2016-08-31
[Press Release] Hong Kong Green Building Week 2016: The Power of Social Media Reaches the Green Community
Promoting the sustainable built environment
with five programmes supported by over 100 organisations
Hong Kong, 31 August 2016 – The Hong Kong Green Building Week (HKGBW) has been a well-received campaign since its launch in 2013. This year, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) again co-organised the HKGBW to boost public awareness of the development of green buildings and construction, as well as the green lifestyle. The Launching Ceremony of HKGBW 2016 was held at Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui today.
The fourth year of the campaign saw continuous support from the Environment Bureau and participation from a number of NGOs, social enterprises, corporations and organisations, with a series of exciting events taking place from 31 August to 17 September. At today’s Launching Ceremony, the officiating guests Mr WONG Kam-sing, GBS, JP, Secretary for the Environment, Sr CHAN Ka-kui, BBS, JP, Chairman of the CIC, and Mr CHEUNG Hau-wai, SBS, Chairman of the HKGBC together encouraged the public to join the HKGBW 2016.
The HKGBW is fully funded by the CIC. Chairman Sr CHAN Ka-kui, BBS, JP said today, “This is already the fourth consecutive year that the CIC works with the HKGBC in organising the HKGBW. We wish to boost the public awareness and engagement in the green building development through this campaign. The CIC is committed to minimising the industry’s impact on the environment and enhancing our competence so as to improve the environment of Hong Kong in general. Besides joining hands with the HKGBC to promote green building, we are devoting significant resources to the operation of the Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) at Kowloon Bay. ZCB shows how the public can adopt a zero-carbon lifestyle, and we welcome everyone to visit and experience.”
Mr CHEUNG Hau-wai, SBS, Chairman of the HKGBC, hopes that more people will adopt a green lifestyle. He said, “The Hong Kong green building assessment tool BEAM Plus was launched in 2010. By the end of 2014, the estimated annual electricity saving of the assessed buildings is around 240 million kWh. This is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 51,000 households. A total 166,000 tonnes of carbon emission is avoided. The impact equals planting 7.4 million trees. It is a major step to mitigate climate change. The participation of the public is important. I urge everyone to continue to support the green movement and HKGBW, and start to live a greener life.”
The five major programmes of HKGBW 2016 are: the Video Idea Contest, Mini LegCo and Youth Forum, Biz-Green Dress Day, Green Building Ideas Pitch and an online campaign with a series of games and green living messages. Among them, the Video Idea Contest is a brand-new programme that aims to gather creative ideas from the new generation on how to put green building concepts into practice. The winners were awarded during the Launching Ceremony today. The winning idea from Mr CHEANG Chi-hang is to mimic that there are technicians working inside appliances such as air-conditioners. They are forced to work overtime when users forget to turn off the appliances. To save them from exhaustion, users simply need to turn off the switch. The idea demonstrates how simple it is to practice green in everyday life.
This idea has been adopted in the HKGBW 2016 videos with the support of internet celebrities. The videos are broadcast in mass media channels and social media platforms to promote green building and sustainable lifestyle. The YouTube video can be viewed at (Cantonese version only):
https://youtu.be/0xFZpOIr8xE
Another programme of HKGBW, the Biz-Green Dress Day on 14 September, encourages office workers to dress lighter and turn the thermostat up to save energy. It has already received support from over 100 corporations and organisations. The HKGBW mascot GB Buddy (綠築仔) and the popular character from the Environment Bureau Big Waster (大嘥鬼) will show up at two commercial areas to promote the Biz-Green concept. Office workers are welcome to take selfies with the mascots and upload their photos to social media channels to get a prize. Details are as follows:
- 12:00pm – 2:30pm Taikoo Place
- 5:00pm – 7:00pm Pedestrian area outside Hang Lung Centre, Causeway Bay
Photo captions
Photo 1: (From left) Mr CHEUNG Hau-wai, SBS, Chairman of the HKGBC; Mr WONG Kam-sing, GBS, JP, Secretary for the Environment and Sr CHAN Ka-kui, BBS, JP, Chairman of the CIC together waved the magic wands in their hands to eliminate the bad habits that worsen the climate change, encouraging the public to join the HKGBW 2016.
Photo 2: Mr WONG Kam-sing, GBS, JP, Secretary for the Environment (front row, third left), and representatives from the CIC, the HKGBC and the programme partners showed their support for HKGBW 2016 and encouraged the public to adopt the green lifestyle.
Photo 3: Mr WONG Kam-sing, GBS, JP, Secretary for the Environment, with the champion of the Video Idea Contest, Mr CHEANG Chi-hang.
Photo 4: Internet celebrities Hay WONG, Smiling Boris and Ah Sing, who also starred in the HKGBW 2016 promotional videos, took a selfie with Mr WONG Kam-sing, GBS, JP, Secretary for the Environment, and all the guests.
Appendix: Hong Kong Green Building Week 2016 Programmes
| Programmes | Timeframe | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Video Idea Contest | Video Idea Contest April – May Launch of promotional video and radio clips Starting mid-August |
Every year, the HKGBW produces a TV promotional video to raise the awareness of local green building development and green lifestyle. Partnered with internet celebrities this year, the Video Idea Contest gathered creative ideas from the public. The winning idea has been adopted in the HKGBW 2016 video and radio clips, which have been broadcast through mass media channels and Youtube starting from mid-August. |
| Mini LegCo and Youth Forum | 10 September | Now in its fourth edition, Mini LegCo and Youth Forum targets all secondary school students in Hong Kong. The participating students honed their team spirit, public speaking skills and knowledge in green building during the workshops in the summer vacation. On 10 September, the students will gather at the LegCo Complex and play the roles of LegCo President, LegCo Members and Government Officials at a mock LegCo motion debate about a sustainability issue. This will be followed by a “Dialogue with the Secretary" session in which the students will meet Mr WONG Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment, for further interaction. |
| Biz-Green Dress Day | 14 September | Biz-Green Dress Day encourages office workers to dress lighter and turn the thermostat up to save energy in office buildings. On that day, the HKGBW mascot GB Buddy (綠築仔) and Big Waster (大嘥鬼) will show up at Taikoo Place and Causeway Bay to promote the Biz-Green concept. |
| Green Building Ideas Pitch – Pitching Event | 17 September | Entering its third edition, the programme has attracted a number of good ideas to build a greener Hong Kong. This two-month business incubation programme invited green building professionals, entrepreneurs and social enterprise thought leaders to guide the participants throughout the programme, helping them develop business acumen, unleash their creativity and formulate feasible green business plans. |
| Online campaign: games and promotion | July to September | In this summer, HKGBW 2016 is launching a series of interesting green living messages and two online games to promote the green building concept among the public and community. |
About Hong Kong Green Building Week 2016 (HKGBW 2016)
Jointly organised by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC), the Hong Kong Green Building Week 2016 will be held from 31 August to 17 September 2016. Through a series of programmes, HKGBW 2016 encourages the public to live a greener life and understand more about local green building development. The programmes are:
- Video Idea Contest
- Mini LegCo and Youth Forum
- Green Building Ideas Pitch
- Biz-Green Dress Day
- Online campaign: games and promotion
To learn more about HKGBW 2016, please visit:
Website of HKGBW 2016: https://www.hkgbc.org.hk/eng/engagement/public-initiatives/hkgbw/index.jsp
Facebook page of HKGBC: https://www.facebook.com/hkgreenbuildingcouncil
HKGBW 2016 is fully funded by the CIC.
About the Organisers
Construction Industry Council
The Construction Industry Council (CIC) was formed in 2007 under the Construction Industry Council Ordinance (Cap. 587). The CIC consists of a chairman and 24 members representing various sectors of the industry including employers, professionals, academics, contractors, workers, independent persons and Government officials.
The main functions of the CIC are to forge consensus on long-term strategic issues, convey the industry’s needs and aspirations to Government, provide training and registration for the construction workforce and serve as a communication channel for Government to solicit advice on all construction-related matters.
Please visit www.cic.hk for further details.
Hong Kong Green Building Council
The Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) is a non-profit, member led organisation established in 2009 with the vision to help save the planet and improve the wellbeing of the people of Hong Kong by transforming the city into a greener built environment. The Founding Members of the HKGBC include the Construction Industry Council (CIC), the Business Environment Council (BEC), the BEAM Society Limited (BSL) and the Professional Green Building Council (PGBC). Its mission is to lead the market transformation by advocating green policies to the Government; introducing green building practices to all stakeholders; setting design, construction and management standards for the building profession; and promoting green living to the people of Hong Kong.
To learn more about the HKGBC, please visit www.hkgbc.org.hk.
Press Contacts
| Bonnie LAM Betake Marketing (HK) Limited Tel: +852 6890 2682 / +852 2730 3138 Email: bonnie@betake.com.hk |
Eman LEUNG Betake Marketing (HK) Limited Tel: +852 9773 0728 / +852 2730 3138 Email: eman@betake.com.hk |
| Esther LAI / Patricia CHIU Corporate Developments Construction Industry Council Tel: +852 2100 9038 / +852 2100 9044 Email: corpcomm@cic.hk |
Janet TANG Hong Kong Green Building Council Secretariat Tel：+852 3994 8832 Email: janet.tang@hkgbc.org.hk |