2013
Community Awareness
- Organised the “Love Food, Waste Not” Summit to provide a platform for representatives from the 18 District Councils and community stakeholder groups to share their experiences in mobilising community action in waste reduction. The event also included the Award Presentation Ceremony for the Programme on Source Separation of Waste.
- Organised events for World Environment Day which included the “WED 2013 - Love Food, Waste Not” Campaign to engage households, a “Wallpaper Design Competition” targeting primary and secondary school students and a “Video Filming Competition” for post-secondary school students. All three events encouraged people to reduce food waste.
- Held the 2012 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) Awards Presentation Ceremony cum 2013 HKAEE Launching Ceremony with the Environmental Campaign Committee.
Environmental Compliance
- Co-organised the joint annual Safety, Health and Environmental Seminar for the construction industry with CLP, CEDD, HyD and MTRC . The seminar promoted green construction technology and strategies for preventing, managing and resolving pollution complaints.
Air
- Consulted the local marine trade and other stakeholders on upgrading the quality of local marine light diesel.
- Released “A Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong” to outline comprehensively and clearly the challenges Hong Kong is facing with regard to air quality, as well as the relevant policies, measures and future plans to tackle this problem.
- Released the Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Monitoring Report for 2012.
- Consulted the shipping trade on a proposal to require ocean-going vessels to switch to cleaner fuel while berthing in Hong Kong waters.
- Enacted the Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 for new Air Quality Objectives that took effect 1 January 2014.
- Commenced a one-off subsidy programme to replace the catalytic converters and oxygen sensors of petrol and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) taxis and light buses.
- Released the Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Monitoring Report for the firsthalf of 2013.
- Launched a new Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), to replace the Air Pollution Index (API) and communicate the health effects of air pollution to the public in a more effective and timely manner.
- Commenced operation of the Tuen Mun Air Quality Monitoring Station.
Energy
- Launched the Energy Saving Charter on Indoor Temperature and the Energy Saving Charter on No Incandescent Light Bulbs, aimed reducing electricity consumption through air conditioning and the use of energy-inefficient incandescent light bulbs. The charters are a joint initiative of the ENB and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department.
- Marked the deadline for energy audits of the first batch of buildings affected under the Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance. These were commercial buildings and commercial portions of composite buildings that had their occupation permits issued in or after 1988.
Waste
- Awarded the Outlying Islands Transfer Facilities Follow-on Contract.
- Awarded the North Lantau Transfer Station Follow-on Contract.
- Formally launched the Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign, which is a social mobilisation campaign to galvanise the community, from individuals to households to C&I operators, to avoid and reduce food waste at source.
- Introduced the Product Eco-responsibility (Amendment) Bill 2013 in the Legislative Council to extend the Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags to all retail outlets.
- Completed a public consultation on the mandatory Producer Responsibility Scheme on Glass Beverage Bottles.
- Invited the Council for Sustainable Development to commence a second-stage public engagement on the implementation details of quantity-based municipal solid waste charging. The engagement exercise ran for four months.
- Invited tenders for the “design-build-operate” contract of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Treatment Facility.
- Held two engagement sessions on ways to promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s recycling industry and to support recycling operations. A total of about 130 stakeholders participated from the recycling trade, green groups, non-government organisations, community groups, academia, and various councils and committees.
- Successfully obtained funding approval of $18.8 million from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council to implement a subsidy scheme for retrofitting private refuse collection vehicles with metal tailgate covers and waste water sump tanks, so as to enhance their environmental performance during waste transportation.
- Enlisted 1 979 housing estates/residential buildings and 861 commercial & industrial buildings to join the Programme on Source Separation of Waste.
Customer Service and Partnership
- Organised the Environmental Ambassador Appointment Ceremony for 2013-2015 in collaboration with the two SME vehicle repair trade associations and the Hong Kong Productivity Council.
- Collaborated with Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong District Councils to conduct environmental building audits under the Quality Building Management Competitions.
Cross Boundary and International Co-operation
- The Hong Kong/Guangdong Joint Liaison Group on Combating Climate Change held its second meeting in Hong Kong.
- Co-organised the 8th EcoExpo in Hong Kong.
- Co-organised the 5th Award Ceremony for the Cleaner Production Partners Joint Recognition Scheme.
Sustainable Development
- Established the Steering Committee to Promote the Sustainable Development of the Recycling Industry, chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, to enhance co-ordination among relevant bureaux and departments in this area.
- Launched the 11th round of applications under the Sustainable Development Fund.