To enhance the environmental quality of the University campus, PolyU has incorporated many sustainable and green features in its development and operations. This chapter provides information in association with aspects on energy consumption, waste management, indoor air quality and campus development.
4.1 Campus Greenery
PolyU campus is planted with around 600 trees and around 10,000 shrubs. Green roofs are installed to help reduce the temperature of roof surface and energy demand of air-conditioning systems. The rich greenery on campus provides an opportunity for the staff and students to appreciate and experience the magnificence and beauty of nature. These trees, being an integral part of the campus, also contribute to the biodiversity of the campus.
4.2 Carbon Emission
In Hong Kong, electricity generation accounted for majority of the total greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing carbon emissions and being ‘energy aware’ are our top priorities. PolyU has therefore signed the Environmental Protection Department (EPD)’s Carbon Reduction Charter and the Hong Kong Declaration by the Hong Kong Sustainable Campus Consortium (HKSCC).
Electricity use is the main source of carbon emissions on campus, and we are strongly committed to reducing energy consumption in our daily operations. In 2013/14, the electricity consumption of Main Campus, Student Halls of Residence and CPCE were about 84,000, 15,000 and 12,000 MWh respectively. Comparing with 2008/09, the electricity consumption has reduced by 9% per capita for Main Campus.
In 2013/14, the total carbon emission of Main Campus, Student Halls of Residence and CPCE due to the electricity consumption was about 53,000, 9,200 and 7,600 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent respectively.
4.3 Energy Conservation
PolyU continues to conserve energy by implementing new energy-saving and environmentally friendly facilities such as R-134a, R-410A and R407C refrigerants in air conditioning system. We have also installed renewable energy facilities including solar hot water systems on the Hung Hom Bay Campus and solar photovoltaic system on the Main Campus, resulting in the generation of 7,400 kWh and 30,000 kWh of electricity respectively every year.
4.4 Waste Management
PolyU is aware of the waste disposal problem in Hong Kong and has launched 4R waste management principles (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Replace) in daily operations with an aim to combat this issue. To encourage staff and students to adopt recycling habits on campus, PolyU has installed several types of recycling bins around campus to collect items and materials including waste paper, plastic, metal, glass beverage bottles, rechargeable batteries, and printer cartridge.
| Items (Units) | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Waste paper (100 kg) | 931 |
| Aluminum (kg) | 446 |
| Plastic (kg) | 2,174 |
In addition to having conventional brown-colored recycling bins to collect plastic bottles, we also introduce Reverse Vending Machines on campus to encourage the recycling behavior. A complimentary coupon is produced for redeeming special offer from sponsoring companies when a used plastic bottle is dropped into it.
In collaboration with Hong Chi Association, we have collected a total of 2.4 tonnes glass beverages bottles in 2013/14. Waste glass bottles were used for the production of Eco-Blocks which are invented by PolyU. Eco-blocks could help relieve pressure on landfills and remove pollutants in air.
PolyU continuously raises the awareness of food waste reduction among our stakeholders and has signed the Food Wise Charter. Since December 2013, PolyU has commissioned the Hong Kong Organic Waste Recycling Centre to collect food waste generated from the catering facilities on the Main Campus, extended campus in Hung Hom Bay and Student Halls of Residence (Homantin). All food waste collected will then be recycled into composts and pig feeds.
4.5 Indoor Air Quality
PolyU commits to maintaining good indoor air quality (IAQ) in order to bring about a healthy environment for our staff and students. Having fulfilled the requirements of IAQ parameters, temperature, relative humidity, air movement, and concentrations of air contaminants, a list of buildings on our campus were certified as Excellent or Good Class under the ‘Indoor Air Quality Certification Scheme for Offices and Public Places’ which is organized by the Government (Details would be found in Chapter 3 “Recognition and Achievement - Campus Development with Recognition”.)
4.6 Water Conservation
As much water is needed for the growing number of students and campus development, PolyU has made great efforts to reduce the water consumption by introducing corresponding initiatives and installing water saving devices on campus. In 2013/14, PolyU consumed about 610,000 m3, 155,000 m3, and 29,000 m3 water on Main Campus, Student Halls of Residence, and CPCE. We have minimized water consumption per capita by around 16% on Main Campus compared with that in 2008/09.
Water saving facilities are installed in different campus buildings to reduce water usage. These include the recycling of condensing water from chiller system as make-up water for cooling towers, sensor-operated water taps, water saving shower heads in showering facilities and dual-flush toilets with two different flush volumes, and etc.
4.7 Green Campus Development
Our two new buildings, the Jockey Club Innovation Tower and Phase 8 Campus (Block Z), have incorporated sustainable principles in their design and construction. More specifically, the Jockey Club Innovation Tower has made arrangements to make good use of natural lighting and ventilation in order to increase energy efficiency. Besides, we have incorporated green features like the green roof, green wall, and renewable energy settings in Phase 8 Campus (Block Z). In respect of the lighting system, we have installed occupancy and optical sensors to turn off the light when the place is unoccupied to save energy resources.
