CONTENTS VISION AND MISSION INTRODUCTION Our Progress Towards Green, Quality FOREWORD Living Cleaner Beaches PERMANENT SECRETARY / DIRECTOR'S Improving Air Quality MESSAGE More Energy-efficient ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Reducing Waste Stakeholders Engaged ANNEX Highlights in 2011 Milestones Organisation Chart CROSS-BOUNDARY AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AWARENESS CO-OPERATION Environmental Action On A Human Scale A Regional Vision Of Green, Quality Living Climate Campaign Regional Public Engagement on Green Food for Thought Quality Living in the Greater PRD Looking Ahead Action on Climate Change Topical Issues Looking Ahead Reaching Out to Schools Topical Issues Celebrating Our 25th Anniversary Cleaner Production Partnership Programme ECF: Funding Projects in the Community Green Business Opportunities in the Region Honouring Green Business CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS PLANNING Greening From The Ground Up On A Green Track Recognising Green Performers Keeping the Noise Down Educating Operators Preserving Built Heritage Addressing Age-old Problems The Strategic View Looking Ahead Looking Ahead Topical Issues Topical Issues An Example to Others in Compliance New Town Plans Assistance Corporate Behaviour 1 AIR NOISE Cleaning The Air At Roadsides Opening Windows, Closing A Loophole: Progressing in Measured Steps Progress In Noise Control Vehicle Maintenance is Essential Innovation at the Receiving End Greening Bus Transport Effective Enforcement Alternative Solutions Looking Ahead Looking Ahead Topical Issues Topical Issues Abating Noise at Source Idling Engine Ban Greener Vessels Air Quality Objectives Review WASTE WATER Tackling The Waste Problem From All Downstream Benefits Angles The Tale of Tsuen Wan’s Beaches Our Growing Recycling Network Getting HATS Up and Running Producer Responsibilities Looking Ahead Treating Different Kinds of Waste Topical Issues We Still Need Disposal Beach Grading System Looking Ahead Connecting Villages Elsewhere Topical Issues Restored Landfills: A Community Resource Adding Up Our Waste Loads Construction Waste Reduction NATURE CONSERVATION ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE Preserving Our Natural Wonders Pollution Control At Source Global Geopark Controlling Clinical Waste Pockets of Interest River Dance Looking Ahead Looking Ahead Topical Issues Topical Issues Supporting Our Geopark Closed Beaches Re-open Conservation by Managing the Land Pollution Complaints Measures on Biological Diversity and Biosafety 2 ENERGY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Lighting The Way Encouraging The Community To See The Greener Light Bulbs Bigger Picture External Lighting Issues in Hong Kong Public Engagement on ‘Combating Climate Change: Energy Saving and Carbon Making Progress: Energy Labels and the Emission Reduction in Buildings’ Building Energy Code Looking Ahead Possible Actions Looking Ahead Topical Issues Clean Energy Advances Topical Issues Steering Towards Electric Carbon Calculator Seven New Sustainable Development Projects Supported Schools Get Low-Carbon Message Sustainability Assessment 3 VISION AND MISSION Our Vision Is of a Hong Kong which enjoys an environment that is both healthy and pleasant; in which the community places a premium on sustaining such an environment for both themselves and future generations, and pursues sustainable development; and in which the community enjoys a reliable and safe energy supply at reasonable prices, while improving energy efficiency, promoting energy conservation and minimising the environmental impacts from the production and use of energy. Our Mission Is to contribute towards realising this vision by applying our professional knowledge and judgment and drawing on international experience to formulate policies and plans on environmental protection, energy, conservation and the promotion of sustainable development; to provide first-class physical infrastructure for the treatment and disposal of waste and wastewater; to raise community awareness of and promote public support for issues related to environmental protection, energy, conservation and sustainable development; to promote collaborative efforts through regional and international co-operation; to implement environmental protection and energy related legislation and plans; and to administer robust environmental impact assessment in the planning of new developments and major projects. 4 FOREWORD The trickle of momentum in Hong Kong’s environmental efforts has developed into a strong and steady stream through collaboration between the Government and the community. Investment in our environment and the green economy have been growing over the years, with the result that we made progress across all of our programmes in 2011. The outlook for the future is to continue moving in this direction. From 2007-08 to the 2012-13 financial year, we will have doubled our annual funding allocation on the environment, from $6.3 billion to $13.9 billion. This investment is evidence of the importance that the Government attaches to a livable, sustainable environment for Hong Kong. We have also provided subsidy to community-initiated programmes through the Environment and Conservation Fund. From 2008 to the end of 2011, over 2 000 projects were approved to help promote energy saving, waste reduction and recycling, greening, conservation, and scientific research on environmental protection. This investment is paying dividends for our environment. Air quality on several measures has been improved. Ambient concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and respirable suspended particulates (RSP) in Hong Kong fell 41 per cent and 11 per cent respectively from 2006-2011. These improvements in air quality have been made largely by focusing on power plant and vehicle emissions. The power sector will reduce emissions by another 34 to 50 per cent from 2015 so we can expect even better results in future. Improvements to regional air quality have also been achieved through our joint efforts with Guangdong: during 2006-2011, the average annual concentrations of SO2, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and RSP in the region have decreased by 49 per cent, 13 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. There is a note of caution, though. While we have made some progress in controlling vehicle emissions, roadside levels of NO2 remain a concern. We have given high priority to tackling motor vehicle emissions, as you will read in this report. We have also started focusing on pollution from marine vessels, which contribute a larger share to our overall air pollution now that other sources are coming under control. The combined effect of all of these programmes should be that Hong Kong’s air quality continues to improve in the coming years. Further impetus in that direction will come from the introduction of new Air Quality Objectives, which we plan to place before the Legislative Council in the 2012-13 legislative year for approval. Waste reduction is another urgent concern because we are running out of landfill space. We have put increasing effort into reducing waste at source and this has paid off with an increase in the recovery rate of municipal solid waste – to 48 per cent in 2011 from 45 per cent in 2006. We will continue to promote and seek opportunities to increase waste recovery. However, we still need to further develop our waste treatment facilities if we are to conserve resources and avoid running out of space for our remaining waste. 5 Our other programme areas are also making pleasing progress. Beach water quality, for instance, has improved remarkably and all beaches have met water quality objectives in the past two years for the first time. Reducing our contributions to climate change is also a priority and in 2011 we consulted the public on energy saving and carbon reduction in buildings through a public engagement launched by the Council for Sustainable Development. We are also advancing our vision for our future environment. This vision, which is being developed in concert with the Guangdong and Macao governments, is for a green and quality living area in the Greater Pearl River Delta region. To achieve this goal, the three sides unveiled initial proposals for joint public consultation during the year, under the heading of Regional Cooperation Plan on Building a Quality Living Area. As living standards and expectations in the region continue to rise, the momentum to improve the environment will continue to pick up. The outlook is getting brighter. Mr Wong Kam-sing, JP Secretary for the Environment 6 MESSAGE FROM THE PERMANENT SECRETARY / DIRECTOR Hong Kong’s environment experienced some pleasing improvements in 2011 as we continued our efforts towards being a greener city. Our priorities continued to be air quality and waste management, but we are addressing environmental issues across the board and continuing to strengthen regional collaboration to achieve our shared goals for a quality living area. Air quality by most measures has improved steadily over the past decade as a result of controls on emission from power plants and motor vehicles as well as on products containing volatile organic compounds. However, there is an exception: roadside levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have increased by 23 per cent from 1999 to 2011. We addressed this problem aggressively in 2011 with measures targetted at those polluting vehicles which ply our busy roads. Some $150 million was earmarked to help owners of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) taxis and light buses replace the catalytic converters on their vehicles, and a trial was launched to retrofit Euro II