Environmental Performance

Initiatives in Planning and Construction of New Public Housing

Green Design and Construction

Conducting Micro-climate Studies and Air Ventilation Assessment

Since 2004, we have been conducting Air Ventilation Assessment (AVA) and micro-climate studies in our design of new public housing developments to assess their impact on the neighbourhood environment using design tools such as computational fluid dynamic model and wind tunnel testing. Through these studies, we can optimise the environmental performance of our new developments in respect of wind environment, natural ventilation to buildings, daylight penetration, thermal comfort and air pollutants emission. We also extended the application of micro-climate studies in supporting BEAM Plus New Building certification with a view to enhancing the sustainability rating of our new public housing developments and creating a green, energy efficient and healthy living environment for our residents.

Adopting Low Carbon Building Design

We apply the Carbon Emission Estimation (CEE) method to estimate carbon dioxide emissions from buildings throughout their expected 100-year life cycle. This methodology enables the establishment of the benchmarks of emission level for a housing block and a housing estate throughout the project cycle stages to facilitate comparison and to set achievable goals for improvements. CEE includes an estimate of carbon dioxide emissions generated by materials consumed during construction, materials for structures, the operation of communal building services installations as well as demolition activities, and the off-sets from renewable energy application and tree-planting.

Utilising Green Materials and Products

We have increased our utilisation of green materials such as Ground Granular Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS). As part of our current building contracts, we require that 35% of the cement used to produce precast facades and stairs be replaced by GGBS. We are also investigating the feasibility of using GGBS to build precast hard paving, partition walls and refuse chutes.

We have also adopted other green materials in our new works projects, such as:

In addition, current specification clauses for all our new works projects are aligned with the latest BEAM Plus assessment criteria, BEAM Plus for New Building version 2.0. We will stay updated on the HKGBC Green Product Accreditation & Standards Scheme to revise our green materials and products guides where applicable.

Environmentally Friendly Construction Practices

We have developed various standards to better manage our innovative and environmentally friendly practices during the construction stage, such as:

Environmental Data Visualisation – Building Information Modelling (BIM)

Resource Conservation

Renewable Energy

Promoting Electric Vehicles

The HA has installed electric vehicles (EV) charging facilities in all new estate car parks to support the Government's Roadmap on Popularisation of Electric Vehicles. In our new indoor private car parks, 30% of parking spaces are equipped with EV chargers, while the remaining 70% are provided with EV charging-enabling facilities for future EV chargers installation.

Energy Efficiency in Buildings

The Buildings Department issued “Guidelines on the Design and Construction Requirement for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings” (the Guidelines) in 2014. Following the Guidelines, we continue to improve natural ventilation and environmental performance in our new buildings.

We also follow the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) Building Energy Codes for new building projects to meet energy efficiency requirements. We have received Certificates of Compliance Registration from EMSD to show our compliance with the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance.

We continued to implement the following energy saving measures, including:

Our energy management measures have been regularly reviewed. We are committed to designing new projects in accordance with the Buildings Department's Practice Note on Residential Thermal Transfer Values.

Water Conservation

Fresh water is used in new building construction, daily washing, flushing, and irrigation. We have adopted several measures in our new projects, such as using 6-litre dual flush water-closet suites in domestic premises to fulfil the water efficiency grading. We support the government’s water conservation campaign by assisting and facilitating WSD’s promotional booths at public rental housing estates to help interested households to register and arrange installation of flow controllers for water taps.

Mitigating Environmental Impacts

To optimise the use of resources, felled trees are recycled at some of our developments. We set up on-site shredding and composting to reuse fallen trees as mulch. Some trees are chipped and composted with food and garden trash.

We continue to engage the local community in our greening efforts. Tenants are invited to join our Action Seedling programme to plant trees at our designated planting area.

Noise Control

Buildings near roads will be affected by traffic noise. We used acoustic windows, acoustic balconies, architectural fins and noise barriers in buildings to meet site-specific requirements. The second generation of precast acoustic balconies include a sliding screen in front of the balcony doors, noise-absorbing material in the balcony wall and ceiling, and inclined panels along the parapet. These designs effectively reduce traffic noise and improve residents' quality of life.

Air Quality Management

To remove air pollutants, filters are installed in our contractors’ plants and machines. The HA also phased out 4 types of Exempted Non-Road Mobile Machinery in our construction sites with estimated value over $200 million in line with the Development Bureau’s implementation plan.

Risk Assessment

The HA conducts a risk assessment to ISO 31000 Risk Management System standard for all new buildings. About 2,300 building materials used in architectural, structural and geotechnical engineering were assessed to ensure quality control.