May-2018

The New Standard for Green Living

Exclusive Green Finance Luncheon Initiated In-depth Exchange in the Industry
Green Real Estate Finance Event Series: A Multifaceted Discussion of the Emerging Market
Live Green!
IVE Students Visiting BEAM Plus Platinum Campus

The New Standard for Green Living

Green living has become synonymous with ideal living, as eco-friendly homes benefit residents, communities and the entire planet. Naturally, environmentally friendly and energy-saving design is now a major trend in architecture. As one of the leading developers in Hong Kong, Chinachem’s prime concern is to create a healthy and green living environment for residents, right from the construction and design stages, and seamlessly integrate each property into its surroundings in perfect coexistence. The new Parc Inverness embodies this principle – from the use of construction materials, energy and water conservation standards to indoor and outdoor environmental quality. The Parc Inverness development has already been recognised for meeting impressive standards, achieving the BEAM Plus New Building V1.1 Final Gold issued by the Hong Kong Green Building Council. These and other first-rate features have truly made Parc Inverness the new standard for green living.

Award-Winning Green Design

Girded by some 6 million feet of greenery, Parc Inverness is adjacent to Kowloon Tsai Park, which sprawls over 12 hectares of public gardens and recreational areas. Drawing on the geographical advantages of the property, Chinachem was inspired by the concept of the Oasis Jewel to create this gem. More than 40% of the project’s total area has been designed as green areas. Different plants are grown extensively on the pavements, rooftops, sky gardens and around the jogging track circuit, and the central garden while vertical gardens run across parts of the building’s facade. A variety of flower and plant species thrive in Parc Inverness, providing a lush and tranquil backdrop for residents of this luxurious eco-development. In keeping with the low density neighbourhood, Parc Inverness stands only 10 storeys high, allowing residents to take in the magnificent view of Lion Rock without blocking the field of vision of other buildings in the vicinity.

Excellent Energy Saving Performance

Energy saving and environmental conservation are the prerequisites for green buildings and Parc Inverness excels in these aspects. About 89% of the total rooftop area is constructed with cooling materials to alleviate the urban heat island effect. Both the orientation and design of the building invite ample supply of natural light, while maximising natural ventilation. These help lower energy consumption in the long run. To minimise traffic noise, the project employs innovative window technology without sacrificing lighting and air circulation. Heat-insulating and light-transmitting glass films and specially-designed exterior wall materials can lower indoor temperature. To further reduce power consumption, high-efficiency energy-saving air-conditioning systems are installed. In terms of overall effectiveness, the power consumption of the car park has been reduced by an average of over 57%; the lifts have saved an additional 10% of electricity on top on the requirement of the Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance. As for water conservation, the use of eco-friendly water-efficient toilet facilities can help reduce annual sewage discharge by 46% on average and increase the water-saving amount by over 29%. In addition, the light sources on the building exteriors are customised to prevent light pollution.

Earth-Friendly Green Construction Materials

Parc Inverness used environmentally friendly materials that bring zero harm to nature only. The use of volatile organic compounds was purposely reduced, while eco-friendly refrigerants were used to avoid air pollution. The project also meets the Excellent Class Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Standard. To conserve water, Parc Inverness employs an advanced twin-tank system. When water tank cleaning is conducted, water supply need not be interrupted and water quality is guaranteed. The carefully designed sewage discharge system reduces amount of sewage discharge.

To know more about the excellent environmental performance of Parc Inverness, you may visit the project page on BEAM Plus Online Exhibition.

Exclusive Green Finance Luncheon Initiated In-depth Exchange in the Industry

The Hong Kong Government has presented a strategic approach to green finance development in the Policy Address last year and the recently announced Budget, while the support from market is equally important for its wide adoption. As financing green projects that could help energy saving, emission reduction and sustainable development would be an essential and critical part for green financial instruments, it is thus expected the financial sector would value the emergence of green building.

With this flourishing opportunity, HKGBC has organised a series of events in collaboration with GRESB, an international renowned benchmarking agency. The spotlight was on the Exclusive Green Finance Luncheon on 11 May with a strong guest line-up featuring top level management from major developers and financial institutions in Hong Kong, as well as Mr Joseph Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury for an in-depth exchange on the topic.

In his opening speech, Mr Joseph Chan highlighted a number of initiatives dedicated to boost green finance development, including the Government’s upcoming green bond issuance programme and the subsidising scheme for qualified green bond issuers in participating the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency’s Green Finance Certification Scheme. He looked forward to further discussion on the subject and joint effort in developing Hong Kong as a regional green finance hub. GRESB’s Head of EMEA Ms Josien Piek then shared the latest global trend on green real estate finance. She suggested that transparency on ESG performance and positive impact is the key for both investors and lenders in real estate, and therefore interaction between the financial data pillar and the sustainability data pillar by systematic inclusion of ESG in business practices will be the new paradigm for real estate companies to seek green capital.

In addition, sharing of first-hand experience of green bond issuance from Swire Properties, The Link and MTR offered substantial insight like the immense demand of green financial instruments from European investors. The three corporations also used part of the proceeds to finance projects with BEAM Plus certifications, demonstrating that independent third-party assessments could satisfy the need for investors and issuers on verifying projects’ environmental performance.

We hope this Exclusive Green Finance Luncheon could be a valuable opportunity for both real estate and financial sectors, in particular for chief financial officers of developers, to understand the role of green building and peers’ progress in green finance, which could speed up the process of market transformation for the creation of a sustainable built environment in Hong Kong.

Green Real Estate Finance Event Series: A Multifaceted Discussion of the Emerging Market

Green Real Estate Finance Event Series is the Council’s first-ever collaboration with a financial institution. Apart from the building industry, the Council strives to engage different sectors of our society for a total market transformation. The collaboration with GRESB is a fruitful beginning to HKGBC’s future conversation and engagement with the financial sector, introducing the value of green buildings in various aspects.

The Council and WorldGBC Asia Pacific Network are among the supporting organisations of the GRESB-APREA Green Real Estate Financing & Investing Seminar on 9 May, which was well-attended by over 130 participants including many HKGBC Members. The Seminar examined real estate opportunities in the context of green finance and investment strategies.

The Roundtable co-organised by HKGBC and GRESB on 10 May focused on analysis of the market enablers, relevant frameworks and standards as well as government regulations and the impact to real estate sector, with the presence of professional institutes, think tanks, public bodies and representatives from financial and construction sectors. Speakers discussed the green finance instruments that are available, such as green loan and green mortgage, and how these emerging tools could fill the investment gap created by the opportunities from the climate actions and the Paris Agreement, as well as the development needs in China, while guests were engaged in a dynamic exchange of ideas.

Live Green!

The Visionary, a new residential property in Tung Chung, achieved Final Platinum rating under BEAM Plus New Buildings. The development strives to be energy efficient by arranging the towers to reduce solar heat gain and using cool materials on the roof to alleviate urban heat island effect. It also adopts solar thermal hot water system to heat water for residents, which would contribute to 2.5% of the building energy consumption.

Existing residential buildings can contribute to a greener living place as well! Managed by Island South Property Management Limited, Bel-Air achieved Excellent grade under Management Aspect of BEAM Plus Existing Buildings V2.0 Selective Scheme. The property management team published a Green Living User Guide, where residents can make reference on green tips for their home decoration. The team also sets up a hotline and conducts satisfaction survey to communicate with residents on environmental matters of facility management on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, the headquarters of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Wong Fung Ling Memorial Building, has completed assessment for another aspect of Existing Buildings V2.0, and achieved Excellent Grade in Water Use. Most of the water taps in the building are replaced with higher efficiency taps which certified with Grade 1 (the most water-efficient) under Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme by Water Supplies Department. With another Excellent Grade achieved in Site Aspect, it is the first project in town scoring a double of top ratings under the Selective Scheme.

There are more residential and commercial projects with exemplary environmental performance. Find out more at BEAM Plus Online Exhibition!

IVE Students Visiting BEAM Plus Platinum Campus

A total of 26 students from Year 1 of Environmental Engineering of IVE (Tsing Yi) visited the Hang Seng Management College (HSMC) on 3 May. The aim of the tour is to provide the students real life examples on the design and operation of a BEAM Plus Platinum awarded green campus.

Before the tour, Ir Vincent Kong, Sustainability Manager of Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency Limited delivered a presentation on the latest green building development. The students then had the chance to behold the green features in different locations of HSMC. All of them are impressed with HSMC’s commitment in pursuing a sustainable campus for its occupants.

All the participating students have registered as HKGBC Student Member to show their interest in developing their future career in the green building industry.

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