Promoting Environmental Management Systems
Environmental management systems (EMSs) enable companies to incorporate environmental concerns into their daily operations and decision-making. The ISO 14001 EMS is widely recognised and the EPD has established a directory of certified companies in Hong Kong. Some 550 ISO certificates were held by local organisations by the end of 2007, including 11 Government departments (the EPD's Environmental Infrastructure Division is among them). Moreover, the EPD has established a special web page with testimonies from certified companies on how they implemented their EMSs. More than 120 companies have provided input.
ISO 14001 certification will become mandatory for certain contractors bidding for Housing Department's construction works from April 2008. To help with the transition, the Compliance Assistance Centre has given presentations on ISO 14001 standard and provided other support to operators.
Notes:
| a) |
ISO 14001 certification was originally obtained by the Printing Department in December 2001 and by the Government Supplies Department in February 2003 before they merged with the Government Land Transport Agency on 1 July 2003 to form the Government Logistics Department.
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| b) |
The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) was established on 1 July 2004 when the former Civil Engineering Department and Territory Development Department were merged. |
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| Government departments with ISO 14001 certification. |
Handling Enquiries and Complaints
The EPD receives thousands of calls from the public every year enquiring about environmental laws and complaining about pollution. The officers in our Customer Service Centre receive training on environmental matters, and how to serve customers politely and efficiently, from the EPD and reputable institutes such as the Hong Kong Management Association. They are able to resolve more than 45 per cent of complaints over the phone and refer the remainder to regional and territorial offices for follow-up.
In 2007, the EPD handled 25 150 pollution complaints from the public (another 2 381 complaints were investigated by the Police). This was similar to 2006. More than three-quarters of the complaints concerned air pollution and noise. We also handled 35 811 general enquiries.
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