Environmental Performance
PolyU places a strong emphasis on environmental excellence in many aspects, including waste management, energy consumption, carbon emissions, as well as water and effluents. There were no significant cases of fines, non-monetary sanctions or non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations in 2019/20. The University management closely and regularly reviews sustainability targets so as to keep track of progress and devise future initiatives.
Due to the impact of COVID-19, campus activities during 2019/20 deviated significantly from previous years. Therefore, this Report presents environmental performance data without any year-to-year comparison. For more details of achievements, please refer to PolyU Achievements and Targets.
Waste
PolyU has established its Waste Management Policy with a corresponding waste management strategy that follows the Waste Management Hierarchy principles. To minimise solid waste disposed at landfills, PolyU continues to support external charters and pledges related to waste reduction, for example, the Food Wise Charter, the Waste Check Charter, and the Green Event Pledge.
To put commitment into action, the Guideline for Green Promotion and Campus Activities was implemented with a focus on waste management during campus events. Event organisers are encouraged to adopt electronic means for promotion, registration, and feedback collection. They are recommended to minimise food waste through careful event planning, surplus donation, and waste recycling. The University is happy to liaise with event organisers on reusing, recycling or donating unwanted gifts, promotional materials, and other recyclables.
Moreover, the University has adopted a set of green procurement principles. Consultants and contractors are encouraged to follow our waste management practices and minimise waste generation and recycle waste when providing contract services on campus, such as building design, construction, and catering.
Waste reduction activities
Rooting for food waste reduction, the University added new facilities for source separation and waste recycling during the reporting year. Supported by the Recycling Fund of the Hong Kong government, PolyU put into use a small-scale automatic food waste collection system coupling with dewatering functionality for catering facilities in the Communal Building. During the Mid-autumn Moon Festival celebration, in order to reduce food waste, collection points were set up on campus to collect surplus mooncakes from staff and students for donation to the needy.
Addressing the issue of excessive polyfoam packaging waste, a collection exercise was launched to gather unwanted polyfoam nets and polyfoam packaging items from students and staff. The collected materials were sent for recycling through the Missing Link – Polyfoam Recycling Scheme.
With online learning and teaching platforms in operation, fewer printouts were distributed to students during the reporting year. As for office administration, the University continued to develop efficient digital systems to reduce paper use, such as the Human Resources Office’s e-meeting platform, the Salary Review and Reward Administration System, and the Facilities Management Office’s Visitor Registration System.
With concerted effort by the University community, PolyU reused and recycled various waste materials during the reporting year, including paper, plastic, metal, glass bottles, food waste, electrical and electronic equipment, rechargeable batteries, fluorescent tubes and lamps, clothes, and other used items.
Energy and carbon emissions
Energy and greenhouse gas management are closely related and have always been a focus of the University’s environmental management. Aiming to promote energy efficiency and hence reduce carbon emissions of our operations, the University has formulated the Energy and Greenhouse Gas Policy.
PolyU has pledged to contribute to the city’s energy conservation and greenhouse gas emission reduction. Being a signee of the Energy Saving Charter initiated by the Environment Bureau and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department since 2013, PolyU has purchased energy-efficient appliances and maintained the average indoor temperature between 24 and 26oC in summer. In addition to the Energy Saving Charter, the University also signed the Charter on External Lighting. The University pledged to support the 4Ts Charter in 2019 by setting an energy reduction target of 3% and ensuring transparency of relevant energy data to students and staff.
The University welcomes the implementation of new energy-saving or clean-energy technologies, and continues to incorporate such technologies in both new and existing buildings on campus. During the reporting year, the annual electricity consumption per capita on main campus was 2.95 MWh. Major direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita were 1.47 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Recognition of PolyU’s energy conservation practices
PolyU receiving the Peak Demand Management Excellence Award
Water and effluents
Water used on campus is drawn from Hong Kong’s municipal water supply, while wastewater is discharged into the municipal drainage system. To meet the discharge standards specified in the Hong Kong Water Pollution Control Ordinance, the University has procured wastewater treatment facilities on campus.
To conserve water, PolyU established its Water Conservation Policy in 2014. Water-saving features such as dual-flush toilets and touch-less faucets have been installed, and a number of measures have been taken to minimise freshwater use, including reusing condenser water as makeup water for cooling towers, using bleed-off for toilet flushing, and harvesting rainwater for irrigation. Specially-designed water saving labels are also posted on campus to promote water conservation. During the reporting year, PolyU consumed 522,753 m3 of water, equivalent to approximately 18.7 m3 per capita.
Material consumption
PolyU’s Green Procurement Policy sets forth internal sustainable purchasing principles. When purchasing goods and services, items with either minimal or no adverse impact to the environment are selected whenever feasible. The University purchases office supplies with energy saving features and applicable environmental labels validating recycled or biodegradable contents, and paper products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Out of the total 34,443 reams of paper consumed in the reporting year, 6,425 reams were made with 100% recycled materials.
In addition, the University bans shark fin, bluefin tuna and black moss for all official banquet events and entertainment functions.