Environmental Performance
To ensure the University’s environmental performance matches our sustainable development aspirations and to build a resource-efficient campus environment, we closely monitor and review campus sustainability performance on a regular basis. Performance tracking also helps us devise promotional plans and environmental awareness campaigns and new initiatives, works and facilities – particularly those involving waste disposal, emissions treatment and remediation measures. The annual budget allocated for these programmes and upgrades has exceeded HK$2 million every year for the past few years.
Waste
The growing challenge of how to reduce, reuse, recycle, and process waste is a global problem and a pressing environmental issue faced by developed cities like Hong Kong. To help tackle this problem, the University is committed to reducing all types of waste generated on campus. We have an established Waste Management Policy and a corresponding waste management strategy, following the Waste Management Hierarchy principles, which run from high to low priority – reduce, reuse, recycle, replace, and dispose of.
We have made a wide variety of recycling facilities and programmes available on campus, like facilities to recycle paper, plastic, metal, glass bottles, food waste, electrical and electronic equipment, rechargeable batteries, fluorescent tubes and lamps; and donating unwanted goods for reuse. In 2017/18, a total of 100.5 tonnes of waste materials were diverted from landfills and were instead reused or recycled.
In addition to supporting the Food Wise Charter in 2013, we have also signed the Waste Check Charter since 2015 – another initiative which demonstrates our determination to reduce waste. We regularly conduct waste checks to identify the types and quantities of waste generated and evaluate areas where improvements can be made.
Our Work: Waste Audit at a glance
To identify gaps in PolyU’s current waste handling and management approaches, and to find opportunities for improvement, we conducted a waste audit exercise at our Main Campus in October 2017. Samples of around 20% of the waste generated in a 24-hour period were collected, with bags of refuse weighed and sorted into categories like paper, plastic, metal, glass and disposables, for audit and analysis.
The total amount of waste audited came to 906.9 kg, about 25% of the waste generated in a day in the Main Campus. Of this, non-recyclable waste and contaminated recyclables formed the greatest proportion. For example, disposables and paper respectively accounted for 8.1% and 16.6% by weight of the total waste collected. In light of this fact, the University is considering formulating a waste reduction plan in addition to existing policies and guidelines on waste prevention and improving reuse and recycling resources. The University believes that setting targets will help us drive better performance in waste reduction and recycling in the future.
As an educational institution, paper is frequently used on campus for everyday activities. However, we are also committed to cutting down our paper consumption and gradually moving towards a paperless environment. In 2017, PolyU established a Paper Reduction Policy and subsequently launched the campus-wide PaperReduction@PolyU campaign.
This campaign provided abundant paper-saving tips and resources for departments and offices to follow, for example, promoting the effective use of electronic devices and applications, and published them on a designated website. The University also set a campus-wide target to reduce the consumption of printing paper used in offices by 10%. We are delighted to report that this paper reduction target was successfully met by the end of the 2017/18 financial year.
Spotlight: Greening the medical practice at UHS
Providing timely, high-quality primary healthcare services on campus, PolyU’s University Health Service (UHS) is committed to making its clinic greener. Gradually, over the course of several years, UHS has adopted the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) service, an electronic signature board, and has begun using electronic notices and digital signs in its operations. The ECM system, maintained by the University’s Information Technology Services Office, acts as a centralized repository which allows UHS staff members to store and retrieve patients’ medical records digitally. The electronic signature board replaces signatures on hard copies of medical insurance vouchers. These measures help streamline the workflow by shortening the administration processing time and have also saved a remarkable amount of paper. The UHS is now one step closer to achieving a paperless clinical environment.
Energy and Carbon Emissions
As stipulated by our Energy and Greenhouse Gas Policy, the University continues our dedication to responsible energy management and the reduction of carbon emissions. We strive to integrate energy-saving considerations and apply advanced environmental technologies in every possible way to maximize our energy efficiency – including the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of all campus facilities and services. We carry out regular monitoring and auditing exercises to identify opportunities to optimize and improve our energy performance.
To demonstrate our commitment to conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions, we have pledged to maintain an average indoor temperature of between 24 and 26°C from June to September each year and to procure energy-efficient electrical appliances by signing the Energy Saving Charter run by the Environment Bureau and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department since 2013. We are also a signatory of the Charter on External Lighting, the Energy Saving Charter on “No Incandescent Light Bulbs”, and the Carbon Reduction Charter.
In 2017/18, our annual per capita electricity consumption on our Main Campus was 3.24 MWh. Our major direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) carbon emissions per capita were 1.84 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, a reduction of 3.9% from 2014/15. We will continue to review and enhance our energy performance and foster a low-carbon culture across the University.
Water and Effluents
PolyU recognizes that water is a finite resource. We are committed to conserving water and minimizing water wastage. We developed our Water Conservation Policy in 2014 to guide our approach to water resource management and monitoring.
To use water more efficiently, we have installed water-saving features in our facilities which include dual-flush toilets and touch-less faucets, the recycling of condenser water as makeup water for cooling towers and using the bleed-off for toilet flushing water, and harvesting rainwater for irrigation. Reminders are also posted in prominent areas to raise the awareness of our students and staff about the importance of water conservation. During the year, PolyU consumed 575,103 m3 of water, equivalent to 20.2 m3 per capita. This is a per capita reduction of 4.7% compared with the 2014/15 baseline.
The University draws water from Hong Kong’s municipal water supply and discharges wastewater into the municipal drainage system. For effluent created by the swimming pool, dental clinic, workshops and laboratories, we have wastewater treatment facilities which ensure that the quality of the discharged effluent meets the Hong Kong Water Pollution Control Ordinance’s statutory standards.
Material Consumption
To support our firm commitment to the conservation of natural resources, several initiatives have been introduced which focus on the sustainability of our material consumption. Our Green Procurement Policy lays down green purchasing principles to ensure that goods and services acquired by the University have either minimal or zero adverse impacts on the environment. We give priority to products or services that contain recycled content, and those which are biodegradable, recyclable, or holding a relevant environmental label, such as the Energy Label and the FSC. We have made a point of purchasing paper towels with recycled content since 2014/15 and A4 paper with 100% recycled content since 2008/09.
In addition to signing the Say NO to Shark Fin Pledge launched by the Hong Kong Shark Foundation in 2016, starting in 2017, PolyU pledged to adopt sustainability-conscious food consumption practices for official entertainment functions to further consolidate our support for the conservation of natural resources. Unsustainable seafood items such as shark fin, Bluefin tuna and black moss are no longer included in official banquets.