The Green Building Initiatives Mr C M Leung 1, Mr C M Chung 2, Dr M F Hui 3, Ms Maria S H Lau 4

1 Buildings Department, HKSAR, Pioneer Centre, 750 , Kowloon, . Phone: + 852 2626 1200. Fax: + 852 2868 0793. E-mail: [email protected] 2 Buildings Department, HKSAR, Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Phone: + 852 2626 1478. Fax: + 852 2845 1559. E-mail: [email protected] 3 Buildings Department, HKSAR, Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Phone: + 852 2626 1354. Fax: + 852 2845 1559. E-mail: [email protected] 4 Buildings Department, HKSAR, Pioneer Centre, 750 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Phone: + 852 2626 1442. Fax: + 852 2845 1559. E-mail: [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSARG) is committed to promoting Sustainable Buildings. This is evident in the Policy Address 2000 given by the Chief Executive, Mr. Tung Chee Hwa. He stressed the importance of innovation and technology for future economic growth and pledged continual vigilance in protecting the environment.

The Buildings Department is the arm of the HKSARG that forged the green building movement. This paper chronicles our efforts in breaking new grounds for a market driven green building industry that deliver environmentally friendly buildings.

2. GREEN BUILDING MOVEMENT The primary responsibility of the Buildings Department is to ensure compliance with statutory standards set in the Buildings Ordinance for the private sector. We are the regulators that “provide for the planning, design and construction of buildings and associated works; to make provision for the rendering safe of dangerous buildings and land; and to make provision for matters connected therewith.” The green building concept is in line with our vision: “To make the built environment safe and healthy for our community”, and mission “To set and enforce safety, health and environmental standards for private buildings.”

We have adopted a set of comprehensive strategies to set the Green Building Movement rolling. A host of green initiatives aimed at bringing quality living for our people in a multi-dimensional and progressive manner swung into place at the beginning of the Millennium.

3. DEDICATED TASK FORCES

One of the first tasks in the green building movement was to set up two dedicated task forces to drive the movement. In July 2000, a special unit named the Building Innovation Unit was formed within the Buildings Department to explore ways to secure sustainable development by encouraging the construction of green and innovative buildings in the private sector.

In November 2000, we invited directorate representatives from related government bureau and departments to join the Inter-departmental Working Group on Environmentally Friendly and Innovative Building (W.G.). Chaired by the Director of Buildings, to-date, members of the WG has expanded to the Architectural Services Department, , , Planning Department, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and the Housing Bureau. The WG is instrumental in formulating coordinated and coherent packages of incentives that would benefit not only the private sector but also the public sector. About 50% of our population lives in flats built by the HKSARG, as such we believe this green movement should pervade both sectors of our city.

4. INCENTIVE SCHEMES Prior to the turn of the century, we have only witnessed a gradual emergence of green buildings in Hong Kong. Albeit the building industry is ready both in mindset and technology to join the Green Building Movement, time constraints and costs implications often deter designers and developers from embracing environmentally friendly features in building developments. To kick-start this relative inertia, the WG derived packages of incentives to introduce to the building industry.

Unlike many other countries at the vanguard of sustainable design, Hong Kong faces a different set of environmental issues. Due to the hot and humid tropical climate, our demand for cooling outstrips that of heating. Besides, we have a population of 7 million who live on a total of 1092 km2 of land, of which around 80% are country parks or not built over. This leads to a unique high density and high-rise living in the built over areas.

To control intensity of development in any given district of the city, two main control parameters came into play. Population density is controlled by the total permissible Gross Floor Area (GFA) allowed for a site and its corollary Plot Ratio (PR). Building bulk is controlled by the total Site Coverage (SC) allowed.

The high land cost in Hong Kong has a major effect on the planning and design of building developments. Practitioners invariably incline to use all permissible GFA and SC to generate layouts that maximize the usable floor space for individual flats i.e. maximises efficiency ratio. Larger GFA means higher sales income, therefore exemption of GFA and/or SC calculations from specified green building features can be an attractive incentive to the building industry.

In February 2001, the Buildings Department, Lands Department and Planning Department jointly issued the Joint Practice Notes No.1, (JPN1) also known as the First Package of Incentives to Promote Green and Innovative Buildings. (Details of JPN1 is available @ Website: http://www.info.gov.hk/bd/). JPN1 advocated a holistic life cycle approach to building design: to maximize the use of natural renewable resources and recycled/green building material; to minimize the consumption of non-renewable energy; and to reduce construction and demolition waste. GFA and/or SC calculations are exempted for seven green features: balconies; wider common corridors and lift lobbies; communal sky gardens, communal podium gardens; acoustic fins; sunshades and reflectors; wing walls, wind catcher and funnels. A ceiling limit of 8% GFA exemption of the total permitted GFA is imposed to control the overall building bulk.

Balcony is one of the most popular green features because it provides space for greenery and recreation for the occupants. It enhances the use of natural lighting and ventilation, if properly designed it may also act as a noise barrier.

On face value there is nothing particularly green about wider common corridors and lift lobby, but in practice such common areas are squeezed to the bare minimal dimensions and stuck in the window-less core of a building. The interplay of efficiency ratio between common areas and usable floor space often relegate the former into mean and undesirable space in order to boost the usable floor space for individual flats. A more generous and naturally ventilated common area provides greater ease in down-to-earth activities like furniture removal.

Communal sky gardens provide recreational space at various levels of a building. They help in creating open vista and relief the walling effects of back-to-back, shoulder-to-shoulder configuration of our urban fabric.

In February 2002, Joint Practice Note No.2 (JPN2) the Second Package of Incentives to Promote Green and Innovative Buildings surfaced. In essence this is a continuation of the green features to be exempted from GFA and/or SC calculations. This time round, five features were launched: non-structural prefabricated external walls; utility platforms; mail delivery rooms with mailboxes; noise barriers; and communal sky gardens for non-residential buildings.

Construction and demolition waste amounts to some 40% of the total 17,900 tonnes of waste dumped into the landfill sites daily in Hong Kong. The use of non-structural prefabricated external walls helps to reduce construction waste. It alleviates the demand on landfill sites.

Utility platforms provide an area for laundry washing and clothes drying. Designated areas for these activities are noticeably lacking in most residential designs. By rendering GFA exemption to this feature, we help to reduce energy required in mechanical drying of clothes. We also improve the quality of living by encouraging provision for necessity-based design.

Joint Practice Note 1 and 2 provide incentives in form of gross floor area and site coverage exemption for green features that occupies floor space. Future incentive packages are in the pipeline, incentives being considered include gross floor area concessions for features that incur additional cost but may not require extra floor space, public recognition, open commendation and awards.

5. GREEN LABELLING SYSTEM Although a number of assessment tools for environmentally friendly buildings are available both locally and international, it is necessary to device a unified and user friendly comprehensive assessment scheme tailor made for Hong Kong to deal with local characters such as high urban density, and hot and humid climate. We are in the process of commissioning a consultancy study that will provide grading or labelling to all buildings - existing and new in order to heighten the public’s awareness of sustainability.

6. MODERNISE RULES AND REGULATIONS Although the incentives offered in the Joint Practice Notes do not require any legislative change, the Buildings Department has embarked on a rigorous programme for a radical change of the current building laws and regulations as they are prescriptive in nature and are not conducive to green designs.

We envisage a modernized performance based code of practice and guidelines that enable the building professionals to exercise without inhibition their creativity in green designs. As part of the continual programme for the migration towards a performance based approach, existing codes will be reviewed and new codes will be introduced. A number of studies such as fire engineering, lighting and ventilation requirements, drainage etc. are already being carried out to provide performance-based standards in Hong Kong.

7. PARTNERSHIP WITH BUILDING PROFESSIONALS AND STAKEHOLDERS The Buildings Department adopts a market-driven approach to promote green buildings. The department seeks to be a supportive regulator and proactive facilitator to encourage the construction of green and innovative buildings. Wide and continual consultation and communication with various sectors of the building industry are vital in ensuring successful implementation of the green building policies. The positive reception of the first and second packages of incentives was reflected in the number of green submissions received. From February 2001 to March 2002, we have given approval to 94 building plans featuring one or more green features.

The developers need to pay premium for the exemption of GFA, therefore these incentives are by no means carte blanche free subsidies. Despite additional financial investment warranted from developers, they must have found our incentives attractive enough to want to continue in implementing these green features. Conversely, we do not consider incentives so given as revenue forgone for the government.

8. CONCLUSION As a forward looking government department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Buildings Department takes a proactive role in promoting green buildings and assume the role of a facilitating regulator. With no revenue foregone for the government and no additional human resources, we have been able to put forward a full range of comprehensive and coordinated strategies on green buildings to mobilise the market force by lever action.

Although the momentum of the green building movement is gaining pace, it is only a small step in the direction of a sustainable city. It is important to continue with our mission with an open mind and work hand in glove with the building industry to build a city that we can be proud of for years to come.