About this Report

About this Report

This is the 2018/19 Sustainability Report (hereinafter called “this Report”) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (hereinafter referred to as “PolyU” or “the University”). Adhering to international reporting best practice, this Report is prepared to demonstrate the dedicated efforts on reviewing and reporting progress towards sustainability to stakeholders. This Report, titled “Sustainability • Leading the Change”, not only sets forth PolyU’s initiatives and achievements in the fiscal year 2018/19, but also illustrates the impacts on sustainable development of our campus, the environment, and the community.

Reporting Scope

This Report covers major sustainability initiatives, achievements and impacts of PolyU’s Main Campus in Hung Hom (with a total area of 94,600 square meters) from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019. There are no restatements on the information disclosed in previous sustainability reports.

There were no significant changes in the size, structure or ownership of PolyU within the reporting period in comparison with the fiscal year 2017/18. Data and statistics in this Report are presented in absolute values and are normalized into comparable terms where appropriate and practicable. For calculation purposes, unless specified, all data in this Report has been compared against our baseline year, 2014/15, while intensity calculations are based on full-time staff headcounts and full-time equivalent (FTE) students.

Reporting Principles

This Report has been prepared in accordance with the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards) Core option. Please refer to the GRI Content Index for details of the relevant GRI indicators and the corresponding sections covered in this Report.

Material Topics and Reporting Boundary

PolyU recognizes the importance of communicating continuous improvement in sustainability with stakeholders. Stakeholders are regularly engaged through various channels, such as meetings, forums, survey, publications and press releases, and a variety of activities. As such, the University is dedicated to communicating with and seeking feedback from the stakeholders on our sustainability performance through a continuous and interactive engagement process. In 2017, PolyU commissioned the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) to conduct a comprehensive stakeholder engagement exercise which covered full-time students, academic and non-academic staff, committee members and senior management, business partners, non-governmental organizations, as well as suppliers and contractors. Based on their feedbacks, a number of most relevant topics have been prioritized to both PolyU and stakeholders for sustainability reporting. Since then we have reviewed these material topics for annual sustainability report. As a conclusion in the on-going stakeholder engagement practices and senior management review, material topics remain unchanged as compared with the previous year for this Report.

Prioritized Material Topics and Corresponding Boundaries

Categories	Material Topics	Corresponding BoundariesNote 1 Within PolyU
Environmental Performance	Materials	✔
	Energy	✔
	Water	✔
	Emissions	✔
	Effluents and Waste	✔
	Environmental Compliance	✔
Social Responsibility and Human Rights	Non-discrimination	✔
	Local Communities	✔
	Human Rights Assessment	✔