Hong Kong Green Building Week 2016 The Power of Social Media Reaches the Green Community

Promoting the sustainable built environment with five programmes supported by over 100 organisations
HONG KONG, CHINA, August 31, 2016: The Hong Kong Green Building Week(HKGBW) has been a well-received campaign since its launch in 2013. This year, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) again co-organisedthe HKGBW to boost public awareness of the development of green buildings and construction, as well as the green lifestyle. The Launching Ceremony of HKGBW 2016 was held atHarbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui today.
The fourth year of the campaign saw continuous support from the Environment Bureau and participation from a number of NGOs, social enterprises, corporations and organisations, with a series of exciting events taking place from 31 August to 17 September. At today's Launching Ceremony, the officiating guests Mr WONG Kam-sing, GBS, JP, Secretary for the Environment, Sr CHAN Ka-kui, BBS, JP, Chairman of the CIC, and Mr CHEUNG Hau-wai, SBS, Chairman of the HKGBC together encouraged the public to join the HKGBW 2016.
The HKGBW is fully funded by the CIC. Chairman Sr CHAN Ka-kui, BBS, JP said today, "This is already the fourth consecutive year that the CIC works with the HKGBC in organising the HKGBW. We wish to boost the public awareness and engagement in the green building development through this campaign. The CIC is committed to minimising the industry's impact on the environment and enhancing our competence so as to improve the environment of Hong Kong in general. Besides joining hands with the HKGBC to promote green building, we are devoting significant resources to the operation of the Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) at Kowloon Bay. ZCB shows how the public can adopt a zero-carbon lifestyle, and we welcome everyone to visit and experience."
Mr CHEUNG Hau-wai, SBS, Chairman of the HKGBC, hopes that more people will adopt a green lifestyle. He said, "The Hong Kong green building assessment tool BEAM Plus was launched in 2010. By the end of 2014, the estimated annual electricity saving of the assessed buildings is around 240 million kWh. This is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 51,000 households. A total 166,000 tonnes of carbon emission is avoided. The impact equals planting 7.4 million trees. It is a major step to mitigate climate change. The participation of the public is important. I urge everyone to continue to support the green movement and HKGBW, and start to live a greener life."
The five major programmes of HKGBW 2016 are: the Video Idea Contest, Mini LegCo and Youth Forum, Biz-Green Dress Day, Green Building Ideas Pitch and an online campaign with a series of games and green living messages. Among them, the Video Idea Contest is a brand-new programme that aims to gather creative ideas from the new generation on how to put green building concepts into practice. The winners were awarded during the Launching Ceremony today. The winning idea from Mr CHEANG Chi-hang is to mimic that there are technicians working inside appliances such as air-conditioners. They are forced to work overtime when users forget to turn off the appliances. To save them from exhaustion, users simply need to turn off the switch. The idea demonstrates how simple it is to practice green in everyday life.

This idea has been adopted in the HKGBW 2016 videos with the support of internet celebrities. The videos are broadcast in mass media channels and social media platforms to promote green building and sustainable lifestyle.