The following is issued on behalf of the Environmental Campaign Committee:

     The Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, today (May 4) presented awards to the winners of the 2016 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre to commend them for their green management practices and their contributions to environmental protection. Winners of the 2016 Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards (HKGIA) and organisations certified as Hong Kong Green Organisations (HKGOs) in 2016 were also recognised at the presentation ceremony.

     The HKAEE commends organisations in different sectors that have demonstrated an outstanding environmental performance. The three judging criteria are green leadership, programme and performance, and partner synergy. The number of entries competing for the HKAEE reached a record high of 1 445, almost a fourfold increase compared with 2008 when the awards were first launched. A total of 48 organisations won gold, silver or bronze awards this year, with 126 winning certificates of merit.

     The HKGIA aims to encourage local organisations to tackle environmental challenges using new ideas that will benefit the environment. The three assessment criteria are level of innovation, environmental achievements and cost-effectiveness, and practicability and contribution to society. The priority themes in 2016 were energy conservation and waste management. Among the 60 entries this year, six silver awards, bronze awards or certificates of merit were granted.

     The Hong Kong Green Organisation Certification (HKGOC) aims to benchmark the green performance of organisations and encourages them to sustain their environmental initiatives in waste reduction, energy saving, carbon reduction and indoor air quality improvement, as well as to strengthen environmental attributes in products.

     Participating organisations are commended as HKGOs if they can demonstrate certain environmental achievements such as possessing certificates under the HKGOC, winning HKAEE awards, signing any of the environment-related charters launched or supported by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government or possessing a valid ISO 14001 certificate. To date, over 900 organisations in 15 different industry sectors have attained HKGO status. At the ceremony today, representatives from 147 organisations which became HKGOs in 2016 were presented with certificates in recognition of their environmental achievements.

     In his welcoming remarks, the Chairman of the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC), Mr Lam Chiu-ying, said that the assessment process for the awards and certification is very rigorous and comprehensive. The final adjudications for 2016 HKAEE were chaired by Mr Lam; the ECC Vice-chairman, Mr Hui Yung-chung; the Chairman of the Awards Committee on the HKAEE, Mr Thomas Ho, and the former ECC Vice-chairman, Professor Jonathan Wong. The adjudicating panels also comprised representatives of major business chambers, professional bodies and government departments.

     Also attending today's ceremony were the Acting Secretary for the Environment, Ms Christine Loh; the Chairman of the Environment and Conservation Fund Committee, Mr Douglas Woo; Mr Hui; Mr Ho; the Permanent Secretary for the Environment/Director of Environmental Protection, Mr Donald Tong, and representatives of the joint organisers.

     The HKAEE and HKGOC are jointly organised by the ECC; 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' and Exporters' Association; the Hong Kong Council of Social Service; the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Productivity Council. The HKAEE and HKGOC are sponsored by Environment and Conservation Fund.

     The 2017 HKAEE and HKGIA are now open for applications while the HKGOC accepts applications all year round. The ECC will hold a number of seminars in May and June for winning organisations to share their experience of "going green". Organisations wishing to learn more about the HKAEE and HKGOC may obtain details at the seminars. For more information, please visit the website at www.hkaee.gov.hk or call the hotline 2788 5903.

Ends/Thursday, May 4, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:55

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