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

Triple Role

Because of our diverse activities, we play a triple-role in conserving, improving and protection the environment.

Corporate Citizen - Caring for our Environment

• Recycle Paper

  We monitor the consumption pattern of new and recycled paper in relation to our daily operations. Starting from late 2001, EMSD began the widespread use of environment-friendly recycled office printing papers made form recycled fibre sources.

• Waste Management

  Over the years, EMSD has handled and disposed considerable amount of industrial and chemical wastes in an environmentally responsible manner. Collected items are carefully stored and transported before being disposed of in accordance with statutory requirements.

• Spent Mercury Lamp

  The Environmental Protection Department will commission a mercury recycling plant in Tsing Yi in year 2003 to recover spent mercury lamps and fluorescent tubes from government premises. As a key service provider for the Government, we volunteered to store up fluorescent lamps in Wanchai Government Towers Complex since April 2002 and have extended the practice to other venues.

• Energy and Resource Savings

  There is a minor increase in electricity and water consumption of less than 1% over year 2001 figures. This may be attributed to our increase in activities. We will identify the cause of the increase and take appropriate measures. The gas and paper consumption were however reduced by 12 % and 6.2 % respectively from the 2001 level.



• Vehicle Emission

  At EMSD we provide maintenance service for the 6,200 Government vehicle fleet. We play a significant role in ensuring their emissions are reduced to a minimum. The number of diesel vehicles in the Government fleet has decreased from 2,218 to 1,238 in year 1999 to 2002 respectively.

• Renewable Energy

  500 m2 of mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels have been installed as a pilot project by EMSD at Wanchai Tower to generate 55 kW of electricity from solar energy. The performance of the system will continue to be monitored by EMSD until early 2004. It is estimated that this project has helped to reduce annually 23,000 kg of carbon dioxide, which would otherwise be generated from the power stations. A territory-wide wind measurement programme will be carried out to collect site specific data for assessment of wind resources at selected sites. The preparatory work has already commenced. The wind measurement programme is scheduled for completion by mid 2004.

• Wider-use of Water-Cooled Air Conditioning Systems

  EMSD has been actively involved in the study and implementation of Water-cooled Air-Conditioning Systems (WACS). Since a pilot scheme was launched in June 2000 to allow the use of fresh-water for evaporative cooling in non-domestic developments in 6 designated areas, response has been quite positive. The scheme was extended for another two years to May 31 2004 and the geographical coverage was expanded to cover a total of 45 designated areas. WACS has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 600,000 tonnes a year and save 7 to 32% of energy used for air-conditioning.

• New Headquarters at Kai Tak

  

  EMSD will relocate to a new headquarter in the Kai Tak area in 2004. A task force has been established to oversee the project in the design stage to ensure full compliance to environmental regulatory requirements as well as making the new headquarter a showcase of the latest E&M technologies and best practices in energy efficiency. Various new and renewable energy technologies including photovoltaic panels, a small wind turbine, binary ice storage air-conditioning system and daylight pipe are being considered for incorporation in the new headquarter.

• Energy Saving Competition

  To support Government initiatives, EMSD will undertake to organize a Government-wide energy saving promotion programme this year. The programme aims at promoting energy efficiency equipment and raising awareness in energy savings in government premises.

• Occupational Health and Safety

  Occupational health and safety is closely akin to working environmental conditions in the workplace. Under the IMS umbrella, all employees irrespective of their location and rank, are also charged with ensuring full compliance with the legal regulations as well as the internal and external Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) requirements. In order to make EMSD an even safer place to work, we have launched internal OH&S promotional and assessment programmes last year to help raise employee awareness and interest on OH&S and to put them into practice in all work activities.

Regulatory Authority - Promoting Energy Efficiency in the Public

• Energy Efficiency Equipment

  We have introduced the latest energy efficient technology applications, like the T5 fluorescent lamps and electronic ballasts into Hong Kong. We are trying out new energy efficiency technologies.

• Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme

  　

  　

  The scheme was initially introduced for household appliances in 1995. It was extended to office equipment in December 2000. Last year, the scheme was further extended to cover petrol passenger vehicles. For details and information pamphlets on Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme (EELS), please visit our website http://www.emsd.gov.hk.

• Energy Benchmarking Studies and Database

  Realising the importance of energy efficiency and conservation, EMSD commissioned a study in 2000 to obtain more in-depth data on energy use in commercial and transport sectors. The study was completed in November 2002 and a web-based benchmarking tool has been made available for general public to benchmark their energy consumption with others in the same business category.

Energy Consumption Indicators and Benchmarks

The Energy Consumption Indicators and Benchmarks provide in-depth data about energy consumption levels and the extent of the use of energy efficient equipment among the selected groups. This enables the Government to set future targets and implement measures to reduce energy consumption of the society.

Service Provider - Supporting our Customers

• A/C System Enhancement in City Hall

  

  We understand the importance of plant efficiency and the ways to reduce electricity consumption. Our Municipal Sector Division assisted the LCSD client at City Hall to reconfigure the chilled water circuit and rebalance the cooling load distribution in their air-conditioning system to improve operational efficiency to save 67,000kWh of electricity annually. The modification also results in extended life expectancy of the air-conditioning equipment.

• Indoor Air Quality

  We monitor the indoor air quality (IAQ) of the client buildings as a value-added service by undertaking regular IAQ survey on critical parameters and render technical advice on improvement measures where appropriate since mid-1990s.

• Vehicle Maintenance

  The professional vehicle maintenance service provides our Government clients with the confidence of safety, and reliability of their vehicle fleets. This also ensures vehicle fleets of essential services are available to serve the community twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.

• Energy Efficiency Projects

We have helped our customers identifying Energy Management Opportunities (EMO) in their premises. We render our clients recommendations to improve their overall energy efficiency and environmental performance with the latest technological options. A recent project includes the application of binary ice refrigeration for air-conditioning and heat pumps for water heating purpose.