Photo of R.J.S. LAW, JP

This is the third environmental performance report produced by the EPD and the fact that readers cannot hold it in their hands is a sign of our efforts to improve our operations. Only Internet and CD-ROM versions have been made available, as part of our drive to reduce paper consumption. Paper use is a minor area of concern for the EPD, but it is highly symbolic of how we can control our impacts on the environment.

Our main work is focused on improving Hong Kong's overall environment and in 2001 we achieved measurable improvements in air and water quality. We also undertook a number of initiatives to reduce waste (for full details of our policies and programmes, see Environment Hong Kong 2002). Additionally, we continued to contribute to the development of the environmental management profession in Hong Kong and elsewhere, by organising conferences, seminars and other events on a variety of issues.

Internally, we looked more closely at our environmental management system (EMS) and its compatibility with ISO 14001 requirements. A gap analysis concluded that the focus of our EMS needed to shift from green housekeeping to management of the overall environmental performance of our internal operations. We are now reviewing ways to make our EMS more effective and thus improve our environmental performance.

On green housekeeping, we managed to reduce paper consumption by 16.6 per cent in 2001, after a slight increase in 2000, thanks to staff efforts to reduce paper use and to increase the use of electronic communication. However, electricity consumption was up slightly, mainly due to increases in our workload and the operating hours of air-conditioning equipment for our new servers.

The EPD will continue to look for ways to reduce its impacts on the environment, whether it is paper use, electricity consumption or the operation of landfills. Our targets at the end of this report indicate where we want to make improvements in 2002, but we also welcome readers' feedback. If you have any comments to make on this report, please e-mail us (enquiry@epd.gov.hk) or use the feedback form in this report.

Signature of R.J.S. LAW, JP

R.J.S. LAW, JP
Director of Environmental Protection