The Government, building professionals and experts are working together to develop a comprehensive and widely accepted green labelling system for benchmarking the environmental performance of buildings in Hong Kong, Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen said today (March 19).
Attending the Symposium on Green Building Labelling at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mr Suen said there were rising community aspirations for environmentally friendly and sustainable buildings in recent years.
"Developers and building professionals have responded positively and have taken steps to adopt green designs, green features and sustainable construction methods," Mr Suen said.
He noted that the Buildings Department had, in recent years, received an increasing number of building proposals with green features and this had set a healthy trend.
"While the momentum of green building design and construction is gradually building up, a system of positive recognition would further bring market forces into play to promote and sustain this development," Mr Suen said.
In his 2001 Policy Address the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, pledged to establish a green building labelling system.
Following that, a consultancy study was commissioned by the Buildings Department in 2002 to draw up a comprehensive environmental performance assessment scheme of buildings. The study also ties in with a recommendation of the Construction Industry Review Committee three years ago, which urges the industry to construct for excellence.
"A green building labelling scheme has the potential to bring benefits to various sectors of the community. For developers and building professionals, the scheme provides recognition of their building innovations and brings the added advantage of promoting their image and reputation," Mr Suen noted.
For potential homebuyers, he said the labelling scheme could facilitate the making of more prudent and informed decisions.
"As buildings earmarked as green developments are more likely to be competitive in terms of price, the system will nurture the kind of market forces conducive to the creation of a larger green building stock," he added.
Mr Suen pointed out that overseas experience had already demonstrated that building assessment and labelling schemes helped in upgrading the general quality of living.
"The Buildings Department's consultant is examining in detail the various assessment systems developed in Hong Kong and overseas," Mr Suen said.
These include the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, the Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method and the Intelligent Building Index.
"The incorporation of green features will also promote energy efficiency, provide better handling of wastes and improve indoor environmental quality which are important for our long-term sustainable development," Mr Suen said.
"The consultancy study is expected to be completed by the end of this year, to be followed by wider consultation with stakeholders and building end-users," he added.
Ends/Friday, March 19, 2004
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