Environmental Policy and Objectives

The Department all along recognises the importance of environmental protection and sustainable development for Hong Kong. We are committed to ensuring that all the services delivered to the public and our internal operations are conducted in compliance with the environmental protection principles and practices according to the requirements under the environmental legislation, codes of practices and the Clean Air Charter as appropriate. We also encourage the active participation of staff members in adopting green practices in both the workplace and their personal lives.

Environmental Management

The Departmental Secretary is appointed as the Green Manager of the Department. He is responsible for overseeing the environmental protection measures, reviewing the prevailing energy saving practices and formulating the green initiatives in the Department. Division Heads are assigned to assist in exploring opportunities in adopting green measures and monitoring the energy conservation measures to be broadly implemented in offices under their purview. Energy Wardens are appointed at sub-divisional level and they are responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of the green housekeeping measures by conducting regular inspections in office premises and maintaining staff awareness of the importance of persistent conformance to the housekeeping measures. Review and audit of green management practices with a main focus on energy saving have been conducted by Energy Wardens on a quarterly basis.

The Resources Management Committee chaired by the Deputy Director with members of senior management closely monitors the paper and energy consumption in its monthly meeting. The consumption records are regularly updated and uploaded onto our intranet portal to enable management at all levels to have a comprehensive view on the resources used.

Environmental Performance

Energy Conservation

The Department is proactive in energy conservation and has implemented a number of energy saving measures to reduce energy consumption. In 2013, as there was an increase in operational activities in the Department, the power consumption of the Department was slightly increased by 1.3 per cent when compared to 2012, with total consumption at about 43 million kWh.

To reduce the energy consumption level as far as possible with a view to offsetting the unavoidable increase in energy consumption arising from more departmental activities, the Department would continue to adopt the following green measures:

Green Measures Taken

Lighting:
• Switch off lighting that is not in use.
• Adjust illumination to the recommended level in the office, corridor, public area, etc.

Air-conditioning:
• Adjust indoor temperature to the recommended 25.5 ℃ level during summer months.
• Lower window blinds or curtains before leaving office to reduce direct sunlight on the following day.
• Keep windows closed in air-conditioned rooms.

Office Equipment:
• Switch off computers, photocopiers and other office equipment that are not in use to avoid leaving them in standby mode.
• Replace the office equipment with models of lower energy consumption, such as those with 'Energy Star', 'Energy Efficiency Label' of Grade 1 or 2 whenever suitable.

Others:
• Arrange the 'last-man-out' to check and turn off all lighting and office equipment.
• Encourage staff to use staircases instead of lifts for inter-floor traffic as far as possible.

Minimisation of Paper Consumption

With the growth of the operational activities, the paper consumption increased by 4.8 per cent from 59 338 reams in 2012 to 62 178 reams in 2013. The Department will make continuous effort in reducing paper consumption as far as possible, and has already adopted different measures to minimise paper consumption both externally and internally, including:

External

• Share information with members of the public via the electronic platform in the departmental website and mobile application for quick and paperless access of information.
• Provide members of the public with a number of e-Services such as online application, online appointment booking, online reporting of immigration offences, registration of outbound travel information, etc. The e-Services serve as a convenient means for the public to attain our services and help reduce the use of paper.

Internal

• Make use of electronic means such as e-mail and intranet portal to communicate and disseminate information as far as possible.
• Distribute the internal circulars and notices as well as posting orders through electronic means.
• Avoid printing or photocopying documents unless hard copies are absolutely necessary.
• Use both sides of paper and utilise the blank side of used paper for drafting, faxing, printing and photocopying documents.
• Reuse envelopes and file covers.
• Implement the web-based Electronic Leave Application and Processing System for leave applications and approvals as well as the e-Procurement System for processing the procurement procedures.
• Send out electronic season’s greeting cards during festive seasons.

The green measures listed above are widely accepted by both members of the public and our staff. The Department would continue to adopt information technology as far as practicable and closely monitor paper consumption to create a paperless working environment.

Recycling of Waste and Recovery of Resources

With a view to raising the awareness of staff and public on the positive impacts of recycling of waste to the environment, the Immigration Tower has participated in the ‘Programme on Source Separation of Commercial and Industrial Waste’ initiated by the Environmental Protection Department since 2008.

In addition to the traditional wastes, other recyclable wastes including rechargeable batteries, fluorescent lamps and glass bottles are also collected through the collection boxes.

To further minimise solid waste and conserve the environment, used printer cartridges have been returned to suppliers by means of trade-in. The Department has also included green specifications for stock items to ensure that products to be purchased would cause minimal adverse impacts to the environment.

Support on Clean Air Charter

To implement the Clean Air Charter which aimed at improving the air quality of Hong Kong, the Department has adopted a number of measures in our daily operations to reduce the adverse impact of vehicles and vessels to the environment, including:

• Encourage staff members to share the pool car and combine their trips as far as practicable to fully utilise the vehicles and reduce mileage.
• Plan routes when using departmental vehicles to minimise the journey distance and travel time.
• Encourage the use of public transport whenever possible.
• Ensure the compliance with the requirement set out in the Motor Vehicle Idling (Fixed Penalty) Ordinance (Cap. 611, Laws of Hong Kong) by switching off the vehicle engines whilst waiting to reduce exhaust emissions and achieve fuel saving.
• Ensure proper maintenance of our departmental vehicles and vessels to minimise the production of pollutants and nuisance caused by exhaust emissions.

In 2013, the total fuel consumption in diesel and oil of the vehicle fleet of the Department was 58 563 litres, representing a decrease of 6.5 per cent when compared to 2012. On the other hand, the consumption of a cleaner source of fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), was 62 072 litres, which increased by 8.3 per cent when compared to 2012. The gradual switch from diesel and oil to LPG could help reduce the air and noise pollution. In connection with the increasing operations against illegal activities in Hong Kong Waters, the consumption of fuel by our fleet of seven vessels increased by 3.5 per cent from 1 141 600 litres in 2012 to 1 181 905 litres on 2013. The Department would continue to make efforts to reduce the fuel consumption and emissions of our vehicles and vessel fleet.

The Department endeavours to provide a good working environment for the staff. In this connection, the Department has participated in the Indoor Air Quality Certificate Scheme to ensure good indoor air quality that safeguards the health of staff members. In 2013, the indoor air quality of Immigration Tower and Castle Peak Bay Immigration Centre was awarded 'Good Class'. In addition, the common areas of the Prosperity Villa, our rank and file staff quarters at Wo Yi Hop Road, Kwai Chung was awarded 'Excellent Class'.

Promotion of Staff Awareness

To foster a green culture among staff members, the Department has continued to disseminate the latest news and useful information to staff through e-mails and intranet portal. Staff members were encouraged to participate in environmental protection campaigns arranged by other organisations, such as the ‘Community Chest Green Day’ organised by the Community Chest which encouraged participants to adopt a greener lifestyle, the ‘Earth Hour’ organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature which encouraged participants to turn off non-essential lights at the appointed time for an hour, and the ‘Mooncake Tin Collection Campaign’ and ‘Red Pocket Recycling Campaign’ organised by the Building Management Office of the Immigration Tower.

To further promote environmental awareness among staff members, the Department has set up green corners with posters, green tips and latest news related to green matters at various offices. The information posted on the green corners would be updated periodically.

The Way Forward

The Department would sustain and broaden the current housekeeping measures, adopt green management principles in all activities and take forward new green initiatives and targets in the Department as appropriate. The effectiveness of the green measures would be reviewed periodically for the continuous improvement in the efficient use of energy and the conservation of resources.