2025-01-28
HKGBC's Response to 2025-26 Budget Public Consultation (只提供英文版)
In response to the public consultation exercise for the 2025-26 Budget, the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) submitted the following suggestions in tackling the climate change issues and achieving net zero, healthy and resilient buildings in Hong Kong as well as promoting new growth area for green building professional services:
1. Prioritizing retrofitting of existing buildings and associated green financing as a key driver for carbon neutrality
Building-related activities account for some 90% of Hong Kong’s total electricity consumption and over half of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is obvious that green buildings play a crucial role in achieving energy savings and tackling the climate change issues in Hong Kong. HKGBC has published the “Retrofitting Guidebook” to promote and facilitate the industry in implementing retrofitting for better operational performance in energy efficiency for their building stocks. Retrofitting would involve capital expenditure, which is one of the major barriers for building owners. It is envisaged that green finance will be able to provide support to the industry for retrofitting and hence improving the performance of their buildings.
We would like to suggest the Government to take the lead and provide necessary framework for implementing retrofitting in the existing building stock so as to drive towards achieving carbon neutrality goals by improving energy efficiency and hence saving energy costs for building owners. Such drive can also encourage innovation and technology development in retrofitting projects, create considerable economic activity for banks, professionals, consultants, contractors, etc., and further cements HK’s position as an international green finance centre. The framework can include setting up suitable rating system to determine the energy efficiency performance of all existing buildings based on similar overseas experience. Buildings with high performance rating can be provided with recognition for them to attract tenants and hence enhance their asset values. On the other hand, buildings with low performance rating should be required to set target and timeline for achieving improvement. Consideration may also be given to set up extra funding support in this respect and exploring the provision of green loans/mortgages as key incentives for existing buildings to go green.
We also suggest the Government take the lead by implementing retrofitting to the 8,000 plus existing government buildings and facilities as well as public housing. Apart from setting an example and exhibiting the Government’s determination, this can help reduce government expenditure on energy consumption.
In order to break the financial barrier on retrofitting, funding may be allocated to set up a platform for trading the energy saved in retrofitting as carbon credits. The establishment of such a trading platform can help to create funding structures to back retrofitting projects. If standards or criteria can be developed to turn energy savings into carbon credits, it can be the sustainable means to provide monetary incentives for retrofitting projects. The carbon credits represent extra energy savings compared with baseline scenario (i.e. energy reduction targets stipulated in the Climate Action Plan). Facility management companies can produce technical proposals to their clients and play a major role in obtaining financial support for the retrofitting projects. The carbon credits generated can be put to the voluntary market or purchased by the Government to offset carbon emissions. It is recommended that the Government should provide the initial investment for setting up the necessary platform to facilitate carbon credit trading.
The Council is pleased to see the Government's continued development of green and sustainable finance, promotion of green technology, and commitment to establishing Hong Kong as an international hub for green finance. Collaboration between green buildings and green finance is crucial for driving decarbonisation in the built environment. The BEAM Plus and Zero-Carbon-Ready Building Certification Schemes have been included in HKMA's Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance published last year. By adopting the said certification, stakeholders can set energy performance benchmarks, establish carbon neutrality goals, and justify projects for green financing. It is necessary to develop suitable operational guidelines for the said Taxonomy. HKGBC will actively collaborate with the Government, HKMA and the industry in this respect with a view to accelerating the decarbonisation process in the entire built environment of Hong Kong.
Mandatory implementation of energy management opportunities identified from energy audits should be considered for inclusion into the legislation where practicable. In terms of mandatory disclosure of information in energy audit reports, we suggest disclosing more energy-related information so as to enhance market transparency and encourage participation in energy-saving retrofitting and retro-commissioning. Mandatory disclosure and benchmarking of building energy use and building energy efficiency have already been implemented in other countries. Other than being able to motivate building owners to improve their buildings’ energy performance, the database can facilitate the formulating of new policies like mandatory cap and trade systems for the region. While reducing energy demand of existing buildings can directly reduce carbon emissions, it can also significantly reduce the capital investments for zero carbon energy supply infrastructures and enhance our capabilities on adaptation and resilience under extreme weathers.
2. Mainstreaming adoption of green building practices through BEAM Plus and relevant certification schemes
For the ESG reporting required by HKEX, inclusion of green building adoption on property portfolio (e.g. attainment of BEAM Plus certification) in the ESG reports will definitely be helpful to support green building developments and hence strive towards achieving carbon neutrality in Hong Kong. Therefore, we suggest that HKEX can consider to make it mandatory for listed companies with building assets to adopt and report BEAM Plus assessment in their ESG disclosure.
As a pre-requisite for seeking Gross Floor Area (GFA) concessions, new building projects are required to register for the BEAM Plus rating scheme. The BEAM Plus assessments have encouraged the building industry to utilise green building technologies, enhance the health and wellbeing of building occupants, reduce the environmental impact of buildings (and to make positive contributions wherever feasible), as well as make buildings more efficient and emit less carbon. We see that the efforts should also be extended to the 42,000 plus existing buildings in Hong Kong through policy drive and financial incentives. This is a new growth area that are well supported by innovation and technology developments, particularly in the implementation of retrofitting and retro-commissioning in line with the carbon neutrality roadmap of our Climate Action Plan.
We suggest the Government to take the lead by requiring the 8,000 plus existing government buildings and facilities as well as public housing to obtain BEAM Plus Existing Buildings (EB) and Interiors (BI) certification so as to set examples for the public and private sectors to follow. The first possible step is to revise the existing Government Circular on green government buildings so as to urge all existing government buildings to gradually apply for BEAM Plus certification through the provision of necessary technical and financial support. To manifest the Government’s determined efforts, it may be advantageous for the Government to demonstrate its decisiveness by indicating in the Budget current resources spent and/or committed in achieving relevant certification as well as conducting retrofitting and retro-commissioning works for existing government buildings.
Besides, HKGBC has published the "Climate Change Framework for Built Environment" and relevant Guidebooks as well as launched the "Zero-Carbon-Ready" and “Net-Zero-Energy” Building Certification Schemes. These initiatives encourage the industry to adopt systematic and benchmark-driven approaches to reduce energy consumption, and provide the industry with clear standards to enhance energy performance, benchmark testing standards and increase tenant engagement, while also contribute to the establishment of milestones for green finance. We recommend the Government to take the lead by encouraging all government departments as well as their Carbon Neutrality (CN) partners from public and private sectors to adopt the said Framework and Guidebooks in enhancing their operational performance, and obtain certification for government buildings and public housing where appropriate through the above Schemes.
In addition, other new initiatives may also be explored, such as:
1. Prioritizing retrofitting of existing buildings and associated green financing as a key driver for carbon neutrality
Building-related activities account for some 90% of Hong Kong’s total electricity consumption and over half of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is obvious that green buildings play a crucial role in achieving energy savings and tackling the climate change issues in Hong Kong. HKGBC has published the “Retrofitting Guidebook” to promote and facilitate the industry in implementing retrofitting for better operational performance in energy efficiency for their building stocks. Retrofitting would involve capital expenditure, which is one of the major barriers for building owners. It is envisaged that green finance will be able to provide support to the industry for retrofitting and hence improving the performance of their buildings.
We would like to suggest the Government to take the lead and provide necessary framework for implementing retrofitting in the existing building stock so as to drive towards achieving carbon neutrality goals by improving energy efficiency and hence saving energy costs for building owners. Such drive can also encourage innovation and technology development in retrofitting projects, create considerable economic activity for banks, professionals, consultants, contractors, etc., and further cements HK’s position as an international green finance centre. The framework can include setting up suitable rating system to determine the energy efficiency performance of all existing buildings based on similar overseas experience. Buildings with high performance rating can be provided with recognition for them to attract tenants and hence enhance their asset values. On the other hand, buildings with low performance rating should be required to set target and timeline for achieving improvement. Consideration may also be given to set up extra funding support in this respect and exploring the provision of green loans/mortgages as key incentives for existing buildings to go green.
We also suggest the Government take the lead by implementing retrofitting to the 8,000 plus existing government buildings and facilities as well as public housing. Apart from setting an example and exhibiting the Government’s determination, this can help reduce government expenditure on energy consumption.
In order to break the financial barrier on retrofitting, funding may be allocated to set up a platform for trading the energy saved in retrofitting as carbon credits. The establishment of such a trading platform can help to create funding structures to back retrofitting projects. If standards or criteria can be developed to turn energy savings into carbon credits, it can be the sustainable means to provide monetary incentives for retrofitting projects. The carbon credits represent extra energy savings compared with baseline scenario (i.e. energy reduction targets stipulated in the Climate Action Plan). Facility management companies can produce technical proposals to their clients and play a major role in obtaining financial support for the retrofitting projects. The carbon credits generated can be put to the voluntary market or purchased by the Government to offset carbon emissions. It is recommended that the Government should provide the initial investment for setting up the necessary platform to facilitate carbon credit trading.
The Council is pleased to see the Government's continued development of green and sustainable finance, promotion of green technology, and commitment to establishing Hong Kong as an international hub for green finance. Collaboration between green buildings and green finance is crucial for driving decarbonisation in the built environment. The BEAM Plus and Zero-Carbon-Ready Building Certification Schemes have been included in HKMA's Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance published last year. By adopting the said certification, stakeholders can set energy performance benchmarks, establish carbon neutrality goals, and justify projects for green financing. It is necessary to develop suitable operational guidelines for the said Taxonomy. HKGBC will actively collaborate with the Government, HKMA and the industry in this respect with a view to accelerating the decarbonisation process in the entire built environment of Hong Kong.
Mandatory implementation of energy management opportunities identified from energy audits should be considered for inclusion into the legislation where practicable. In terms of mandatory disclosure of information in energy audit reports, we suggest disclosing more energy-related information so as to enhance market transparency and encourage participation in energy-saving retrofitting and retro-commissioning. Mandatory disclosure and benchmarking of building energy use and building energy efficiency have already been implemented in other countries. Other than being able to motivate building owners to improve their buildings’ energy performance, the database can facilitate the formulating of new policies like mandatory cap and trade systems for the region. While reducing energy demand of existing buildings can directly reduce carbon emissions, it can also significantly reduce the capital investments for zero carbon energy supply infrastructures and enhance our capabilities on adaptation and resilience under extreme weathers.
2. Mainstreaming adoption of green building practices through BEAM Plus and relevant certification schemes
For the ESG reporting required by HKEX, inclusion of green building adoption on property portfolio (e.g. attainment of BEAM Plus certification) in the ESG reports will definitely be helpful to support green building developments and hence strive towards achieving carbon neutrality in Hong Kong. Therefore, we suggest that HKEX can consider to make it mandatory for listed companies with building assets to adopt and report BEAM Plus assessment in their ESG disclosure.
As a pre-requisite for seeking Gross Floor Area (GFA) concessions, new building projects are required to register for the BEAM Plus rating scheme. The BEAM Plus assessments have encouraged the building industry to utilise green building technologies, enhance the health and wellbeing of building occupants, reduce the environmental impact of buildings (and to make positive contributions wherever feasible), as well as make buildings more efficient and emit less carbon. We see that the efforts should also be extended to the 42,000 plus existing buildings in Hong Kong through policy drive and financial incentives. This is a new growth area that are well supported by innovation and technology developments, particularly in the implementation of retrofitting and retro-commissioning in line with the carbon neutrality roadmap of our Climate Action Plan.
We suggest the Government to take the lead by requiring the 8,000 plus existing government buildings and facilities as well as public housing to obtain BEAM Plus Existing Buildings (EB) and Interiors (BI) certification so as to set examples for the public and private sectors to follow. The first possible step is to revise the existing Government Circular on green government buildings so as to urge all existing government buildings to gradually apply for BEAM Plus certification through the provision of necessary technical and financial support. To manifest the Government’s determined efforts, it may be advantageous for the Government to demonstrate its decisiveness by indicating in the Budget current resources spent and/or committed in achieving relevant certification as well as conducting retrofitting and retro-commissioning works for existing government buildings.
Besides, HKGBC has published the "Climate Change Framework for Built Environment" and relevant Guidebooks as well as launched the "Zero-Carbon-Ready" and “Net-Zero-Energy” Building Certification Schemes. These initiatives encourage the industry to adopt systematic and benchmark-driven approaches to reduce energy consumption, and provide the industry with clear standards to enhance energy performance, benchmark testing standards and increase tenant engagement, while also contribute to the establishment of milestones for green finance. We recommend the Government to take the lead by encouraging all government departments as well as their Carbon Neutrality (CN) partners from public and private sectors to adopt the said Framework and Guidebooks in enhancing their operational performance, and obtain certification for government buildings and public housing where appropriate through the above Schemes.
In addition, other new initiatives may also be explored, such as:
- All new developments to include a provision in the land lease requiring the buildings within the development to carry out BEAM Plus assessment regularly after the buildings have been occupied;
- Reduce the rate for buildings that has a valid BEAM Plus EB certification; and
- Offer more aggressive green mortgage/loan by banks to create noticeable impacts for both new and existing buildings to motivate building owners in upgrading the green performance of their assets.
3. Exporting green building certification professional services and expertise
Another new growth area is to promote the BEAM Plus certification scheme to buildings outside Hong Kong. As a first step, we have already published the BEAM Plus EB Global Version last year and are in the process of preparing for launching the BEAM Plus New Buildings (NB) Global Version this year. This will facilitate the escalation of BEAM Plus from a localised to an international green building certification scheme. We have signed MOU’s with some property developers, property management companies and state-owned enterprises who have kindly agreed to explore applying the BEAM Plus Global Versions to their building projects in the Mainland and overseas. This will also support the export of our green building professional services and expertise, and create job opportunities in providing BEAM Plus certification to other regions/countries, such as the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Belt and Road countries, etc. This new growth area can strengthen our leading role in green building certification and compliment the goal of becoming a green technology and finance centre.
To have an impactful promotion of BEAM Plus to the international arena, we suggest to set up appropriate funding schemes in offering financial incentives, such as subsidises on application fees to attract more applications from building projects outside Hong Kong, in particular those invested by local property developers in overseas projects. With the collaboration of relevant government agents and public organisations such as HKETO’s, Belt and Road Office, HKTDC, etc., we would be able to develop and implement more comprehensive promotion plans for introducing the BEAM Plus Global Versions as well as our professional services and expertise to Mainland cities and overseas countries.
In addition, there is an imminent need to build up a competent professional workforce that is conversant with the latest sustainability and green building knowledge as well as possessing a broad perspective so as to effectively work together with personnel of different disciplines in the international arena. HKGBC has proposed to set up a Green Building Academy, which is well poised to take up this challenge by providing quality training and education for a diverse group of audience and enhancing the capabilities of the society to advance Hong Kong’s built environment. Funding support from the Environment and Conservation Fund is being sought with a view to kicking start the Academy’s development later this year if the funding application is approved.
While facility managers and professionals can play a pivotal role on implementing green building initiatives in the built environment and mainstreaming retrofitting and retro-commissioning for existing buildings, enhancing their technical and financial capabilities for such role is of paramount importance. Together with EMSD, we have established a training and registration scheme for retro-commissioning professionals and are extending its application to the GBA through cooperation agreement with our GBA partners. With reference to relevant Hong Kong guidelines, we have worked together with EMSD and the Mainland counterparts in publishing the GBA technical guidelines on retro-commissioning and also exploring the development of similar guidelines on retrofitting. Hence, HKGBC is in a good position to work with the Government to establish further training and capacity building programmes on retrofitting, building energy management, building technologies and resilience, etc.
Afterall, the leadership taken by the Government in driving transformative actions within the built environment will position Hong Kong at the forefront of city decarbonisation.