Environmental Policy and Objectives

The Department is in full support of environmental protection and sustainable development of Hong Kong and committed to ensuring that all the services delivered to the public as well as our internal operations are conducted in line with environmental protection principles and practices according to the requirements under the relevant green legislation, codes of practices as well as the Clean Air Charter as appropriate. The Department also strives to promote a green culture among our staff so that they can adopt green practices in their daily lives.

Environmental Management

The Department's Green Manager was appointed at the directorate level.  He was responsible for overseeing and formulating environmental protection policies and measures in the Department.

Division Heads also played an active role in exploring and promoting environmental protection initiatives and monitoring the green measures to be extensively implemented in the offices under their purview.

In 2009, more than 100 Energy Wardens were appointed in the Department at sub-divisional level.  In order to ensure that housekeeping energy conservation measures had been taken effectively, the Energy Wardens conducted periodical checks on office premises and reminded colleagues of the need to comply with the green measures, such as:

• Switch off unnecessary lighting.
• Activate hibernation mode for computer.
• Switch off lights, computers, photocopiers and other office equipment when they were not in use.
• Adjust indoor temperature to the recommended 25.5˚C level during summer months.

The monthly consumption of paper and electricity were closely monitored at the meetings of the Resources Management Committee which was personally chaired by the Deputy Director and comprised of members of senior management.  The consumption records were regularly updated and uploaded onto the Department's intranet portal so that management at the sectional and divisional level could have a clearer picture on the resources used to facilitate their monitoring process.

Environmental Performance

Energy Conservation

In 2009-2010, the power consumption of the Department was about 42 000 000 kWh.  Compared to the consumption of about 42 170 000 kWh in 2008-2009, a reduction of 0.4 per cent was achieved despite the increase in operational activities such as the extension of daily operating hours at Sha Tau Kok Control Point by two hours since July 2009.

Conservation of energy was always our prime concern.  In order to help identify areas of inefficiency and explore energy saving opportunities, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) was engaged to carry out energy audits at various control points.  On the basis of the recommendations of the energy audits, the Department put forth a number of energy saving retrofit projects with a view to further reducing power consumption.  In 2009-2010, the following projects were implemented:

• The replacement of conventional 'EXIT' signs with LED-type signs at the Immigration Headquarters and Man Kam To Control Point.
• The installation of automatic control of fresh air supply rate for the air handling units in Lo Wu Control Point.
• The de-lamping in office areas, corridors and lift lobbies in Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point.
• The replacement of T8 fluorescent tubes with more energy-efficient T5 fluorescent tubes in Immigration premises such as Immigration Headquarters and Births, Deaths and Marriage Registration Offices.
• The adjustment of illumination level at the Immigration Headquarters, control points as well as the Immigration Branch Offices to the standard as recommended by EMSD.  For example, at the Immigration Headquarters, more than 700 fluorescent tubes, have been disconnected both at the offices as well as the public waiting areas, so as to avoid unnecessary energy consumption.

Illumination at the Immigration Headquarters, control points and the Immigration Branch Offices has been adjusted to the standard as recommended by EMSD.

In support of environmental protection campaigns, the Department participated in the 'One-hour-long Lights Out on the Summer Solstice' initiative organised by the Friends of the Earth in June 2009 as well as the 'Earth Hour 2010' organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature in March 2010.  During the campaign periods, the decorative lightings for the Departmental Crest at the Immigration Service Institute of Training and Development and lighting for the name 'Lok Ma Chau Control Point' on the exterior wall of the passenger hall at this control point were switched off.

Minimisation of Paper Consumption

Since 2002-2003, the Department had been successful in reducing paper consumption significantly.  Notwithstanding a rebound in 2008-2009 due to expansion of the Department, the consumption of paper has been reduced from 70 830 reams in 2008-2009 by 8 per cent ( 5 980 reams) to 64 850 reams in 2009-2010.

Paper Consumption since 2002

With a view to economising the use of paper in the midst of upsurge in workload and operational activities over the years, various measures have been adopted including the following which were proved to be effective:

• Provide members of the public with a number of e-Services such as online application, reporting of immigration offences as well as e-submission of various applications or notifications.  These e-Services did not only provide convenient means for the public to acquire our services, but also helped save the use of paper. 
• Distribute the internal circulars and notices as well as posting orders through electronic means.
• Use both sides of paper and greater use of the blank side of used paper for drafting, faxing, printing and photocopying documents.

The Department would continue to closely monitor paper consumption and adopt practical measures to save paper as far as practicable.  In particular, the Department had continuously adopted information technology in our daily operations to create a paper-less working environment.  The extensive use of information technology, such as communication by e-mail and the use of intranet portal as an information sharing platform, had become a common practice at all levels.

E-Procurement Programme

The e-Procurement Portal

The Department was one of the three government departments participating in a pilot programme for e-Procurement.  Phase one of the e-Procurement System (e-PS) was launched in December 2009.

Through the e-PS, paper consumption and storage space was reduced.  It also helped to promote green procurement by sharing green procurement information among pilot departments through the e-Procurement Portal.  The ultimate aim of the programme was to streamline the procurement processes, which would be less dependable on traditional paper-based mode.

Staff of the Immigration Department actively participate in the 'Programme on Source Separation of Commercial and Industrial Waste' initiated by the Environmental Protection Department.

Recycling of Waste and Recovery of Resources

In order to enhance the awareness of staff and the public of the recycling of waste, the Immigration Tower had participated in the 'Programme on Source Separation of Commercial and Industrial Waste' initiated by the Environmental Protection Department since 2008.  The results were encouraging.  The quantity of waste paper, aluminum cans and plastic bottles collected in 2009-2010 had increased when compared to 2008-2009.

Other recyclable wastes including rechargeable batteries were also collected through the collection boxes.  The growth in both the quantity of recyclable wastes and the types of wastes being collected demonstrated that both staff and the public had become increasingly aware of the importance of reuse and recycling of solid waste as a means to live a greener life.

Minimisation of the use of resources could help conserve our environment.  In this regard, great efforts have been made to reduce the use of consumable items.  For example, only 3 656 pencils made from recycled paper, 353 clutch pencils and 949 packs of lead refills had been ordered in 2009-2010.  The consumption dropped 8.9 per cent, 20.3 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively when compared to 2008-2009.  Moreover, used printer cartridges have been returned to the supplier by means of trade-in so as to minimise solid waste.  The Department also included some green specifications for stock items so that products that caused minimal adverse environmental impacts were purchased.

Support on Clean Air Charter

The Department was in support of the Clean Air Charter which aimed at improving the air quality of Hong Kong. The following measures have been taken which would reduce the adverse impact of vehicles and vessels to the environment:

• Purchase environmentally friendly type vehicles for replacement. 
• Encourage staff members to share the pool car and combine their trips as far as practicable in order to fully utilise the vehicles and reduce mileage. 
• Ensure proper maintenance of our departmental vehicles and remind our drivers of the need to switch off vehicle engines while waiting.
• Check the vehicles and vessels regularly in order to minimise the production of pollutants and nuisance caused by exhaust emissions.

Hybrid type saloon car which combines a gasoline engine and electric motor power was purchased to reduce fuel consumption and minimise emission of polluting particles.

In 2009-2010, the total fuel consumption in diesel and oil of the vehicle team of the Immigration Headquarters was 72 543 litres, representing a slight increase of 3.4 per cent when compared to 2008-2009.  It was due to the increasing number of official functions and activities in 2009-2010.  On the other hand, the consumption of Liquefied Petroleum Gas was 44 011 litres, which had decreased 8.4 per cent when compared to 2008-2009.  The consumption of fuel by our fleet of seven vessels was 1 323 930 litre, indicating a slight increase of about 6 per cent when compared to 2008-2009.  It was mainly due to the increase in operations as well as the aging engines.  In this connection, the Department planned to procure new vessels with more fuel-efficient engines to replace the aged ones by phases.  The Department shall continue to put efforts in reducing fuel consumption and emissions of our vehicles and vessel fleet.

Promotion of Staff Awareness

Staff of the Department participated in an environmental visit to 'ElectriCity' in the Castle Peak Power Station.

To promote environmental awareness amongst staff, the Department conveyed latest news and useful information to staff through e-mails and intranet portal.  Staff members were encouraged to attend seminars and participate in promotional activities arranged by different organisations.

In March 2010, an environmental visit to 'ElectriCity' in Castle Peak Power Station was arranged. Some 40 staff members, including Energy Wardens, participated in the visit.  Through the guided tour, participants found the visit educational.  Apart from acquiring a general knowledge on the process of electricity generation, participants had learnt a number of energy saving tips from the exhibits and presentation delivered by the speaker.

Red Pocket Recycling Campaign' Poster

Our Immigration Department Volunteer Work Team continued to organise the 'Used Clothes Collection Campaign' in early 2010.  A total of 1 560 kg of used clothes and 130 kg of miscellaneous accessories were collected and donated to the Salvation Army.  Besides, the Department also participated in environmental protection campaigns organised by other organisations such as the 'Green Power Hike 2010' organised by Green Power, and the 'Mooncake Tin Collection Campaign' and 'Red Pocket Recycling Campaign' organised by the Building Management Office of the Immigration Tower.

To cultivate green culture among staff members, green corners with posters, green tips and latest news concerning green matters had been set up at various offices of the Department.  The information posted on the green corners would be refreshed periodically.

A green corner at the Immigration Headquarters

The Way Forward

The Department shall continue to upkeep practical housekeeping measures, adopt green management principles in all activities and implement green initiatives in the Department as appropriate.  The Department shall also collaborate with EMSD to carry out energy audits and explore the feasibility of using new technologies including renewable energy to further enhance the effectiveness of energy performance and promote environmental protection.