Moving towards a carbon-neutral campus
In a world faced with rising challenges from climate change, PolyU has made great strides in curbing carbon emissions, in support of Hong Kong’s goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. We pave the way for a sustainable future through education, research, operation, and campus development.
The University established the Campus Carbon Neutrality Committee in 2022 to drive our carbon neutrality efforts. Led by Professor Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation), this Committee is responsible for strategic planning, development, implementation, and monitoring of our roadmap and action plans towards carbon neutrality by 2045 and for ensuring the fulfilment of short-term (2028) and medium-term (2033) targets.
In addition, the Committee has launched the Carbon Neutrality Funding Scheme since 2022/23. The Scheme supports sustainability-related research projects that leverage the University’s expertise and utilise the campus as a testbed for sustainability-related technologies and solutions to enhance living standards and reduce carbon emissions.
Recently, the Scheme has supported another nine projects in its 2023/24 exercise, covering a variety of areas as indicated in the projects below:
Carbon Neutrality Funding Scheme – supported projects in 2023/24 exercise
No. | Principal Investigator | Title and Department | Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Professor Chung Chi-yung | Chair Professor of Power Systems Engineering and Head, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering | An Intensive, Intelligent, and Ultra-fast Electric Vehicle Charging Station |
2 | Professor Leng Zhen | Associate Director of Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality and Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering | Decarbonisation of Roadways with Recycled Plastic Beverage Bottles and Its Demonstrating Applications on PolyU Campus Roads |
3 | Ir Professor Vivien Lu Lin | Professor, Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering | Synergistic Integration of Terrestrial Radiative Cooling and Bifacial Solar Photovoltaics for Low-carbon Buildings |
4 | Ir Professor Poon Chi-sun | Michael Anson Professor in Civil Engineering; Director of Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality; Chair Professor of Sustainable Construction Materials and Head, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering | Innovative Application of Low-Carbon Lightweight Concrete for Energy-saving MiC Hostel: Towards Carbon Emission Reduction |
5 | Professor Geoffrey Q.P. Shen | Associate Vice President (Global Partnerships); Director of Global Engagement and Chair Professor of Construction Management, Department of Building and Real Estate | Blockchain-enabled IoT-BIM platform (BIBP) for Quality and Process Management in Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) |
6 | Dr Wen Weisong | Assistant Professor, Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering | Sustainable Window Cleaning for PolyU Jockey Club Innovation Tower with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV): An Application of Autonomous Systems Enabled Carbon Reduction |
7 | Professor Wong Ka-hing | Director of Research Institute for Future Food and Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition | Research and Development of Precision Hydroponic for Low Carbon Emission Agriculture |
8 | Professor John Xin Haozhong | Lee Family Professor in Fashion and Textiles and Chair Professor, School of Fashion and Textiles | Self-cleaning and Transparent Heat Insulation Nanocoating Technology for Architectural Glass and Self-cleaning of Metal Cladding |
9 | Ir Professor Yang Hongxing | Professor, Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering | Development and Demonstration of Indirect Evaporative Cooling and Vacuum Glazing Technologies for Energy Saving and Carbon Emission Reduction of Central Air-conditioning Systems on PolyU Campus |
(listed in alphabetical order of surname of researchers)
With these research projects in place, we seek to foster innovation and encourage sustainable practices on our campus and beyond.
