LOW-CARBON OFFICE OPERATION PROGRAMME REPORT 2011€¦ · Low-carbon Office Operation Programme Report 2011 page 6 Low-carbon Office Operation Programme Report 2011 page 7-12% Carbon

LOW-CARBON OFFICEOPERATION PROGRAMMEREPORT 2011Be part of the solution

Major Sponsors

2011

灝天綠色基金green fund

CONTENTSGLOSSARY 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6-7

1. INTROdUCTION 8-91.1 Objectives 81.2 Geographic boundary 81.3 LOOP methodology and tools 81.4 Benefits 9

2. ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 10-122.1 Earth Hour 2011 POOL Challenge 102.2 AIESEC Ecolity Global Youth Summit 112.3 Seminars 122.4 Workshops 122.5 Other activities 12

3. VERIFICATION FINdINGS 13-183.1 Overview 133.2 Verifiedcarbonreductionresults 14-153.3 CarbonPerformanceIndex 16-183.4 Organizational and individual employee behaviour 18

4. LABELLING SChEME 19-224.1 LOOPlabellingtimeline 194.2 LOOP labelling assessment 204.3 LOOP labelling awards 2011 214.4 LOOPReportLaunchandLabellingAwardCeremony2009/2010 224.5 Announcementof2010/2011CarbonPerformanceResultsand 22 Labelling Award Ceremony 2011

5. dETAILEd ANALYSIS OF FINdINGS FROM ON-SITE ASSESSMENTS 23-285.1 Commonbarrierstoadoptinggreenofficepracticesandsolutions 23-265.2 Technologybestpracticesandbusinesscases 27-285.3 Survey of staff behavioural changes towards ‘the green lifestyle’ 28

6. CONCLUSION ANd RECOMMENdATIONS 29-30

LOOP ACTIVITIES hIGhLIGhTS 2011 31

ANNEX: ThE LOOP FAMILY 32-35

WWF-hONG KONGWWF is the world’s leading conservation organization, with a network active in more than 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.WWF-HongKonghasbeenworkingsince1981todeliversolutionsforalivingplanet through Conservation, Footprint and Education programmes.

LOW-CARBON OFFICE OPERATION PROGRAMME (LOOP)LOOPwasestablishedtoenableHongKongcompanies and organizations to become part of the solution to climate change. By participating in LOOP, these companies and organizations engage with a group of like-mindedandforward-thinkingleadersand work to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG)emissionsgeneratedfromtheirofficeoperations. These reductions occur through the adoption of managerial and technological best practices, through adaptation of staff behaviour, and through a labelling scheme.

ACKNOWLEdGEMENTSWe gratefully acknowledge The Green Institute HongKongandtheGlorySkyGreenFund,who have kindly sponsored the publication of this report and LOOP activities in 2012.

CONTRIBUTORSCindy FONG KarenHO Patrick HO William YU

Low-carbonOfficeOperationProgrammeReport2011 page5

GLOSSARYAIESEC: Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales

(International Association of Students in Economics and Business Management)

CFL: Compactfluorescentlight

CO2-e: Carbon dioxide equivalent

EMSD: Electrical and Mechanical Services Department

FSC: Forest Stewardship Council

GHG: Greenhouse gas

HVAC: Heating, ventilation and air conditioning

ICT: Information communication technology

LED: Light emitting diode

LOOP: Low-carbonOfficeOperationProgramme

MFD: Multi-functionalDevice

PC: Personal Computer

SDC: Council for Sustainable Development

SME: Small and Medium Enterprise

The fundamental objective of the Low-carbon Office Operation Programme (LOOP) is to enable Hong Kong companies and organizations to become part of the solution to climate change.

© B

en Halford

Low-carbonOfficeOperationProgrammeReport2011 page6 Low-carbonOfficeOperationProgrammeReport2011 page7

-12%Carbon emissions per employee were reduced by 12%

Quotes on the ‘Best of the Best’ low-carbon practices are listed below:

• Commitment – An IT services, consulting and business solutions provider has set a target to cut carbon emissions by 25 percent by 2015 (using 2010 as the base year).

• Calculation – A garment manufacturer has managed to reduce electricity consumption fromairconditioningby11percent(equivalenttoHK$20,000savedinonemonth)throughidentifying energy wastage and thereby making improvements to optimize the operation hours and temperature, and with better maintenance.

• Cut – An international property consultancy has been able to reduce up to 40 percent of power consumption from the daily operation of PCs through scheduled replacement of old PCs.

• Communication–OneofHongKong´sleadingbusinessconglomerateshasgrantedcashrewards to staff members who have made energy reductions at home.

WWFbelievesthatSMEsandlargercompaniesinHongKongmusttakeimmediatestepstohelpreduceHongKong’scarbonfootprintasthecommercialsectoristhelargestenergyuserinHongKongsince2004.ThebestpracticeactionsdocumentedinthisreportcanhelpHongKongoffice-basedcompaniesmoveintherightdirection,bysettingtargetsandtakingactionthatwilllead to deep greenhouse gas emission reductions. It is clear that this action will be accelerated if the corresponding funding or market incentives are made available for companies to start measuringtheircarbonemissionsandacquiringlow-carbontechnologiesandpractices.ThecommercialsectorofHongKongmustchangefromabusiness-as-usualdevelopmentpathandtransitiontoalow-carbonsustainablebusinessgrowthavenueassoonaspossible.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe crisis of climate change requires urgent solutions. This report documents the achievements offorward-thinkingSMEsintheireffortstomonitorandreducethecarbonemissionsoftheirdailyactivitiesthroughactiveparticipationinWWF’sLow-carbonOfficeOperationProgramme(LOOP). WWF believes that companies which track their carbon emissions performance have a betterunderstandingoftheiremissionsprofiles.Thesecompanieswillthenbeabletoidentifyimprovementopportunitiesand-togetherwiththeirstaffmembers-explorewaystoreducethe carbon emissions of the corresponding activities through setting up appropriate company policies,adoptingenergyefficiencymeasuresorlow-carbontechnologies,andencouragingchanges in work practices and staff behaviour.

TheCarbonReductionRoadmap2020forHongKong,jointlyproducedbyWWFandOveArup&PartnersHongKong,showsthatHongKonghastheabilitytoachieveatleasta61percentreductionincarbonintensityby2020(using2005asthebaselevel)-equivalenttoa25percentreductioninabsolutecarbonemissionsby2020(using1990asthebaselevel).Simpleofficebehaviouralchanges,suchasswitchingoffofficeequipmentandappliancesafterworkinghoursor setting up individual lighting and air conditioning zones could result in potential energy savings of 3,375 GWh, equivalent to more than 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions or 5 percentofHongKongcity’stotalemissions.

Thereportfindingsshowthatamongthe19companieswhichoptedforthird-partyverificationin 2011, there was an overall reduction of carbon intensity of 12 percent. Of the eight companies which participated in the labelling scheme for two consecutive years, a reduction in absolute carbonemissionsof9percentwasachievedin2011.Inaddition,agrowingnumberofLOOPcompanies demonstrated their commitment to addressing climate change by establishing long-termcarbonreductiontargets.Suchtargetsarecrucialforcompaniestounderstandtheircarbonemissionsprofileandfocustheirresourcesonapplyinglow-carbonpracticestomajorsourcesofemissions.Assessmentoflow-carbonofficepracticesshowsignificant(>65percent)achievementsinpaperuse,printingandphotocopying.Areasforimprovementwereidentifiedas electricity use (HVAC), overseas business travel and staff commuting.

Highlights of the companies’ 2011 carbon performance are listed below:

• Carbon emissions per employee were reduced by 12 percent, from an average of 4 tonnes in 2010 to an average of 3.52 tonnes in 2011.

• The top three emissions sources remained unchanged from 2010 to 2011. These were electricity use, overseas business travel and staff commuting to work. The three sources representedover90percentofthetotalcarbonemissions.

• The total carbon emissions of the eight companies which participated in the labelling scheme for two consecutive years was reduced by nine percent to 4,726 tonnes in 2011; down from 5,183 tonnes in 2010, despite the fact that total employee numbers increased by three percent.

• The carbon management performance index, which assesses companies’ performance in the areas of ‘commitment’ (policy and goal setting), ‘calculation’ (measurement and monitoring), ‘cut’ (carbon reduction strategy and action), ‘communication’ (internal and external communication) and other areas, remained unchanged at 55.7.

• Anassessmentof‘low-carbonofficepractices’ineightperformanceareas-lighting,computerofficeequipment,airtravel,stafftransportation,companyvehicle,paperuse,printingandphotocopying,andHVAC-showedimprovementsinallperformanceareas,rangingfrom0.9percentinpaperuseto12.2percentinprintingandphotocopying.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY


INTROdUCTION INTROdUCTION

1.4 BENEFITSLOOPofficescommittedtoreducingtheircarbonfootprintwillconcurrently:

• improvetheirbottom-lineandproductivity:LOOPhelpsenhanceoperationalefficienciesandimproveenergyefficiency;

• addressstakeholderconcerns:participatingcompaniesdemonstrateproactivemeasuresto address market expectations, not only through their products and services, but also by enhancing their own operations;

• overcomeregulatorychallenges:participatingcompanieswillbebetterpreparedforlegislativeorregulatorychallengesinanincreasinglycarbon-constrainedworld;

• ‘practicewhattheypreach’:participatinginLOOPisawaytodemonstratetostakeholdergroups that the company is putting into practice the values it is advocating;

• promotearesponsibleculture:whenmanagementdemonstratesaresponsibleculturetheyinfluenceemployeeattitudesandbehaviours;

• prepareforglobalcompetition:participatingcompaniesareeffectivelystartingtobenchmark themselves against other global players, thus escalating into a different rank of competition;

• enhancetheirbrandimage:throughassociationwithWWF,casestudiesoftheparticipatingcompanieswillbeusedtopromotelow-carbonofficepracticestoothercompanies.

Figure 1.3 LOOP assessment referencing GHG Protocol methodology1. INTROdUCTION

1.1 OBjECTIVESThefundamentalobjectiveoftheLow-carbonOfficeOperationProgramme(LOOP)istoenableHongKongcompaniesandorganizationstobecomepartofthesolutiontoclimatechange.Thisobjective is achieved through monthly measurement and analysis of the carbon performance ofofficeactivities,formulationofemissions-reductionstrategies,andreportingonimprovedcarbon performance.

CompaniesororganizationsparticipatinginLOOPareencouragedtosharewithagroupoflike-minded,forward-thinkingleaderstheirbestpracticesinmanagementpolicies,climate-friendlytechnologies and staff behavioural adaptations which have resulted in a reduction of greenhouse gasemissionsgeneratedfromofficeoperations.Theirachievementsincarbonemissionsreduction and adoption of best practices are benchmarked and communicated via a labelling scheme.

1.2 GEOGRAPhIC BOUNdARYLOOPisuniquelydesignedforoffice-basedcompanieslocatedinHongKong.Theprogrammetakes local conditions such as energy sources and modes of transportation into account. LOOP is acarbonaccountingtoolforHongKongdevisedspecificallytocalculategreenhousegas(GHG)emissionsgeneratedbyeverydayofficeoperations.

1.3 LOOP METhOdOLOGY ANd TOOLSWhen determining emissions categories, LOOP referenced the GHG Protocol(1) methodology.

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions come from sources that are owned or controlled by companies, for example, a company owned vehicle.

Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions refer to emissions related to the generation of purchased electricity,steam,andheating/cooling.Purchasedelectricityrelatestoenergyrequired by items such as lights, air conditioning units and computer equipment.

Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions include categories such as employee overseas business travel and commuting to and from work.

ToolsprovidedbyLOOPtohelpofficescalculateandreducetheircarbonemissions:

• TheSelfEvaluationQuestionnaireisalistof50yes/noquestionswhichassessanoffice’scurrentcarbonperformanceandgaugethereadinessofanofficetoundergoaformalcertificationprocessconductedbyanindependentthird-partyverificationcompany.

• The“GHG-easy”CalculationToolisaweb-basedcarbonaccountingsoftwarewhichcalculatesanoffice’sGHGemissionsbyusingdatathatcanbeeasilycollectedfromcommonadministrative and human resource reports. The tool also provides insightful reporting on theoffice’soverallemissions,includingpiechartbreakdowns,trendanalysisillustrationsand a detailed carbon emissions summary.

• TheLow-CarbonOfficeGuideprovidescompanieswithguidelinesandusefultipsforreducingGHGemissionsandalistoflow-carbonproceduresandtemplateswhichcanhelpcompanies develop internal carbon reduction programmes.

(1) The GHG Protocol is the most widely-used international standard for carbon accounting developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainability Development (WBCSD).


ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIESENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

2.2 AIESEC ECOLITY GLOBAL YOUTh SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABILITYFor two years running, WWF has played the role of advisor at the AIESEC Ecolity Global Youth Summit, an international conference which aims to empower youth leaders and get them to create and share ideas on sustainability. The Summit offers a platform for LOOP companies to share their sustainable business cases with the future leaders.

In addition to being guest speakers at the conference, the WWF team ran workshops encouragingtheyouthstodebatetheprosandconsof‘ThePaperlessOffice’and‘GreenPerformance Indicators in Staff Appraisal’. The debates offered the participants an opportunity todevelopcriticalthinkingaboutthepracticalapplicationofgreenpracticesinanofficeenvironment.

Debate: ‘The paperless office is more efficient than the conventional office’

For Against• It is easier to modify or correct

documentswhichareinsoftware/digital form.

• It saves time and is more convenient to share information and documents online or via email.

• It is easier to search for information in soft copies rather than hard copies of documents.

• Paperless documents save storage space. That space could then be used as an employee’s ‘social space’.

• Passwords and digital marks can be addedtodigitalfilestomakethemmore secure.

• Using computers increases the use of electricity, and hence increase carbon emissions.

• A large investment is required to switch atraditionalofficeintopaperlessone,and the outcome is uncertain.

• Using computers for long periods of time may result in health issues such as eyestrain or back pain.

• Digitalfilesaresusceptibletoinformationleakageandconfidentialityissues.

Debate: ‘Environmental and sustainability concerns should be included in staff performance appraisals’

For Against• Short-termbenefit:additionofthese

concerns would offer a positive incentive to employees to strive for the company’s sustainability goals.

• Long-termbenefit:additionoftheseconcerns will modify staff attitudes to become more ‘environmentally friendly’, thus the company will reduce operational costs in the long run.

• They will establish a green image for the company.

• They will promote green concepts to employees.

• A company’s biggest interest is their monetary return, not staff attitudes and behaviour regarding environmental issues.

• Staff appraisals should be related to staff performance only, not staff beliefsorattitudes:theirattitudesarepersonal preferences.

• If a company forces its staff to follow green practices, this may affect staff performance and lead to a decline in business.

Figure 2.2.1 Debate 1: ‘The paperless office is more efficient than the conventional office’

Karen Ho, WWF (middle), speaks at the AIESEC ECOlity Global Youth Summit on Sustainability

Figure 2.2.2Debate 2: ‘Environmental and sustainability concerns should be included in staff performance appraisals’

2. ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES2.1 EARTh hOUR 2011 POOL ChALLENGEIn order to make companies’ best practices better known to the public, LOOP companies were invited to take part in the ‘Earth Hour 2011 POOL Challenge’ in March 2011. The competition involved soliciting green ideas from staff members based around the concept of sharing or ‘pooling’ resources, with the ultimate objective of consuming resources wisely. In the end, the LOOPcompanieswontwooutofthreeprizesinthechallenge.The‘MostPopular’prize-winner,St.James’SettlementYouthService,recordedonvideoareal-lifesituationwherepeoplebrought their own utensils to use when eating takeaway food. The video reminisced about a ‘good old practice’ which disappeared when the disposable lunch box became widely available. The‘MostScalable’prize-winner,OnHingPaperCo.Ltd.,demonstratedhowthecompanyreuses scrap paper produced from daily operations and puts it into a pool. Other pool ideas from the competition included setting up a book corner (book pool) and reusing packing materials (material pool).

LIST OF WINNERSThe’MostPopular’prize: St. James’ Settlement Youth Service Blue Sky

The’MostScalable’Prize: On Hing Paper Co. Ltd. Sharing Caring Company

Winner of The ‘Most Popular’ Prize St. James’ Settlement Youth Service

Winner of The ‘Most Scalable’ Prize On Hing Paper Co. Ltd.


LOOPverificationprovides benchmark dataforofficeenergyuse, business travel patterns and resource consumption.

VERIFICATION FINdINGS

3. VERIFICATION FINdINGS3.1 OVERVIEWIn the last quarter of 2011, the Council for Sustainable Development (SDC) was commissioned by the government to launch a public consultation exercise on energy saving and emissions reduction in buildings. The aim of the exercise was to gauge the views of businesses and thewidercommunityonconcerns,incentivesandactionplansregardingthedemand-sidemanagement of electricity consumption. The consultation document highlights the importance ofconductinganenergy/carbonauditforbuildingsinordertofacilitatebehaviouralchangesamongusers.LOOPisparticularlywell-suitedtoaidthischange:thetoolsofferedbyLOOPcanfacilitateabetterunderstandingofcompanyandofficeperformanceintermsofelectricityconsumptionandcarbonemissionsinthenon-communalareasofbuildingsthatareunderthe management of the tenants. Using these tools, businesses are able to identify areas for improvement and benchmark their own level of energy consumption and carbon emissions againstaveragevalues-e.g.theenergyuse/carbonemissionsperemployee,orpersquaremetreofofficearea.Thisisparticularlypertinentastheenergyconsumptionofoffices-excludingthecommunalareasofbuildings-contributesupto50percentoftheoverallbuildingenergyuse.

WWF aims to help proprietors or senior managers assess the energy and carbon performance of individualofficesusingayear-on-year(bymonth)comparison.AspartoftheLOOPverificationprocess,third-partyindependentverifiersareappointedtovalidatedataentryintheGHG-easytool-ouronlinecarbonaccountingsoftware;conducton-siteassessmentsofcompanies’carbon performance and record observations of overall company efforts to conserve energy, fuel and resources, which are evaluated against established criteria; and lastly, record individual employee action taken to reduce GHG emissions.

Amongthe61officesparticipatinginLOOP(asat30June2011),19optedtopursuetheLOOPlabellingprocess.Theseofficescommissionedindependentthird-partyon-siteverificationfromJuly to September 2011.

Detailsofofficesparticipatinginthethirdpartyverification:

2010 2011

Offices (no.) 14 19

Employees (no.) 2,178 3,034

Office space (sq.m.) 32,696 52,286

Amongthe19verifiedoffices,eightparticipatedthelabellingassessmentschemefortwoconsecutive years. 2010 was used as the base year.

ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

2.3 SEMINARSSince the launch of LOOP, a series of seminars have been conducted to raise awareness amongst business practitioners and promote the programme in detail to the business community. More than28seminarswereheldfromMay2009toNovember2010.Theyattractedmorethan700companies and 1,000 individuals.

In2011,theLOOPteamco-organizedfivejointseminarswithCapitalMagazine,theBusinessEnvironmentCouncil(BEC),theHongKongInstituteofHumanResourceManagement(HKIHRM),theEmployers’FederationofHongKong(EFHK)andtheHongKongCouncilofSocialService(HKCSS).TheseseminarsreachedouttodifferentsectorsofsocietyanddifferentlevelsofHongKong’sworkforce.

2.4 WORKShOPSThe LOOP team joined forces with WWF Footprint Team to organize a Sustainability Workshop forLOOPcompaniesinMarch,2010,tomarkthereleaseofWWF’s2010HongKongEcologicialFootprintReport.Attheworkshop,twospecificareasrelatedtoofficeoperations-namelypaperconsumptionandcorporatedining-werediscussed.Inthegroupbreak-outsessions,participants discussed in detail the drivers and barriers to implementing these green practices in theiroffices,withinterestingresults.

Intermsofpaperpurchasing,administrativestaffhadacertaindegreeofinfluenceonthetypeof paper used. They knew about recycled paper, and to a lesser extent, FSC paper. Many of the participants tried using recycled paper in the past, though the result was not always satisfactory. Factorsinfluencinggreenpurchasingwereclearlyidentifiedascostandquality.

Intermsofcorporatediningpolicies,therewasaclearknowledgegaponthedefinitionofsustainableorgreenseafoodandevenaboutbasicfundamentalknowledgeonfishspecies,origin of seafood, and similar topics. The participants had a tendency to leave such decisions totheirseniors,whousuallyproceededtochooseamenubasedonpriceand/orpersonalpreference. If a ‘green seafood menu’ was commonly available in the market, the participants stated that they would be more willing to consider that option.

2.5 OThER ACTIVITIES Otherthanorganisinggroupactivities,WWFalsovisitedLOOPmembers’officestoconductkick-offmeetingsorstaffengagementsessionsuponrequestat“costrecovery”prices.Throughpresentations and games, staff learned about climate change, and explored options as to what they could personally do to combat climate change. These sessions were highly productive for all, and the opportunity to meet with ‘LOOPers’ and have direct interaction with them was a positive experience for WWF.


• Thetotalcarbonemissionsattheeightofficesparticipatingfortwoconsecutiveyearsfellby9percentto4,726tonnesin2011from5,183tonnesin2010,despitethefactthattotalemployee numbers rose by 3 percent.

2010 2011

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Figure 3.2.3 Carbon emissions of the 8 offices participating for 2 consecutive years

Figure 3.2.2 Carbon emissions of LOOP assessment areas in all verified offices

Number of employees (of verified offices)

Average = 3.52 tonnes per staff per annum

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3.2 VERIFIEd CARBON REdUCTION RESULTS• The carbon emissions per employee recorded a reduction of 12 percent to 3.52 tonnes (on

average) in 2011 from 4 tonnes (on average) in 2010.

• Duetothenatureofthebusinessesandthevariationinofficeactivities,thecarbonemissionsperemployeeattheverifiedofficesrangedfrom1.2to8.9tonnesperannum.

• The top three emissions sources remained unchanged from 2010 (inner circle) to 2011 (outer circle).Thesewere:electricityuse,overseasbusinesstravelandstaffcommutingtowork.Togetherthesesourcesrepresentedover90percentoftotalcarbonemissions.

Figure 3.2.1 The carbon emissions per employee of verified offices* Pertinent details of offices agreeing to third party verification in 2011: employee number: 1 to 877 employees per office; size of office space: 149 to 14,194 square metres; carbon emissions per employee – 1.2 to 8.9 tonnes per annum.

Car

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56%

Fresh Water & Sewage: 0%

45%

35%

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15%

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4%

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1%

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21%

2010

2011

Electricity Use

Overseas Business Travel

Local Business Travel

Staff Commuting

Company Vehicle

Paper Use

Fresh Water & Sewage

VERIFICATION FINdINGS VERIFICATION FINdINGS


32%ofverifiedofficeshaveestablishedatime-bound GHG emission reduction target.


A. Commitment - policy and goal setting

• Themaximumcreditinthisperformanceareais18;theaveragecreditofverifiedofficeswas 10.4.

• 94.7%ofverifiedofficeshaveputinplaceaclimatechangepolicystatementaddressingmanagement’s views on the risks and opportunities that climate change presents to the business.

• 32%ofverifiedofficeshaveestablishedatime-boundGHGemissionreductiontarget.

• Forthoseofficeswithatime-boundreductiontarget,allofthemhaveclearlydefinedtheresponsibilities necessary for achieving that target.

B. Calculation - measurement and monitoring


• AllverifiedofficeshaveestablishedaGHGinventoryfortheiroffices(followingtheLOOPguidance) and regularly update the inventory.

• AllverifiedofficeshavemeasuredcarbonemissionsinthetenLOOPassessmentareasutilizingtheonlineGHG-easycalculationtool,eithermonthlyorperiodically.

• AllverifiedofficeshaveassessedtheirGHGemissionreductionoptions.

• 84.2%ofverifiedofficeshaveeithermonitoredorengagedtheirmanagementteaminevaluating the monthly LOOP carbon emission reports.

• A few companies keep additional records of their carbon footprints on a monthly basis.

C. Cut - carbon reduction strategy and actions


• 89.5%verifiedofficeshavedemonstrated-toacertainextent-theimplementationofaconcrete management strategy to reduce carbon emissions, minimize risks and capitalize on opportunities.

• 94.7%ofverifiedofficeshaveallocated-tovaryingdegrees-resourcestoimplementthese carbon reduction strategies and achieve carbon reduction targets.

• Eightofficesparticipatedintheverificationprocessfortwoconsecutiveyears.Ofthese,fiveofficesrecordedreducedperstaffmembercarbonemissions.

• 10.5%ofverifiedofficeshavepurchasedcarboncreditstooffsetthecarbonemittedintheir daily operations.

• ManyLOOPofficeshaveinstalledtrialLEDlightsintheiroffices.However,thetrialscalemaynotbelargeenoughtocomparetheenergyefficiencyofLEDlightswithotherlighting equipment.

• MostLOOPofficeshaveadoptedtechnologytoreducetheirpaperuse.‘SecurityPrinting’or‘FollowMe’printingarecommonly-usedtoolswhichpreventexcessiveprintinganduncollected printouts.

D. Communication - internal and external

• Themaximumcreditinthisperformanceareais18;theaveragecreditofverifiedofficeswas9.9.

• AllverifiedofficeshavetheirstaffinvolvedinimplementingGHGpoliciesorachievingcarbon emissions targets.

• 84.2%ofverifiedofficeshavecommunicatedtheircarbonemissionsreductionplanswithbusinesspartners,suppliersand/orcustomers.


3.3 CARBON PERFORMANCE INdEXCarbonperformanceisevaluatedusingmultiplefactors,including:

A. Commitment - policy and goal setting (maximum credits: 18)B. Calculation - measurement and monitoring (maximum credits: 24)C. Cut - carbon reduction strategy and actions (maximum credits: 30)D. Communication - internal and external (maximum credits: 18)E. Other merits (bonus points) (maximum credits: 10)

When compared to 2010, the 2011 overall carbon performance index remained unchanged at 55.7.Thescoringbreakdownandchangesareshowninthetablebelow:

Performance areas 2010 2011 change

A.Commitment-policyandgoalsetting 10.5 10.4 -0.1

B.Calculation-measurementandmonitoring 20.4 20.5 +0.1C.Cut-carbonreductionstrategyandactions 11.8 13.1 +1.3D.Communication-internalandexternal 10.5 9.9 -0.5E. Other merits (bonus points) 2.5 1.7 -0.8

Total scores 55.7 55.7 -

Theverifiedofficescontinuedtoperformrelativelywellintheperiodicandsystematicmeasurement and monitoring of their carbon footprints. A slight improvement was observed in the performance area of Cut, which may have been due to a better implementation of the carbonreductionmanagementstrategyattheverifiedofficesandtheactualemissionsreductionachievedbytheofficesthatparticipatedfortwoconsecutiveyears.

However,itisratherdisappointingtonotethattherewasnosignificantimprovementintheperformanceareasofCommitmentandCommunication.Althoughmostoftheverifiedofficesnow have a climate change policy statement which publicizes management’s views on the risks andopportunitiesthatclimatechangepresentstothebusiness,onlysixoutof19companieshavesetanylong-termcarbonreductiongoals,whileonlyonecompanyhassetareductiongoalonflightemissionsfromoverseasbusinesstravel.

COMMITMENTClimate change policy

and goal setting

CUTCarbon reduction

strategy and actions

CALCULATIONMeasurement and

monitoring of carbon emissions

COMMUNICATIONStakeholders

engagement and carbon disclosure

Business vision and mission

Figure 3.3.1 A model of carbon management

Table 3.3.2 *Average carbon performance scores of all verified offices**Maximum score = 100.


LABELLING SChEME

4. LABELLING SChEME4.1 LOOP LABELLING TIMELINEAsofJuly2011,officeswishingtoparticipateinLOOP’slabellingawardscertificationpreparedforassessmentsbycollectingmonthlydataandsubmittingthedatawithLOOP’sGHG-easytool;usingLOOP’sLow-CarbonOfficeGuidetosetupbestpractices;andimplementingenergyreductionschemesandimprovinglow-carbonawarenessamongstaff.WWFandaqualifiedverifierfromeithertheBusinessEnvironmentCouncilLtd.(BEC),DetNorskeVeritasAS(DNV),Reset(HK)LimitedorSGSHongKongLtd.visitedLOOPofficesandassessedtheirperformance in the 12 months between July 2010 and June 2011.

Duringtheon-siteassessments,WWFobservedwhatpoliciesworkedwellandwhichneededimprovement,howofficesencouragedbehaviouralchanges,andwhattypesofnewtechnologywerebeingadoptedtoreducethecarbonemissionsgeneratedbyofficeoperations.

Figure 4.1 Flow of LOOP labelling award

Preparation Verification Report Analysis Label Communication

Join Loop

Preparation Process

- Define Organiza-tional Boundary

- Collect Data (min. 9 months, back date permitted)

- Use LOOP tools to calculate and cut carbon emissions

On-site Assessment

- Book 3rd party verification service (6 weeks prior to on-site audit)

- Prepare documents for on-site assess-ment

- Carry out on-site assessment

WWF Review Process

- Review 3rd party audit report

- Rank office’s performance/ label grade

- Compile self-declared data

- LOOP Labelling Award Ceremony

- Communication

Applications are accepted all year

roundMay to Aug Sep to Oct Nov to Dec

ManyLOOPofficeshave set up a ‘Green Team’


• 73.7%ofverifiedofficeshavecommunicatedwiththepublicsomeoftheircompanies’carbonperformancestatisticsorbestpractices.ManyLOOPofficeshavesetupa‘GreenTeam’oradedicatedworkgroupwhichhandlesgreenmattersintheiroffices.Thesecommittees commonly put up posters or other reminders about saving resources. In addition,someoftheteamsalso‘patrol’theofficesandgiveindividualcolleaguesenergysaving reminders and tips.

• Intermsofexternalcommunication,manyLOOPofficesspecifytheirgreenrequirementsto suppliers and vendors when they purchase stationery or IT equipment.

E. Other Merits (bonus points)


• 47.4%ofverifiedofficeshaveparticipatedinotheractivitiesorcampaignsthatcontributeto carbon reduction. The most commonly supported campaign was Earth Hour.

• 10.5%ofverifiedofficeshaveorganizedspecialactivitiestoincreaseemployeeawarenessof climate change. These ‘Green Trips’ enable staff members and their families to experience nature and modern farming.

3.4 ORGANIzATIONAL ANd INdIVIdUAL EMPLOYEE BEhAVIOUR Organizationalandindividualemployeebehaviourwasobservedduringon-siteassessmentsandmeasured against an established set of LOOP criteria.

Thescoresachievedinthedifferentperformanceareasarelistedinthetablebelow:

Performance areas 2010 2011 change

A. Lighting 45.6% 50.0% +4.4%

B. Computer office equipment 49.1% 54.4% +5.3%

C. Air travel 41.1% 46.2% +5.1%

D. Staff commuting 42.2% 46.3% +4.1%

E. Company vehicle 43.4% 52.5% +9.1%

F. Paper use 68.2% 69.1% +0.9%

G. Printing and photocopying 53.0% 65.2% +12.2%

H. HVAC 42.7% 48.2% +5.5%

Assessmentofallthelow-carbonofficepracticesshowedasignificant(>65%)achievementinpaperuse,printingandphotocopying.Improvementopportunitieswereidentifiedinhighcarbonemissionssources:electricityuse(HVACinparticular),overseasbusinesstravelandstaff commuting.


LABELLING SChEME

4.3 LOOP LABELLING AWARdS 2011LOOP LABEL COMPANY LOCATION

Green Institute Hong Kong Ka Ming Industrial Building, Lai Chi KokFook Woo Group Holdings Limited Fook Woo Group Building, FanlingJones International Limited Tower 1, Metroplaza, Kwai FongMGPA (Asia) Limited Three Pacific Place, Wan Chai

AET Flexible Space (Hong Kong) Limited The Center, CentralHip Shing Hong Hip Shing Hong Centre, CentralSailing Boat Catering Management Limited

Blk 2, Tai Ping Industrial Centre, Tai Po

Wheelock Properties (Hong Kong) Limited

Wheelock House, Central

WWF-Hong Kong Central Office - No.1Tramway Path, Central

DKSH Hong Kong Limited Tower A, Southmark, Wong Chuk HangKingfisher Asia Limited Cornwall House, Taikoo Place, Quarry

BayMarkant Trading Organisation (Far East) Limited

Chinachem Golden Plaza, Tsim Sha Tsui East

Melco International Development Limited The Centrium, CentralSGS Hong Kong Limited Metropole Square, Siu Lek Yuen, Sha TinWharf T&T Limited COL Tower & Telecom Tower, Wharf T&T

Square, Kwun Tong

Crystal Group Crystal Industrial Building, Kwun Tong

Dah Chong Hong Holdings Limited DCH Building, Kowloon Bay

Knight Frank Shui On Centre, Wan Chai

Tata Consultancy Services Limited Sino Plaza, Causeway Bay

LABELLING SChEME

4.2 LOOP LABELLING ASSESSMENTThe 2011 LOOP labelling assessment was performed on companies which collected activity data usingtheLOOPmethodology,inputteddataintotheGHG-easytoolforaminimumofninemonthsendingat30June2011,andcommissionedaqualifiedindependentthird-partyverifiertovalidatetheirdataentryandconductanon-siteassessmentattheiroffices.

Nineteencompanieswithatotalof3,034employeeshousedin52,286squaremetresofofficespace entered the LOOP labelling assessment in 2011. Of participating companies, eight had joinedtheschemefortwoconsecutiveyears.Sixofficesdidnotparticipateinthesecondyearthird-partyassessmentforvariousreasons:theyhadappointedanotherexternalconsultancy,therewerefinancialconcerns,ortherewasachangeofpersonnel.

Below shows LOOP label grades mapped onto a normal distribution curve of carbon performance scores attained by participating companies.

Figure 4.2 Normal curve of LOOP labels

The normal curve is used to determine the cut-off points for different labels as a benchmark for participating companies’ carbon performance. Participating companies are evaluated against a set of performance criteria and their overall scores are arranged from lowest to highest to determine the label class the company has achieved.

χ − 3α χ − 2α χ − α χ χ + α χ + 2α χ + 3α

An office scored one standard deviation above the mean.

This office performed better than 84.1%.

34.1%34.1%

13.6%2.2%0.1%

LOOP label Normal curve standard deviation Performance scores

Certified Below mean -1 standard deviation < 40.87

Silver Between -1 standard deviation and mean From 40.87 to 54.60

Gold Between mean and +1 standard deviation From 54.60 to 68.33

Platinum Above mean +1 standard deviation > 68.33


Regular rotation of representatives on a Green Committee using staff from different business units.

dETAILEd ANALYSIS OF FINdINGS FROM ON-SITE ASSESSMENTS

5. dETAILEd ANALYSIS OF FINdINGS FROM ON-SITE ASSESSMENTS5.1 COMMON BARRIERS TO AdOPTING GREEN OFFICE PRACTICES ANd SOLUTIONS

OFFEREd BY LOOP COMPANIESThemajorityofLOOPofficesencountereddifferenttypesofbarriersinthecourseofimplementing carbon reduction guidelines. However, using practical and sometimes ingenious solutions, companies were able to overcome these barriers.

In order to share best practices and solutions adopted by LOOP companies, some common barriersidentifiedfromtheon-siteassessmentsandinterviewswithLOOPcompanyrepresentatives are discussed below.

BARRIER 1: dIFFICULTY IN MOTIVATING STAFF TO SUPPORT GREEN PRACTICES IN ThE OFFICEThere is a general perception that the larger the size of the company or the larger its number of staff,themoredifficultitistopromoteawarenessof‘green’behavioursamongthemajorityofstaff in an effective manner. However, a number of LOOP companies’ cases have shown that this isnotnecessarilytrue:oneLOOPcompanyinparticular,despiteitsrelativelylargesize(almost900staff),achievedremarkableresultsinraisingstaffawarenessandsupport.

Thesemanagementandcommunicationbestpracticeswereidentifiedastheelementswhichcontributedtothesuccess:

A. A Green Committee

The establishment of an internal green committee, formed by staff from different departments or business functions, is essential. The leadership of top management in terms of environmental stewardship-exemplifiedbyguidanceandsupportfromseniormanagement-isalsoessentialifthecommitteeistoachievetheoffice’sgreenobjectives.

B. Achievable Reduction Targets

Once a carbon reduction target has been set, the target should be communicated to all levels of staff, as staff are the key players that will achieve the target. A number of companies demonstratedtheircommitmentbyestablishingalong-termcarbonreductiongoal,rangingfrom reducing carbon by 3 percent per year to achieving a 25 percent reduction in 5 years’ time.

C. Staff Empowerment

LOOPcompaniesusedifferentapproachestokeeptheirstaffalertandmotivatedto‘gogreen’:

• Regular rotation of representatives on a Green Committee using staff from different business units.

• Inviting staff to participate as members of a monitoring team to monitor and ‘police’ the officeenvironmenttoensureeffectiveimplementationoflow-carbonpolicies,measuresand practices. The monitoring team measures room temperatures and observes staff behaviourintermsofrecyclingandenergy-savingpractices.Theteamsendsareminderemailtostaffmemberswhohavelefttheircomputersorlightsonorinstand-bymodeafterleavingtheoffice.

Representatives from labelled LOOP companies and WWF at the WWF LOOP Labelling Award Ceremony 2011

WWF recognises the first 14 companies awarded LOOP labels in 2010

LABELLING SChEME

4.4 LOOP REPORT LAUNCh ANd LABELLING AWARd CEREMONY 2009/2010 LOOPbeganin2009.Intheprogramme’sfirstyearofoperation,14LOOPcompaniescommissionedanindependentthirdpartytoconductanon-siteassessment,inwhichthecompanieswereevaluatedagainstasetoflow-carbonperformancecriteriaandtheircarbonemissionsdatawereverified.TheassessmentresultswerethenusedforanalysisandthefindingswerepublishedintheLOOPReport2010.Theseassessedcompanieswerethenawarded different classes of LOOP labels according to their performance.

On25November2010,thekeyfindingsoftheLOOPreport2010werereleasedattheLOOPLabellingAwardCeremony2010.Thelow-carbonbestpracticesobservedduringon-siteassessments were also highlighted. The 14 assessed LOOP companies were presented with LOOP Labelstorecognizetheireffortsinreducingcarbonemissionsintheirofficeenvironments.

4.5 ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2010/2011 CARBON PERFORMANCE RESULTS ANd LABELLING AWARd CEREMONY 2011

FromJunetoAugust2011,19LOOPofficesparticipatedinthethirdpartyon-siteassessment.Ofthese19offices,eightofthemkepttrackoftheirperformancebyparticipatingintheverificationfortwoconsecutiveyears.

Duringtheceremony,KarenHo,BusinessEngagementLeader,madeapresentationonthe overall carbon performance of LOOP companies. She reported that LOOP companies successfully reduced their carbon intensity from 4 tonnes per employee per annum to 3.52 tonnes per employee. The details of these carbon performance results can be found in section 3 of this report.


-11% electricityOne company managed to reduce electricity consumption from air conditioning by 11 percent through optimizing the air conditioning operation hours and temperature

A responsible corporate culture that promotes sustainability and caring builds employee trust and attracts and retains talent who share the same vision.


No-cost housekeeping solutions

• Anumberofofficessetupamonitoringteamtoensuretheeffectiveimplementationoflow-carbonpolicies,measuresandpracticesintheoffice.Theseincludedsettingtimersforcomputersandmonitorstogointosleepmodewhennotinuse,andutilizingtele-presencefacilities to reduce overseas business travel.

• Most LOOP companies have defaulted their printer settings to ‘duplex printing’ to save paper.

• Usingreusedmaterials(e.g.recycledwoodfibresorcarpets)whereverpossibleforofficerenovations and external exhibit installations.

• Onecompanymanagedtoreduceitsannualper-staffcarbonemissionsby12percentthrough better housekeeping practices and management policies, staff education and active monitoringofcarbonemissionsthroughtheGHG-easycalculationtool.

Low-cost solutions

• Undertaking an energy or carbon audit or environmental review to understand the company’senergyconsumptionandcarbonemissionprofile.

• One company managed to reduce electricity consumption from air conditioning by 11 percent (equivalenttoHK$20,000savedinonemonth)throughidentifyingtheirenergywastage,and then optimizing the air conditioning operation hours and temperature, and improving the air conditioner maintenance.

• One LOOP company was able to save more than 4,000 pieces of paper in one year by switching from paper customer statements to electronic statements.

• A number of companies replaced disposable eating utensils with reusable eating utensils.

• Setting up food composters to convert food waste into fertilizer for planting.

BARRIER 3: LIMITEd BUSINESS VALUE IN MAKING ThE LOW-CARBON TRANSFORMATIONSPotentialenhancementsinoperationalefficiencyandcuttingrunningcostsarenottheonlybenefitsofadoptinglow-carbonpolicies.Therearemanyothernon-financialandintangiblebenefitsthatacompanystandstogainfrommakingthelow-carbontransformation.

Human resources and people development

• A workforce with knowledge of sustainable business and environmental issues will be better preparedtothriveinaresource-constrainedworld.

• A responsible corporate culture that promotes sustainability and caring builds employee trust and attracts and retains talent who share the same vision.

• Tofacilitatecommunicationwithstaff,onecompanyestablishedGreenOfficeGuidelineson the staff intranet to educate staff with green tips on energy saving, water use and waste reduction.AnotherofficeestablishedadedicatedEco-relatedsectiononthestaffintranet.

• Onecompanyestablishedavoluntarystaffworkinggroupwhichorganizedregularnature-related outdoor activities and nature conservation voluntary service to promote green messages in a more engaging way.

One company organized anenergy-savingcompetition for the families of staff members, with cash coupons being awarded to the winning family.


• Introducing carbon reduction goals to individual staff members through an appraisal mechanism, thus recognizing staff contributions to carbon reduction efforts.

• Conducting regular evaluations of the implementation of company green policies by listeningtoindividualstaffopinionsandconcerns.OneLOOPofficedistributedanevaluation form to all departmental managers on a regular basis to collect feedback on areas of improvement and suggestions for further development.

• Introduce a ‘Day at Home’ policy, whereby an individual staff member works from home onedaypermonth.Thiscutsdownontravelandcommutingandalsobringsaboutwork-lifebalancebenefits.

D. Recognition and Incentives

LOOPcompanieshadanumberofinnovativeideasandprogrammeswhichusedincentive-basedmechanismstoencouragestafftoimplementlow-carbonmeasures:

• Staff gain credit towards their annual appraisals through volunteering their time on the Green Committee.

• One company invited staff to get involved in developing green solutions by offering cash coupons to those who proposed the best environmental policy and green activity ideas.

• Onecompanyorganizedanenergy-savingcompetitionbetweendifferentdepartmentsandfloors.Toencourageparticipation,thecompanyawardedmembersofthewinningteam 60 percent of the money saved from the reduction in electricity costs (around $10,000).Thisschemesuccessfullymotivatedstafftoproposenewenergysavingideasthrough technological solutions and staff behavioural changes.

• Anothercompanyorganizedanenergy-savingcompetitionforthefamiliesofstaffmembers, with cash coupons being awarded to the winning family. This scheme had the addedbenefitofbringinggreenmessages‘backhome’.

• One company organized a ‘Public Transportation Week’ to encourage all staff to take public transport. A ‘Zero Commuting Day Award’ was given to deserving staff members.

E. Demonstrated commitment

Seize every opportunity to demonstrate the company’s commitment to tackling climate change toitsstaff,clientsandbusinesscontacts:

• The company’s climate change policy, reduction target and results are displayed at multiple locations in the company premises, including reception area, lifts, staircases and notice boards.

• Company-brandedwallpaperpromotingenvironmentallyfriendlymessagesareinstalledon every staff PC.

• Onecompanyorganizedalow-carbonvegetarianmealtoengagestaff.

• Another company organized a monthly environmental movie screening during its company lunch hour and established a DVD library of environmental education resources.

BARRIER 2: FINANCIAL LIMITATIONS TO AdOPTING LOW-CARBON SOLUTIONSThereareawidevarietyoflow-carbonsolutionsavailabletocompanies,rangingfrom‘no-cost’solutions,torelativelylow-costsolutions,tocapitalinvestmentsolutionsthatrequirearelativelyhigheramountofinvestment.DuringtheLOOPverificationprocess,severalmanagementbestpracticeswereidentifiedwhichillustratedhowlittlechangesinmanagementpolicy,orsimplehousekeepingimprovementstoenhanceefficiencyinthecompany’soperation,couldbringlow-carbonbenefitswithaminimalamountofinvestment.


The use of cloud computing reduces server space occupation and energy use in the officeenvironment.


5.2 TEChNOLOGY BEST PRACTICES ANd BUSINESS CASESAnumberofcompanieshaveintroducednewhigh-techproductsandtechniqueswhichfacilitatemoreefficientofficeoperationswhilstmakingcarbonreductionsandotherenvironmentalimprovements.

IT and Cloud Computing

• The use of cloud computing enables users to access systems using a web browser regardless oftheirlocationorwhatdevicetheyareusing:PC,mobilephone,tabletandthelike.Astheinfrastructureisoff-siteandaccessedviatheInternet,userscanconnectfromanywhere;thissubsequentlyreducesserverspaceoccupationandenergyuseintheofficeenvironment.Theoff-sitecloudcomputinginfrastructure,withopportunitytobepoweredbyrenewableenergy,couldleadtosignificantenergysavingsandemissionsreduction.

• There is a much wider application of Virtual Private Networks (VPN), which use the Internet toprovideremoteofficesortravellingusersaccesstoacentralorganizationalnetwork.These, in turn, reduce the need for staff to commute.

• IntroducingaRadio-frequencyidentification(RFID)systemtomanagethecheckin/outofofficeequipment.

• IntroducinganElectronicDocumentManagementSystemtoreplacephysicalfilingofhardcopy documents in store rooms.

• Onecompanyreplaced140oldPCswiththemostenergy-efficientmodelsavailableonthemarket. This has reduced power consumption from PCs’ daily operation by up to 40 percent.

Videoconferencing

• Thelatestdevelopmentsinvideoconferencingtechnologyhaveenabledarealistic,‘in-person’meetingexperience,deliveringreal-time,face-to-faceinteractionbetweenpeopleseatedarounda‘virtualtable’.Participantsarerepresentedbylife-size,high-definitionimagesandhigh-qualityaudio,whichovercomesthedisadvantagesofpoorsoundandtheunclear images traditionally associated with videoconferences of the past.

Centralized HVAC system

• Replacingtraditionalair-cooledairconditioningsystemswithwater-cooledsystems.AverysuccessfulcaseidentifiedintheLOOPverificationhasproventhatsuchsystemsreduce energy consumption by over 35 percent with a payback period of three to four years, comparing to a norm of seven to eight years.

• Running pilot tests to replace the traditional refrigerants used in company chillers at distributionCentresandofficeswithhydrocarbonrefrigerantstoenhancethechillers’efficiency.IthasbeensaidthatthisreplacementisabletosaveuptoHK$50,000peryear.OnesuchhydrocarbonrefrigerantisR427,alsoknownasthe‘Eco-FriendlyEnergySaving’refrigerant which has a relatively lower global warming potential.

PullPrinting for Multi-functional Devices

• 14outof19officesemployedapplicationsofefax,pullprintingsolutions,orSecurityPrintProgrammesforMulti-functionalDevices(MFD).Thesesolutionsallowemployeestoprintdocuments on any MFD in their workgroup and ensure that the document is only released for printing once they have authenticated themselves at the printer. These are perfect ways to prevent waste and save money, since they ensure that a document will only be printed when the user is actually at the device and asks for it. These solutions came about to address the common phenomenon of a high proportion of printout never being collected by the user who initiated them.

• Inaddition,pullprintingcanensuretheconfidentialityofsensitivedocumentsandsavetime, as it allows the printout to be conveniently retrieved from the closest afterward chosen printing device.

One company developed a questionnaire that assesses suppliers’ performance on sustainability.

One property management company took a big step forward by proactively monitoring and reviewing the energy and water consumption oftenantoffices.


Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and brand building

• Therehavebeenfast-growingexpectationsfromthepublicinrecentyearsforthecorporate world to demonstrate responsibility in the areas of environmental stewardship and sustainability. By integrating more environmental and social concerns into business operations, companies will demonstrate to stakeholder groups that the company is employing what it is advocating.

• One company has introduced carbon footprint accounting for its exhibitions and seminars in order to reduce and offset carbon emissions generated from the events.

• A number of LOOP companies have taken the proactive step of communicating to and engaging with their suppliers, helping them to adopt better environmental practices in the provision of goods and services.

• Some companies have performed an environmental assessment on their suppliers by evaluating vendors’ performance in sustainability in the processes of screening and selection.

• One company developed a questionnaire that assesses suppliers’ performance on sustainability.

BARRIER 4: LIMITEd SUPPORT FROM ThE PROPERTY/BUILdING MANAGEMENT COMPANYRecently,theproperty/buildingmanagementcompaniesofthebuildingspaceLOOPcompaniesare renting have been much more willing to provide their tenants with their energy consumption records and the electricity costs incurred during their tenancy. This positive development iscrucialtohelpingtenantsobtainamoreaccurateprofileoftheiroverallenergyusage,inparticular the HVAC and water costs.

One property management company took a big step forward by proactively monitoring and reviewingtheenergyandwaterconsumptionoftenantoffices.Theywentevenfurtherandidentifiedandinvestigatedanyabnormalenergyusetrendsobserved,andthenputupproposalsonhowtoimprovetheenergyefficiencyofofficesfortenants’consideration.Thismethodprovedtobefinanciallybeneficialtothelandlord,whoseofficewasalsosituatedinthebuilding,and created a greener workplace for all tenants.

Anotherpropertymanagementcompanyinstalledwater-savingfaucetsinthebuilding’swashroomssoastoreducewaterwastage;andreplacedthebuilding’soldair-cooledairconditioningsystemwithawater-cooledairconditioningsystem.Thisreducedenergyconsumption by 35 percent, with a payback period as short as three or four years.

Suchapositivechangeofattitudeinproperty/buildingmanagerscanbeattributedtoacombinationoffactors,includingthegrowingawarenessofenergy/carbonmanagementanddisclosure, tenants’ expectations on data transparency, and social demand. WWF believes thatfirstandforemost,thetenants’attitudesareinfluencingpropertymanagerstotakeamore proactive role in allowing tenants to manage their energy consumption. Continuous dialogue and cooperation between the tenants and property management companies will play aconstructiveroleinthefuture,andwillcreatepositivechangeintermsofinfluencingthecreationoflow-carbonofficesandbuildings.


CONCLUSION ANd RECOMMENdATIONS

6. CONCLUSION ANd RECOMMENdATIONSAccording to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global carbon emissions reached a record high in 2010, despite the economic recession and existing global efforts to curb carbon emissions. This rise in emissions underlines the urgent need to tackle climate change. WWF’sLOOPwasestablishedtoenableHongKongcompaniesandorganizationstobecomepart of the critical solution to climate change.

Now in its second year, LOOP has continued to give companies and organizations the tools to measureandreducethegreenhousegasemissionsgeneratedfromtheirofficeoperationsviathe adoption of managerial and technological best practices, staff behavioural adaptations, and alabellingscheme.Therearenowmorethan90offices,includinginternationalcorporations,local enterprises and SMEs, which have committed to the programme over the past two years. In addition,agrowingnumberofofficeshaveoptedtopursuetheannualLOOPlabellingprocess,inwhichtheycommissionanindependentthird-partyverifiertovalidatethedatasubmittedthroughtheLOOPaccountingtool,andtoconductanon-siteassessmentofcarbonmanagementperformance, organizational and individual employee behaviour using the LOOP methodology and scoring system.

Itisimportanttonotethat2011markedthefirsttimethatquantitativecomparisonscouldbe made between the audited yearly carbon emissions and the carbon footprint baseline established in 2010. Such systematic comparisons are critical to ascertaining the real emissions reductionsachievedbyLOOPcompaniesovertheone-yearmeasurementperiod.

Detailedanalysisoftheauditedcarbonfootprintdata(Section3),fromthe19companieswhich participated in the LOOP labelling process revealed that there was a remarkable overall reduction of 12 percent in carbon intensity compared to the base year of 2010. The carbon emissions per employee recorded a reduction to 3.52 tonnes (on average) in 2011 from 4 tonnes (onaverage)in2010.Subjecttothenatureofthebusinessandthevaryingofficeactivities,thecarbonemissionsperemployeeattheverifiedofficesrangefrom1.2to8.9tonnesperannum. With more companies joining the labelling scheme, more validated carbon data will be generated;andWWFhopestoestablishindustry-relevantsectoralbenchmarksonofficeenergyuse, business travel patterns and resource consumption in the near future.

Amongthe19companiesparticipatedintheLOOPlabellingscheme,eightcommittedtothe process for two consecutive years. This enabled accurate measurement on the absolute emissions reduction of these eight companies. The data reveals that in terms of absolute emissionreductions,theseeightofficessucceededinreducingtheiremissionsbyninepercent:to 4,726 tonnes in 2011 from 5,183 tonnes in 2010, even though the total number of employees increased by three percent.

The overall carbon performance index remained unchanged at 55.7 (out of a total of 100) in 2011 comparingto2010.Theverifiedofficescontinuedtoperformrelativelywellintheperformanceareaof‘Calculation’-theperiodicalandsystematicmeasurementandmonitoringoftheircarbonfootprint-whereassomeimprovementwasrecordedintheperformanceareaof‘Cut’.

However,itisratherdisappointingtonotethattherewasnosignificantimprovementintheperformanceareasof‘Commitment’and‘Communication’.Althoughmostoftheverifiedofficesnow have a climate change policy statement which publicizes management’s views on the risks andopportunitiesthatclimatechangepresentstothebusiness,onlysixoutof19companieshavesetanylong-termcarbonreductiongoals,whileonlyonecompanyhassetareductiongoalonflightemissionsfromoverseasbusinesstravel.

The participation in LOOP has brought about positive behavioural change among staff, and a willingness to reduce personal carbon footprints.


Lighting systems

• Thereisnowamuchwiderapplicationofenergysavinglightingsystems.14outof19officesarenowusingT5and/orLEDlightings,withprovenelectricitysavingresults.

5.3 SURVEY ON STAFF BEhAVIOURAL ChANGES TOWARdS ‘ThE GREEN LIFESTYLE’Duringtheon-siteassessments,staffinterviewsandsurveyswereconducted,toassesstowhatextent the companies’ participation in LOOP has encouraged the adoption of green lifestyle andbehavioursamongcompanystaff.Betweenthreeandfivestaffmembersfromvariousdepartments and job levels of each company were selected on a random basis and interviewed accordingly. A total of 72 employees were interviewed.

Almost all interviewees mentioned there were positive change in their attitudes and perceptions towardsresourceutilizationintheirpersonallives.Examplesincludedbutwerenotlimitedto:

• Switchingoffelectricalappliancesafterusetoavoidkeepingthemonstand-by(66instances)

• Separating waste for recycling (51 instances)

• Avoiding disposable utensils for takeaway food (24 instances)

• Taking public transport instead of driving a car (8 instances)

• Selectingdirectflightsoverindirectflightsdespitethehighercost(forexpatriatehometriptwice a year)

These examples imply that the participation in LOOP has brought about positive behavioural change among staff, and a willingness to reduce personal carbon footprints. The key drivers, as identifiedfromthestaffinterviews,weresavingsindailyexpenses,andeducatingstafffamilymembers.Someintervieweeshighlightedthatthelow-carbonactionstheytookathomeechoedthe‘greenknowledge’whichtheirchildrenlearntatschools;strengtheningthelinkageofeco-awareness and real action taken by all family members.


LOOP Labelling Award Ceremony 2011 | LOOP Platinum Label Companies

LOOPLabellingAwardCeremony2011|LOOPCertifiedLabelCompanies

LOOP Labelling Award Ceremony 2011 | LOOP Gold Label Companies

LOOP Labelling Award Ceremony 2011 | LOOP Silver Label Companies

LOOP ACTIVITIES hIGhLIGhTS 2011


© W

WF-H

ong kong

CONCLUSION ANd RECOMMENdATIONS

On-siteassessmentoftheorganizationalandindividualemployeebehaviourfurtherrevealsthatofficescontinuetomakeadvancementsinlowcarbonpracticesintheareaofpaperuse,printingandphotocopying.Thiswasexemplifiedbytheon-siteobservationthatmanyLOOPofficeshasadoptedtechnologylikesecurityprintingorpullprintingintheirmulti-functionaldevicestopreventexcessiveprintinganduncollectedprint-outs,ontopofthemorecommonpracticesalreadyidentifiedin2010suchasduplexprinting,usingFSCcertifiedpaperandelectronicdocumentation/administration.

However,itisimportanttonotethatcompaniesingeneralhavefailedtomakesignificantimprovements in the relatively high carbon emission sources including electricity use (HVAC in particular), overseas business travel and staff commuting.

There is in particular great opportunity for making major improvements in the area of electricity use.Asindicatedinthe‘HongKongEnergyIndex’-recentlyreleasedbyWWFincollaborationwiththeEnvironmentalPolicyResearchUnitofCityUniversityofHongKong-usingtheyear1990asabaseline,40percentmoreenergywasusedin2008toperformthesamecommercialactivities. This sends the alarming signal that energy wastage is very common in the commercial sectorinHongKong,andcompaniesneedtoactivelyidentifyoperationalareaswhereenergyor resources have been wasted in order to reduce costs. LOOP provides one of the best tools on themarkettohelpcompaniesidentifythiswastageinorderandhelpthemmakecost-effectiveimprovements.

Additionally,themajorityofverifiedofficesencountereddifferentbarriersinthecourseofimplementinggreenorcarbonreductionguidelines.ThesebarriersareidentifiedandcategorisedinSection5,namelydifficultiesinmotivatingstafftosupportgreenpracticesintheoffice,financiallimitations,limitedperceivedvaluetomakinglow-carbontransformations,andlimited support from the building management company. However, LOOP companies were able to overcome the barriers using practical and ingenious solutions. Again, these are explained in detail in Section 5.

Itisespeciallyencouragingtoobservethatincomparisontopreviousyears,theproperty/building management companies from which LOOP companies rent space have been much more willingtoprovideofficetenantswiththeirenergyconsumptionrecordsandelectricitycostsincurred during their tenancies. This positive development is crucial to helping tenants obtain a moreaccurateprofileoftheiroverallofficeenergyusage.Onthepolicyside,WWFrecommendsthattheHKSARgovernmentactivelyconsiderextendingthebuildingenergyefficiencyfundingscheme to cover tenants’ space, which contributes up to 50 percent of the building energy consumption.

Finally, thanks to the latest developments in various information and communication technologies such as cloud computing, VPN and videoconferencing, businesses are now much better equipped to make substitutions to their overseas and local business travel. The case studiesofmanyoftheverifiedLOOPofficeshaverevealedthatuseoftheseinnovationshasbroughtsignificantcostsavingsandcarbonreductionbenefits,aswellasanimprovedwork-lifebalance for staff.

A series of seminars, workshops, site visits and staff engagement activities have been organized for LOOP companies in 2011


ANNEX: LOOP FAMILY

COMPANY NAME OFFICE LOCATION23 DT Communications Westland Centre, Quarry Bay

24 Fook Woo Group Holdings Limited Fook Woo Group Building, Fanling

25 GermanPool(HongKong)Limited Newport Centre, Tokwawan

26 GreenInstituteHongKong KaMingIndustrialBuilding,LaiChiKok

27 Hip Shing Hong Hip Shing Hong Centre, Central

28 Hopewell Holdings Limited Hopewell Centre, Wan Chai

29 Jebsen & Company Limited Lee Gardens Two, Causeway Bay

30 Jones International Limited Tower1,Metroplaza,KwaiFong

31 K&LGates Edinburgh Tower, The Landmark, Central

32 KaiShingManagementServicesLimited ManagementOffice-Metroplaza,KwaiFong

33 KaiShingManagementServicesLimited PublicArea-Metroplaza,KwaiFong

34 KingfisherAsiaLimited Cornwall House, Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay

35 KnightFrank Shui On Centre, Wan Chai

36 KowloonDevelopmentCompanyLimited Pioneer Centre, Prince Edward

37 KPMG* Prince Building, Central

38 Leighton Contractors (Asia) Limited SunHungKaiCenter,WanChai

39 LeoPaperGroup(HK)Limited Tower1,EnterpriseSquareFive,KowloonBay

40 Li & Fung (Trading) Limited LF Centennial Building, Cheung Sha Wan

41 Li & Fung (Trading) Limited HKSpinnersIndustrialBuilding,CheungShaWanRd

42 Li & Fung (Trading) Limited Li Fung Tower, Cheung Sha Wan

43 Li&Fung(Trading)Limited* Pilotoffice-HKSpinnersIndustrialBuilding,CheungSha Wan Road

44 Linklaters Alexandra House, Central

45 Magnum (Offset) Printing Company Limited E-TatFactoryBuilding,WongChukHang

46 Markant Trading Organisation (Far East) Limited Chinachem Golden Plaza, Tsim Sha Tsui East

47 Melco International Development Limited The Centrium, Central

48 MGPA (Asia) Limited ThreePacificPlace,WanChai

49 Mint Asia Limited TamsonPlaza,KwunTong

50 Mission Support Limited HSHMongKokPlaza,MongKok

ANNEX: LOOP FAMILY

ANNEX: LOOP FAMILYLIST OF LOOP PARTICIPATING COMPANIES# The list includes active LOOP offices and offices that have withdrawn from the programme *Pilot Company

COMPANY NAME OFFICE LOCATION1 AECOM Asia Company Limited ShaTinOffice-Tower2,GrandCentralPlaza,ShaTin

2 AECOM Asia Company Limited ShunTakOffice-ChinaMerchantsTower,ShunTakCentre, Central

3 AEONStores(HongKong)CompanyLimited Stanhope House, Quarry Bay

4 AETFlexibleSpace(HongKong)Limited The Center, Central

5 AL Design Cheung Wah Building, Taikoo Shing

6 Barclays Capital CheungKongCenter,Central

7 Bissell Homecare, Inc. Landmark North, Sheung Shui

8 Business Environment Council JockeyClubEnvironmentalBuilding,KowloonTong

9 Canon Hongkong Company Limited Metropolis Tower, Hung Hom

10 Carthy Limited On Hing Building, Central

11 CathayPacificAirwaysLimited North Tower, CX City, Lantau Island

12 Chow Sang Sang 9WingHongStreet,CheungShaWan

13 ChunAuKnittingFactoryLimited EasternSeaIndustrialBuilding,KwaiChung

14 Civic Exchange Hoisenee House, Central

15 Clotex Labels Company Limited CityIndustrialComplex,KwaiChung

16 COSCO International Holdings Limited COSCO Tower, Central

17 CrodaHongKongCompanyLimited Tower 2, South Seas Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui East

18 Crown Motors Limited CiticorpHeadquarters-CiticorpCentre,NorthPoint

19 Crystal Group CrystalIndustrialBuilding,KwunTong

20 Dah Chong Hong Holdings Limited DCHBuilding,KowloonBay

21 Danny Catering Service Limited ProsperityCentre,KwaiChung

22 DKSHHongKongLimited Tower A, Southmark, Wong Chuk Hang


COMPANY NAME OFFICE LOCATION77 TDKHongKongCompanyLimited SAETechnologyCentre,HKSciencePark,ShaTin

78 TFP Farrells St John's Building, Central

79 TheBodyShop(HongKongandMacau)* One Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay

80 The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited* SkywayHouse,TaiKokTsui

81 TheWingFatPrintingCompanyLimited(HKRegion) 6LukHopStreet,SanPoKong

82 ThomsonReutersHongKong City Plaza 3, Taikoo Shing, Quarry Bay

83 Time Warner Oxford House, Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay

84 TOP-TOYHongKongLimited Central Plaza, Wan Chai

85 UBSAGHongKongBranch 2IFCOffice-TwoInternationalFinanceCentre,Central

86 UBSAGHongKongBranch ExchangeSquareOffice-ExchangeSquare,Central

87 UBSAGHongKongBranch LiPoChunChamberOffice-LiPoChunChamber,Central

88 Wharf T&T Limited COL Tower & Telecom Tower, Wharf T&T Square, KwunTong

89 WheelockProperties(HongKong)Limited Wheelock House, Central

90 Winzen Apparel Limited HKSpinnersIndustrialBldg,.CheungShaWan

91 WWF-HongKong CentralOffice-TramwayPath,Central

92 WWF-HongKong WanChaiOffice-AsianHouse,WanChai

# The list includes active LOOP offices and offices that have withdrawn from the programme * Pilot Company

ANNEX: LOOP FAMILY

COMPANY NAME OFFICE LOCATION51 MitsubishiElectric(H.K.)Limited 169ElectricRoad,NorthPoint

52 MitsubishiElectricHongKongGroupLimited 169ElectricRoad,NorthPoint

53 NeonliteElectronic&Lighting(HK)Limited HeadOffice-TwoLandmarkEast,KwunTong

54 On Hing Paper Company Limited OnKingCenter,KwunTong

55 One Space Limited KinwickCentre,Central

56 Oriental Logistics OrientalLogisticsCentre,KwaiChung

57 PacificBasinShipping(HK)Limited HongKongHeadOffice-HutchisonHouse,Central

58 PacificClub Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui

59 Palamon (International) Limited Siu On Centre, Wan Chai

60 Principle One Limited KinwickCentre,Central

61 Qualcomm International, Inc. 9Queen'sRoadCentral

62 RESET Carbon Limited Fu Fai Commercial Centre, Sheung Wan

63 Ryoden International Limited 169ElectricRoad,NorthPoint

64 Sailing Boat Catering Management Limited Blk 2, Tai Ping Industrial Centre, Tai Po

65 SGSHongKongLimited Metropole Square, Siu Lek Yuen, Sha Tin

66 Shangri-LaInt'lHotelMgtLtd CITIC Tower 1, Central

67 ShunTak-ChinaTravelShipManagementLimited 83HingWahStreetWest,LaiChiKok

68 Simmons & Simmons CheungKongCenter,Central

69 Sodexo(HK)Limited SkywayHouse,TaiKokTsui

70 St. James’ Settlement CausewayBayIntegratedServicesCentre-LaiTakTsuen, Tai Hang

71 St. James’ Settlement CausewayBayIntegratedServicesDevelopment-LaiTak Tsuen, Tai Hang

72 St. James’ Settlement CausewayBayIntegratedServicesOffice-LaiTakTsuen, Tai Hang

73 Store Friendly Logistics Holdings Limited Ford Glory Plaza, Cheung Sha Wan

74 Swire Beverages Limited Dorset House, Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay

75 Talent Glory Holding Limited InternationalPlaza,KowloonBay

76 Tata Consultancy Services Limited Sino Plaza, Causeway Bay

ANNEX: LOOP FAMILY

© K

.S. D

own

LOW-CARBON OFFICE OPERATION PROGRAMME

55.790+

-12% CARBON REdUCTION AMBITIONSCarbon emissions per employee were

reduced by 12% in 2011 compared to the base year of 2010.

Carbon management performance indexof19verifiedofficesis55.7out of 100.

Morethan90officeshave committed to the programme over the past 2 years.

32% of verified offices have established atime-boundGHGemissionreductiontarget, ranging from reducing carbon by 3% per year to achieving a 25% reduction in 5 years’ time.

· LOW-CARBON OFFICE OPERATION PROGRAMME REPORT 2011

WWF.ORG.hK

Documents

LOW-CARBON OFFICE OPERATION PROGRAMME REPORT 2011€¦ · Low-carbon Office Operation Programme Report 2011 page 6 Low-carbon Office Operation Programme Report 2011 page 7-12% Carbon