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The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC):
Over 130 recipients of Environmental Labels and Carbon"Less" Certificates under the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) were honoured today (August 1) in recognition of their contributions to environmental protection.
The Permanent Secretary for the Environment, Ms Anissa Wong, delivered a speech at a ceremony held at the Hong Kong Productivity Council Building and expressed gratitude to organisations which have made remarkable contributions to the promotion of environmental protection for building a better and greener Hong Kong.
"More and more enterprises and organisations understand that green operations will not only improve the environment, but also reduce costs and open up business opportunities, and enhance sustainable development," she said.
Ms Wong said that businesses joining the Wastewi$e Label and Energywi$e Label programmes under the Environmental Labels scheme have recycled more than 100,000 tonnes of waste paper, metal and plastics and saved a total of over 57 million kWh of energy respectively. Participating companies in the Carbon"Less" Certificates scheme have cut more than 37,000 tonnes of CO2-emissions. The results are encouraging, she said.
During the ceremony, representatives from award-winning companies also shared their practical tips on promoting energy saving and carbon reduction, and how to engage residents, employees and other stakeholders to go green.
Also officiating at today's ceremony were the Chairman of the ECC's Awards Committee on the HKAEE, Mr Patrick Ma; the Vice-chairman of the ECC, Professor Jonathan Wong; and representatives of HKAEE joint organisers.
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"Less" Certificates schemes have been very well received, with a cumulative total of about 3,600 and 360 applications filed under the schemes respectively.
These two schemes are open to applications all year round. There are four Environmental Labels, namely, Wastewi$e, Energywi$e, IAQwi$e and Productwi$e. Each label encourages 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 aspect and an Environmental Label will be granted to those organisations that have successfully achieved a specific number of the associated environmental goals.
The Carbon"Less" Certificates scheme encourages participants to measure, report and reduce their carbon footprints in buildings or business operations and provides third-party verification on the reporting of overall carbon reduction. The certificate is granted to participating organisations as a testimony to their effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions for their buildings and business operations.
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, August 1, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:21
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