Environmental, Health and Safety Report 2003 / 04

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Performance Review
EHS Procurement [Photo: Buying green and safe as a way to promote our business partners to operate in the green and safe environment.]

Our Policy Commitment to Buying Green and Safe

Cleansing Contracts

Horticulture Contracts

Construction Contracts

Integrated Pay for Safety, Environment and Hygiene Scheme

Award Schemes for Green and Considerate Contractors

Our Policy Commitment to Buying Green and Safe

In our day-to-day operations we work closely with a number of business partners, including contractors, service providers and suppliers. We are committed to managing environmental, health and safety (EHS) issues in our procurement process, and ensuring that our business partners operate in a green and safe manner.

The EHS considerations have become an integral part in all aspects of our procurement cycle that involves preparing specifications, tender evaluation, performance management and review and feedback. Our Environmental Procurement Policy sets out our objectives in this regard:

	Identify significant environmental impacts of materials and services in use;
	Purchase materials, goods and services to specifications that are compliant with relevant environmental legislation.
	Include environmental considerations in our purchasing decision so that, if technically acceptable and economically viable, lower environmental impact goods are purchased;
	Assess the environmental commitment of suppliers, contractors and service suppliers as part of the tender evaluation process, and to reward the best environmental performers;
	Require contractors and service providers (where appropriate) to produce Environmental Management Plan in their bids for work, and to evaluate the evidence of implementation as part of supervision of works;
	Provide feedback and advice, and facilitate training to key suppliers, contractors and service providers on environmental performance and improvement opportunities;
	Ensure all staff, as well as suppliers, contractors and service providers are aware of, and act in accordance with, the Environmental Procurement Policy and contribute to the Housing Authority (HA)'s environmental objectives; and
	Establish systems, targets and action plans for effective environmental procurement and regular reporting on performance.

We have also introduced incentive schemes and sanctions to encourage our business partners to work in an environmentally sustainable, safe and healthy manner. In addition, we have worked closely with the relevant industries to promote a safety culture through provision of safety training, promotion and publicity activities and conducting research.

Cleansing Contracts

[Photo: There are works procedures for environmental specifications under our cleansing contracts.]
Our cleansing contractors are responsible for the collection of recyclable materials in our estates and for ensuring chemicals and equipment used cause no or minimal adverse environmental impacts.

Based on our previous studies on cleansing products, we have further developed our contract requirement to include guidelines for purchasing and using cleansing products.

To ensure our cleansing works are performed in compliance with our policy, our specifications require all contractors to:

	Ensure areas for waste collection are clean and tidy;
	Maintain records for the delivery of recyclable materials;
	Appoint an inspector to monitor waste management systems; and
	Provide training and other initiatives to enhance staff environmental awareness.

To further our efforts in this area, in December 2003 we introduced a scoring system for cleansing contract tenders, and we now require that all contractors provide an Environmental Management Plan for their works.

Horticulture Contracts

In 2003 / 04, we introduced new EHS specifications and requirements into our horticulture contracts requiring all contractors to:

	Provide details of equipment using unleaded petrol and environmentally friendly fuel;
	Avoid or minimize chemical usage in soft landscaping by considering alternatives;
	Minimize and control nuisance from noise, smoke, dust, water, rubbish and mosquito breeding; and
	Preserve existing vegetation where appropriate.

We provided intensive training courses to assist our horticulture contractors in adhering to these newly adopted specifications.

Construction Contracts

In 2003 / 04, we expanded the assessment criteria of our Performance Assessment Scoring System (PASS) to include more assessment items on the environmental performance of our construction contractors. In addition, we adopted new initiatives such as Life Cycle Costing in the procurement of lifts and escalators to support our commitment to reduce electricity consumption.

We continued our effort to promote safety and healthy culture on our construction sites by implementing the following incentive schemes and measures.

Pay for Safety Scheme
This scheme, or the PFSS, was introduced in 2000 to set aside a contract sum within the contract provision to encourage contractors to achieve good safety performance. Failure to meet the relevant safety requirements will result in deduction of payment and receiving a poor safety performance rating under the PASS. Contractors with poor performance may also face in suspension when tendering.

As there has been a continuous trend of improved safety performance at our construction sites since the implementation of the PFSS, it has now also been incorporated into District Term Contracts, Redecoration Contracts and Re-plumbing Contracts.

Housing Authority Safety Audit Scheme
[Photo: Independent audits are carried out at our construction sites under the Housing Authority Safety Audit Scheme.]
The Housing Authority Safety Audit Scheme (HASAS), operational since 1996, involves a quarterly independent audit at our construction sites. In 2003 / 04, over 40 of our piling, demolition, site formation and building contracts were audited under the HASAS, with performance now linked to payment under the PFSS.

Safe Working Cycle
To encourage a culture of safety and improve safety performance, Safe Working Cycle (SWC) became a contractual requirement for all capital works projects in October 2003. Contractors are required to implement initiatives for enhancing communication between site management and site workers on health and safety issues.

Precast Technology
To further enhance the overall health and safety performance of our construction sites, we regularly discuss and assess the feasibility of adopting the principles of construction design management applied in precast technologies.

Integrated Pay for Safety, Environment and Hygiene Scheme

From October 2003 we extended and adjusted the PFSS to include also the environmental and site hygiene items for all of our building, foundation, demolition and civil engineering contracts. Under the new scheme, approximately 1% of the contract sum is designated for payment items such as:

	Preparation and implementation of safety plan and environmental management plan;
	Provision of training in site safety and environmental management to workers;
	Compliance of statutory requirements on site safety and environmental protection;
	Prevention of mosquito breeding; and
	Provision of site hygiene and welfare facilities.

Our contractors will receive payments on these items only if they fulfill their obligations stipulated in the contracts. The scheme is being integrated into three ongoing construction projects, and we will report on this initiative in next year's report when results are available.

Award Schemes for Green and Considerate Contractors

[Photo: Quality Public Housing Construction and Maintenance Awards 2003 ceremony.]
We are delighted to report that there are 43 HA building contractors, 10 supervising teams / supervisors and 19 workers on our contracts who received awards at the Quality Public Housing Construction and Maintenance Awards 2003, held in November 2003.

Winners were selected for their outstanding performance in delivering their duties as well as their professional practices on craftsmanship, environmental protection, occupational health and safety, ethical integrity, partnering and customer service.

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