Jun-2018

Building for the Future – Green Procurement
Living Studio: Leigh & Orange Empowering the Youth on Sustainable Development

Council Hosted Land Supply Policy Forum
Adding Green to Public and Private Office Buildings
Industry Visit for HKGSA Members and Council Patron Members
Guest Lecture at IVE for Civil Engineering Students

Building for the Future – Green Procurement

Kerry Properties Limited takes a holistic view of its responsibility to operate sustainably, expecting best practice not only from the Group itself, but the suppliers, consultants and contractors in its supply chain. Right down the line, the Group aims to ensure that sustainability standards are fully complied with by building constructive relationships with the business partners.

The Green Procurement Manual was first compiled in 2015 by a task force of representatives from different departments and based on literature research and market study. The Manual specified the environmental credentials mandated for 50 products and services routinely used for property management and in head office. In 2017, the Manual was updated to include a further 16 items commonly purchased for property development.

The Manual applies to all properties under the Group’s management in Hong Kong, and mandates strict compliance by all departments. It enables a clearer selection and purchase of green products based on qualities such as durability, recyclability, toxicity, energy consumption, use of clean technology, and emission levels.

To further lead the way in sustainable supply chain management, the property management division launched a hotline service managed by designated staff in 2017 to handle enquiries from suppliers wishing to better understand the Group’s Green Procurement Policy.

By early 2018, the Green Procurement Policy is extended to the mainland China with its full implementation in Shanghai. All future procurements in the mainland China will be governed by this policy, which requires contractors and suppliers to sign the environmental protection guidelines.

The policy makes the Group’s overarching principles clear and simple for all: the products and services procured through its supply chain will have minimal adverse impacts on human health and the environment, compared with conventional alternatives.

Kerry Properties’ Green Procurement programme demonstrates how responsible corporate behaviour can extend along the supply chain by not only choosing suppliers and goods that adhere to high environmental standards, but also assisting partner companies through shared responsibility.

Living Studio: Leigh & Orange Empowering the Youth on Sustainable Development

Resilient Business

Leigh & Orange (L&O) new office, Living Studio, is the first architectural & interior design practice in Hong Kong to attain BEAM Plus Interiors Platinum rating, thanks to L&O’s belief of empowering young designers in their company, youth in the architectural communities, and general public in Hong Kong on sustainable development. L&O has continued to thrive as a significant force in the markets serving this city with high resilience for nearly a century and a half since 1874. This design office has been relocated multiple times since Maritime Hong Kong. In the recent relocation at Dorset house, TaiKoo Place, they paid close attention to the environmental impact on material selection and take proactive actions to minimize the carbon footprint. The practice, which operates throughout China, Hong Kong, and the Middle East, is certified under ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001. L&O operates an integrated quality management system covering building quality, environment, and safety.

Building an Inclusive Community

To combat climate change, engaging L&O community, composing of architects and designers, is the key inclusive measure. Incorporating energy efficient strategies in the daily operational routine encourages behavioural shift toward environmental friendliness. For example, light would be turned off automatically after office hours daily. Manual controls would extend the lighting provision for two hours per activation according to the working zones. Moreover, biophilic design is incorporated in the flexible spatial arrangement promoting health and wellbeing. Sustainability Seminars, weekly fitness classes, “Move It”, and monthly heathy diet programme, “Eat Well”, are examples of utilising transformative space design for staff engagement. Work-life balances are high on corporate social responsibility agenda and viewed as source of creativity and innovation.

Outreach to Youth, Public, and Greater Bay Area

Architecture is a people-business after all. L&O goes above and beyond in outreaching to make sustainable knowledge on Living Studio accessible to the youth and general public. At the community level, L&O and HKGBC co-hosted a sharing session on sustainable development for a group of local secondary school students in January. At the city level, Ms Ivy Lee, Principal Director, share with TVB on sustainable office design, aired on Pearl’s prime time programme, “Money Magazine” in April. At the regional level of Greater Bay Area, Living Studio set precedence for L&O Shenzhen office expansion opened in June. Recognitions are affirmed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Green Office Awards and Caring Company for five consecutive years since 2013. Alongside with the health and wellbeing initiative, Living Studio also received Eco-Healthy Awards Labelling Scheme in 2017.

For more about the green features and achievement of Living Studio, you may visit the project page on BEAM Plus Online Exhibition.

Council Hosted Land Supply Policy Forum

Land shortage has been plaguing Hong Kong in recent years. The Task Force on Land Supply appointed by the Government has launched a five-month public consultation since April with 18 options to boost land supply, aiming to forge consensus on this controversial issue. How development impacts our environment always tops the Council’s agenda, and we understand concerns from the public on the irreversible change to our natural environment during the land-searching quest. Riding on the recent public consultation, we invite relevant stakeholders to join our policy forum on 25 June to voice out their views on this vital issue pointing to the city’s future development. Around 130 participants attended the event.

The policy forum began with an introduction from Mr Stanley Wong, Chairman of The Task Force, on the current situation and the 18 suggestions under three categories - short-to-medium term options, medium-to-long term options and conceptual options. Other speakers, including Dr Billy Hau, Programme Director in Environmental Management of The University of Hong Kong; Mr Ling Kar-kan, Director of Jockey Club Design Institute for Social Innovation and Professor of Practice (Planning) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; and Mr Randy Yu, Vice Chairman of Islands District Council, shared their insights on different development options such as brownfield sites, green zones and reclamation.

The speakers were then joined by Mr Donald Choi, Executive Director and CEO of Chinachem Group (HKGBC Platinum Patron Member) and Ir Cary Chan Wing-hong, Executive Director of HKGBC in a panel discussion for discussion on the environmental, social and economic implications of the options to conclude the policy forum. The speakers and other key industry stakeholders are engaged in further discussion during the luncheon hosted by the Council afterwards.

For the latest update on public engagement activities organised by the Task Force as part of the on-going public consultation, please visit the Task Force’s official website.

Adding Green to Public and Private Office Buildings

The Trade and Industry Tower in the Kai Tak Development Area achieved Final Platinum rating under BEAM Plus New Buildings. Not only can you see the building be “wrapped” with a “green ribbon” – the vertical green wall on façade, the roof is also vegetated, and all greeneries span 43% of the site. Moreover, the tower achieves an energy reduction by around 27% through the use of PV panels, light pipes and the Kai Tak District Cooling system. There is an educational path in the tower, with interactive display, signage and panels that introduce sustainable living and building design to the public. Let’s book for their guided tour!

Apart from that, both New World Tower and Prosperity Tower, which are managed by Urban Property Management, have achieved Excellent grade under Management Aspect of BEAM Plus Existing Buildings V2.0 Selective Scheme. Both buildings were awarded with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 to certify their management system and environmental management system, which help improve the efficiency in maintaining the buildings’ environmental performance. The property management team has also laid down a green purchasing plan to ensure that green products are selected in the procurement process.

There are more building projects in town with exemplary environmental performance. Find out more at BEAM Plus Online Exhibition!

Industry Visit for HKGSA Members and Council Patron Members

We have just arranged industry visits for members of Hong Kong Green Shop Alliance (HKGSA) and our Patron Members on 5 June and 11 June respectively. Participants first visited the Towngas Headquarters to know more about the energy management system and other green features adopted in this BEAM Plus Platinum-rated existing building. Towngas also introduced Cool Kitchen appliances and innovations that could secure their service level.

Participants then learnt the latest trend of smart city and smart building development at Schneider Electric. A number of automated solutions for different types of buildings were introduced as showcases of using technology to achieve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emission.

Similar activities will be held regularly to initiate exchanges of latest solutions and technologies among industry players, so as to enable further collaborations that could strengthen the green building movement.

Guest Lecture at IVE for Civil Engineering Students

The IVE (Tuen Mun) invited the Council to give a presentation on the role of green buildings in the sustainability development to the Year 1 students from the Higher Diploma in Civil Engineering on 4 June. Being a BEAM Professional (BEAM Pro), Ms Gladys So, Sustainability Manager of Nan Fung Development Limited, shared with students the latest green building development, BEAM Plus and relevant professional credentials, on top of the outstanding projects by Nan Fung.

The guest lecture was a valuable opportunity for the students to equip the latest green building knowledge and supplement their current curriculum.

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