We are fully aware that our public housing developments and other activities influence the quality of life of a large proportion of Hong Kong's population. We are an environmentally responsible organisation and our large size places us in a unique position to contribute significantly to protecting and bettering the environmental quality of Hong Kong. Through our various policies we constantly strive to meet the changing needs of the community as we develop new and better estates and improve the living conditions in existing estates. As we travel down the path to better and better environmental achievements, we measure our progress against a set of challenging environmental performance targets that we now set ourselves each year. In this section of the report we review our environmental performance over the past year, and focus on the extent to which we have met our previously defined targets. By achieving these targets, we ensure that we meet, or are in a good position to meet, our environmental responsibilities to our tenants and the wider environment. Detailed information on how well we met the key environmental targets and goals for 2000/2001 is presented in Annex C. These targets were set out in our previous environmental report. We have completely met 83% of the targets, and for a further 15% we have made substantial progress and will be able to achieve the target soon. We fell short of our desired target on one item: undertaking a study on life-cycle costing. The complexity of the issues involved, and the lack of local expertise in this field has delayed commencement. It is now scheduled to commence in 2001. Therefore this target should be met in the following year and it is not expected to influence our ability to provide housing in an environmentally friendly manner. Monthly Environmental Regulations Non-Compliance Convictions at HA Construction Sites in 2000/2001 Text-only version Between April 2000 and March 2001, contractors working on Housing Department projects incurred a total of 99 convictions for environmental offences. Most cases of non-compliance with environmental regulations on our construction sites involved noise or dust. This represents 1 offence for every 899 flats we built. We fully or mostly met 98% of the targets we set ourselves for 2000/2001. This means we have successfully strengthened our environmental performance in line with the principles set out in our Environmental Policy. In the rest of this chapter, we present information on our most significant environmental aspects and how we minimise their impact on the environment. Effluent Discharges Effluent may contain a variety of polluting materials including high organic loads in sewage and soil in run-off from exposed construction sites. If these effluents were discharged into watercourses, they would harm aquatic plants and animals by depleting oxygen levels or by smothering them. Our effluent discharges arise from three main sources: Lung Tin Estate - Winning entry of the Green Estate Photo Competition. Sewage from housing estates & commercial facilities/markets. Sewage from HA offices. Construction site drainage and effluent discharges. All sewage from permanent sites is collected and discharged into public sewers, whereas sewage from temporary sites such as construction sites may either be discharged to public sewers or collected and transported by licensed contractors to sewage treatment works. We take steps to eliminate accidental pollution from sewage effluent discharges. Also, as a result of previous observations and audits, we take care that materials, in particular debris and grease, do not enter drainage systems. We also take steps to reduce the impact of discharges from construction sites by invoking contract conditions that specify measures for contractors to implement on site. Next Page >Back to Top 2001 Housing Authority. All rights reserved.