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Drainage Services Department

Sustainability Report 2014-15

Managing the Environment

DSD puts strong focus on environmental management in every project it delivers in order to make Hong Kong a livable city. In recent years, we actively campaigned for Blue-Green Infrastructure, emphasising the protection of river ecosystems in addition to environmentally friendly construction practices. These initiatives, alongside various emissions reduction and energy conservation measures at our facilities, are instrumental in promoting sustainable development in Hong Kong.

Green Office

Apart from incorporating green elements into our projects and sewage treatment facilities, we strive to realise green office at our Headquarters to improve the environmental performance of DSD. The implementation of relevant policies and measures helps raise the environmental awareness amongst our staff and promote a green culture across DSD.

Green Procurement

DSD fully support the Government's green procurement policy. In 2014-15, we procured a variety of products complying with green specifications, including electrical appliances (e.g. computers, paper shredders, printers, electric fans, refrigerators, etc.) and office consumables (e.g. recycled paper, rechargeable batteries, toilet paper, refuse bags etc.).

Energy Saving

In 2009, the Government set a target for government buildings to reduce 5% electricity consumption during the five-year period from 2009-10 to 2013-14 with 2007-08 as the baseline year. It takes a joint effort by our colleagues to reduce power consumption in office through a proper use of lighting, air-conditioning and office equipment. Over the many years we have implemented our energy-saving measures, we have recorded a progressive drop in electricity consumption. In 2014-15, we recorded a 6.8% reduction in energy consumption as compared with that in 2010-11, which is indeed a testament to our colleagues’ dedication to energy saving.

Reducing non-essential lightings

Reducing non-essential lightings

Energy saving measures in DSD offices

  • Setting room temperature at 25.5 degrees Celsius
  • Reducing non-essential lightings
  • Equipping timers to office equipments

Electricity consumption by DSD offices

Waste Management

We endeavour to reduce waste and conserve resources to make a greener office. We have set up recycling stations for printer toner cartridges, rechargeable batteries, paper, plastic, metal containers, etc. We also disseminate green information and conduct office inspection regularly to raise our employees’ environmental protection awareness.

In general, office operations tend to generate quite a lot of paper waste. In this connection, we have set up paper saving guidelines which encourages colleagues to print on both sides, reuse envelopes, etc. In recent years, we also actively promoted "paperless meetings" to reduce paper consumption by use of electronic appliances such as tablets and laptop computers for viewing presentation slides and relevant documents during meetings.

Recycling station for printer toner cartridges and rechargeable batteries

Recycling station for printer toner cartridges and rechargeable batteries

In the 2014-15, we

  • held about 270 paperless meetings and circulated over 2,700 relevant documents electronically
  • used about 10,000 reams of paper, a decrease of approximately 29% compared to 2009-10, while paper consumption per staff is reduced by more than 20%.

Total Paper Consumption (Ream)

Paper Consumption per Staff (Ream)

Enhancing Indoor Air Quality

We decorate the reception and conference rooms with potted plants for extra greenery while improving the indoor air quality for employees and visitors.

Potted plants at reception

Potted plants at reception

Promoting Green Culture

Comprising a group of staff endeavoured in promoting environmental protection and green living, the Green Champions of DSD promotes environmental protection in daily work and encourages other colleagues to change their habits for a greener life.

In order to raise the environmental awareness amongst colleagues and promote positive changes in their behaviour, we encourage employees to go vegetarian every Monday for a healthier low-carbon lifestyle. The Green Champions also held its second green farming competition in November 2014, which attracted a total of 25 teams to plant in multiple new allotments and offered a chance for colleagues to share the joy and challenges of farming with their family and friends.

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