“I thought the tradition of inviting all the families that had a funeral during the year come back for a short Christmas program, and giving each family a ceramic ornament with the deceased’s picture inserted into the ornament was a wonderful gesture. It made me order a Christmas tree to display my beautiful wife’s picture on the tree!”
"Everybody at Hitzemans' did a great job in there attentiveness, concern and action during a stressful time. Thank you."Tom Winkler Wauconda, IL … [Read More...]
Hiwan features 5 post tensioned concrete courts designed by EJ Renner in 1989 and completely resurfaced in 2014
USTA League play spring-summer and autumn with competitive and recreational teams for adults and juniors
This Yellow Plastic Unbreakable 14 oz. frosted tumbler cup is proudly made in the USA. BPA free and recyclable this 4.5″ tall drink holder makes an excellent piece for every day use.
Environmental Forum on Green Building and the Community: A Dialogue on the Latest Green Building Development
Riding on the organisation of World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 Hong Kong (WSBE17 Hong Kong) and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong’s first local green building assessment tool in 2016, the Council has conducted data analysis and launched a brochure titled Hong Kong: Green Building in Action to summarise Hong Kong's green building development status.
The brochure, presented in form of infographics, contains up-to-date key and interesting figures that showcase the city's built environment, HKGBC's work and, in particular, the outstanding achievement of BEAM Plus, the local green building assessment tool. For example, it presents the achievement in energy and water saving by BEAM Plus assessed projects and estimates their contribution in reducing carbon emission. The performance of BEAM Plus projects in specific areas such as creation of a healthy living environment and liveability are also available for reference. Part of the content is also featured in the exhibition of WSBE17 Hong Kong for conference delegates to know more about our progress and achievement.
The Biz-Green Dress Day has been appealing to the business community since its first launch in 2013. We encourage office workers to dress light to minimise air-conditioning and energy consumption in the offices, thus reducing the carbon emission of office buildings. The cause has received overwhelming support over the years.
Organisations and companies which are interested in taking part as a Supporting Organisation in this year’s Biz-Green Dress Day may simply fill in the reply slip in the event page and return to us at marketing@hkgbc.org.hk. The Council will later share an electronic poster to facilitate internal promotion. We of course welcome participating organisations and individuals to share Biz-Green snapshots through your own social media channels and add the hashtag “#BizGreen” to spread the message. You may also share your Biz-Green photos with us for posting on our Facebook and Instagram to tell the world how Biz-Green you are.
ZCB has been showcasing the state-of-the-art eco-building design and technologies to the construction industry locally and internationally and raising community awareness of low carbon living since its grand opening in 2012. It is now transformed into “Climate Change and My Smart City” Experience Centre, featuring an array of latest technologies that help turn Hong Kong into a smart and sustainable city.
“Smart City & Sustainable Built Environment” is one of the key themes featured in the Experience Centre. Visitors can find out more about BEAM Plus, the green building assessment tool certified by the HKGBC, and get to know the outstanding Final Platinum projects and how BEAM Plus projects contribute to building a green Hong Kong. You may get a BEAM Plus shopping bag by visiting our exhibition area before 31 August. Please check out the Council’s Facebook page for more details and join the Facebook game.
Latest information and technologies about climate change, smart living as well as health and wellbeing can also be found in the Experience Centre. Book your tour now with your friends and get to know more about how we can join hands to combat climate change and support the movement of smart city!
Get to know the excellent BEAM Plus projects in Hong Kong! Come and have a quick glance at the 29 projects that have achieved BEAM Plus Final Platinum rating.
Take a souvenir home! You can pick the stamps with green building icons on them, and stamp on a set of worksheets designed by us. It’s exclusive to the exhibition at ZCB!
Improving energy efficiency of existing buildings is one of the prime priorities in combating climate change. In May 2015, the Government launched the Energy Saving Plan for Hong Kong’s Built Environment 2015~2025+. The plan aims to achieve an energy intensity reduction of 40% by 2025 using 2005 as the base. The Environmental Bureau then further developed a “4Ts framework”, namely Target, Timeline, Transparency and Together, to engage the industry stakeholder in joining hands and achieving the energy saving target.
The HKGBC, being a professional body and partner of the Government, launched the “ACT-Shop” programme in 2016. The programme aligns with Government’s initiatives and adopts the 4Ts approach to assist building owners to enhance the energy performance of the existing buildings, with the aim to encourage the implementation of knowledge-based energy management and retro-commissioning practices in buildings. By participating in ACT-Shop, building owners could identify the improvement potentials on energy saving and make decisions based on the data analysed.
The second batch of ACT-Shop pilot projects has already been launched. The participating companies have carried out retro-commissioning in their own buildings. During the process, the HKGBC has facilitated the participants to build up the in-house competence of their staff by sharing data analysis techniques and providing advice on different retro-commissioning measures based on individual pilot building’s operations.
Sharing of knowledge is important in inducing behavioural changes of the building practitioners. The HKGBC was invited to share the progress of ACT-Shop in two seminars organised by the Electrical and Mechanical Service Department (EMSD). Moreover, four pilot projects of the programme are covered in the Technical Guidelines on Retro-commissioning published by the EMSD. The ACT-Shop programme is welcomed by participating organisations and the Government as it promotes retro-commissioning as a good energy saving practice in the local building industry.
The third batch of pilot project and an Active Training Course will be organised and launched later this year.
To raise the awareness of professionals, students and public about the latest development of green buildings, an education seminar “Environmental Forum on Green Building and the Community” was jointly organised by the Council and The Open University of Hong Kong. The event received very positive response with 10 supporting organisations and an attendance of around 230 participants.
Mr WONG Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment, delivered a presentation on the World Trend and Policies of Green Building in Hong Kong. Speakers then introduced the BEAM Plus schemes (Existing Buildings, New Buildings, Interiors and Neighbourhood) by case sharing on different BEAM Plus platinum projects. The sharing was followed by a panel discussion “Green Building and YOU”, during which winners of the Green Building Award shared their views and rationales of implementing green elements in shopping mall, residential development, school and historic building revitalisation.
The forum will be aired in the “Open for Learning” programme on Sunday morning at TVB Pearl in Q4 this year. Stay tuned!
One more green building project is completed in Kai Tak, infusing green energy into this new neighbourhood! The development project of Urban Renewal Authority at 3 Muk Chui Street achieved Final Platinum rating under BEAM Plus New Buildings. The most significant green feature is the sky community at the top level of the building, which provides plenty of green spaces for residents to relax, chat and stroll around. The units are also designed to optimise natural ventilation and daylighting, so that residents can enjoy a comfortable indoor environment and use less energy for air-conditioning and lighting.
Lee Garden One Offices completed its Final Assessment for Existing Buildings and achieved the highest Final Platinum rating. Apart from upgrading the hardware like energy-efficient centralised air-conditioning system and water efficient faucets to improve the environmental performance, the Property Services Team has been continuously engaging with tenants in different environmental initiatives, working together towards the green goal. To know more about Lee Garden One Offices’ green management, have a look at its project page on BEAM Plus Online Exhibition: http://greenbuilding.hkgbc.org.hk/projects/view/69
In October 2016, “Better Places for People” Global Campaign launched its latest report on green office business case. Aiming to reach readers and corporations in Chinese-speaking regions to and encourage them to join the green office movement, WorldGBC commissioned the HKGBC to translate the report into Chinese, and the Chinese version is now available for download. We welcome you to download the report and other useful materials related to the Global Campaign in the new campaign page.
The Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) held the “Zero Carbon Fun Fair” at the ZCB and Kwun Tong Community Green Station (KTCGS) in Kowloon Bay on 11 June to mark the World Environment Day (WED). With the theme “Climate Ready and Low Carbon Living”, nearly 40 government departments, non-government organisations, green groups, schools and public utilities joined hands in promoting environmental awareness and low carbon living in various aspects of daily life, including clothing, food, living and travelling.
Apart from greeting the public, GB Buddy joined celebrity Ram CHIANG and other green mascots including Big Waster and Hanson of the Environment Bureau, Keep Clean Ambassador Ah Tak of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Water Save Dave of the Water Supplies Department to perform the theme song “Climate Ready@HK”. The Council also prepared a game and exhibited the champion entries of “My Green Space” Green Building Competition for Schools 2016 at our booth for fair-goers to know more about green building in a fun way.
Over 30 green booths and upcycling workshops were set up at the Fun Fair to promote low-carbon lifestyle. A variety of other programmes, including interactive drama, kids’ musicals, juggling show and a live green music performance were also staged. At the KTCGS next to ZCB, “swap party”, green workshops and live band shows were organised to further spread the message of “use less, waste less”.
The WED was commemorated on 5 June by the United Nations in 1972 with a view to raising public awareness of environmental protection and encouraging political attention to anticipate environmental problems. Since its establishment in 1990, the ECC has organised activities to mark the WED in Hong Kong.
Allied Environmental Consultants Limited (AEC) is a Hong Kong based sustainability and environmental consulting firm with over 20 years’ experience in providing green building and environmental consultancy services. We always strive to offer the most comprehensive and cost-effective solutions to enhance environmental performance and sustainability design for our clients, while contributing to a more sustainably built, greener Hong Kong.
With a view to exchanging insights with green building and sustainability professionals from around the globe, AEC hosted a parallel session on Day 2 of the World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 Hong Kong (WSBE17 Hong Kong). Themed “Emerging Practices in Sustainable Built Environment”, the parallel session focused on how sustainability best practices can be applied to local buildings, together with some case studies shared by our colleagues and clients from award-winning green buildings in Hong Kong.
Towngas Headquarters, one of the showcased green buildings in the parallel session, is the first non-residential building in Hong Kong that has achieved the highest Final Platinum rating under the BEAM Plus Existing Buildings. A variety of energy saving initiatives have been in place to reduce electricity consumption during the building’s daily operation, ranging from motion sensors to oil-free variable speed water-cooled chiller. In addition, Towngas Headquarters has been adopting a range of best practices for enhancing its sustainability performance, such as OHSAS 18001 and various management plans including Environmental Purchasing Plan, Water Conservation Plan, Green Cleaning Plan, among others.
The parallel session also featured Hang Seng Management College, the first higher education institution with building awarded BEAM Plus Final Platinum rating. To develop a sustainable campus, the College has adopted a variety of green features when executing its Master Campus Expansion Plan starting from the site planning and design stage, such as selection of rapidly renewable bamboo products as building materials and adoption of District Cooling System for enhancing energy efficiency. When it comes to the operation and maintenance stage, the College has been managing and monitoring its building performance through deploying various management tools, for instance, Building Management System and auditing tools including energy audit, carbon audit and waste audit.
Apart from accreditation as BEAM Plus Platinum-rated projects, the two showcased green building projects received more recognition during the Gala Dinner of the WSBE17 Hong Kong. Towngas Headquarters was recognised as the project with the highest score for BEAM Plus Existing Buildings, whereas Hang Seng Management College was recognised as the organisation with the most BEAM Plus Final Platinum Projects. We are thankful to our clients for giving us the opportunities to participate in these two green building projects and to make a contribution to creating a sustainable built environment.