actively involved in promoting energy efficiency. We take this message to the community through a number of different channels, including radio and TV campaigns, publications, promotional advertisements, posters, road shows and free seminars.