2014

REPORT

HK

LOW-CARBON OFFICE OPERATION PROGRAMME2014 Verification Results Highlights

A WWF initiative to reduce carbon emissions in office operations

2

Today, climate change is widely recognized as a major environmental problem for every country on Earth. As a highly-developed economy, Hong Kong has a duty and an obligation to

contribute solutions to this problem.

The commercial sector is the largest consumer of energy in Hong Kong. According to the latest statistics1, 42 per cent of Hong Kong’s overall energy use and 66 per cent of Hong Kong’s general electricity consumption is commercially-related. Responding to the pressing need to engage the business sector in the fight against climate change, WWF-Hong Kong launched the Low-carbon Office Operation Programme (LOOP) in 2009; focusing on the fact that improving energy efficiency not only helps reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but can also reduce operating costs for a company.

The LOOP was the first programme of its kind to target the emissions of the commercial sector, and within this sector, to specifically target companies’ office-based operations. WWF believes that by building awareness and pledging support for actions which mitigate emissions, mutual influence among co-workers in a common office will facilitate the adoption of green practices and help shape a shared vision of sustainability. Since many Hong Kong people work in an office environment, the success of the LOOP in one office can be replicated across many other offices, and collectively make a real impact.

In contrast to other projects which focus on awareness building or sharing best practices, the LOOP offers online tools to conduct self-assessments and periodic monitoring of carbon emissions. The tools closely follow the measurement, reporting and verification systems designed to maximize transparency in carbon management. This comprehensive suite of tools not only makes the LOOP unique, it empowers LOOP companies to begin their journey to sustainability.

The basic premise of the LOOP is the use of online tools which calculate and monitor a company’s greenhouse gas emissions to build a picture of where the company is at a certain moment in time. A carbon reduction strategy can then be developed and implemented based on the results of the calculations and the company’s unique situation. But the LOOP is so much more than this.

People are what make the LOOP work, and the success of the programme rests squarely on the shoulders of people. We believe that employee engagement is as important as GHG emissions reduction: after all, if the people in an office do not understand the need and rationale to make low-carbon lifestyle or behavioural changes, then these changes will never happen.

More than anything, the LOOP encourages companies to carry out wide-ranging staff engagement activities to help their employees truly understand the problem of climate change and the fact that they are part of the solution. These activities can vary from staff talks to training workshops, competitions to movie screenings, or even setting up an office green committee. This person-to-person engagement is what helps a company’s employees see a low-carbon lifestyle as something positive, and something which requires immediate and collective action. The beauty of the LOOP is not just the fact that companies can reduce their carbon emissions numbers, but that it helps people see that changing their behaviour can reduce the impacts of climate change.

BACKGROUND AND GLOBAL CONTEXT

THE LOOP THEORY OF CHANGE

1Hong Kong Energy End-use Data 2014 (http://www.emsd.gov.hk/emsd/e_download/pee/HKEEUD2014.pdf)

Scope 1 Direct GHG emissions3.5%

Scope 2Indirect GHGemissions58.5%

Scope 3Other indirect

GHG emissions38.0%

3Low-carbon Office Operation Programme 2014 Verification Results Highlights

Number of employees (of verified offices)

Average = 2.98 tonnes per staff per annum

Annu

al c

arbo

n em

issi

ons p

er e

mpl

oyee

(o

f ver

ified

offi

ces,

CO

2-e

tonn

es)

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

000 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000

VERIFICATION FINDINGS

2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

Offices (no.) 32 28 43 19 14

Employees (no.) 7,161 5,748 7,745 3,034 2,178

Office space (sq.m.) 82,478 76,819 99,133 52,286 32,696

Annual Emissions Intensity (tonnes of CO2-e per staff member per annum)

2.98 3.47 4.38 3.52 4.0

1. 2014 Verification Results1.2 OFFICES PARTICIPATING IN THIRD PARTY VERIFICATION1.1 ANNUAL CARBON

EMISSIONS PER EMPLOYEE OF THE VERIFIED LOOP OFFICES

1.3 EMISSIONS DATA BREAKDOWN

2.98TONNES PER EMPLOYEE

PER ANNUM

2,795.11kWh 5,428

sheets

3,536.07TONNES

432.82TONNES

678.05TONNES

242.68kWh

5.36CUBIC METRES 0.47

CUBIC METRES

Carbon footprint at work

Electricity

ElectricityFresh water

Overseas business travel

Local business travel

Company vehicles

Fresh waterPaper (number of sheets of A4 paper)

Scope 1 Direct GHG emissions3.5%

Scope 2Indirect GHGemissions58.5%

Scope 3Other indirect

GHG emissions38.0%

21,350TONNES

Aggregate carbon emissions scope 1 2 3

CONSUMPTION PER EMPLOYEE PER ANNUM

AGGREGATE CARBON EMISSIONS FROM ALL VERIFIED OFFICES

CONSUMPTION PER UNIT OF FLOOR AREA (SQM) PER ANNUM

4

1.4 RESULTS OF THE LOOP LABELLING AWARDS 2014

LOOP LABEL COMPANY OFFICE LOCATION

Dah Chong Hong Holdings Limited 7/F – 9/F, DCH Building, Kowloon BayKai Shing Management Services Limited - Millennium City 5 Management Services Office

16/F, Millennium City 5, Kwun Tong

Kingfisher Asia Limited 16/F, 21/F & 22/F, Cornwall House, Taikoo Place, Quarry Bay

Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited 12/F, 14/F & 15/F, Trans Asia Centre, Kwai Chung

K11 Concepts Limited 14/F, Fontaine Building, Tsim Sha TsuiKai Shing Management Services Limited - ICC Management Services Office

19/F, International Commerce Centre, West Kowloon

Markant Trading Organisation (Far East) Limited

12/F & 15/F, Chinachem Golden Plaza, Tsim Sha Tsui East

Melco International Development Limited

37/F & 38/F, The Centrium, Central

Otto International (Hong Kong) Limited 19/F & 20/F, Peninsula Square, Hung Hom

Sa Sa International Holdings Limited 8/F, 11/F, 14/F & 15/F, Block B, MP Industrial Centre, Chai Wan

Sailing Boat Catering Management Limited

10/F, Block 2, Tai Ping Industrial Centre, Tai Po

Wharf T&T Limited 8/F, KITEC, Kowloon BayWheelock Properties (Hong Kong) Limited

5/F, 9/F & 19/F, Wheelock House, Central

WWF-Hong Kong 1 Tramway Path, CentralWWF-Hong Kong Hoi Ha Marine Life Centre, Sai KungWWF-Hong Kong Island House Conservation Studies

Centre, Tai PoWWF-Hong Kong 15/F, Manhattan Centre, Kwai ChungDKSH Hong Kong Limited 19/F, 21/F & 23/F, Tower A, Southmark,

Wong Chuk HangFrieslandCampina (Hong Kong) Limited 39/F, Office Tower, Langham Place,

Mong KongKai Shing Management Services Limited – New Town Plaza Management Services Office

New Town Plaza, Shatin

5Low-carbon Office Operation Programme 2014 Verification Results Highlights

Mast Industries (Far East) Limited 9/F, 10/F & 12/F, Manhattan Place, Kowloon Bay

Otis Elevator Company (Hong Kong) Limited

15/F, Cityplaza One, Taikoo Shing

Pacific Basin Shipping (Hong Kong) Limited

6/F & 7/F, Hutchison House, Central

s.Oliver Asia Limited 27/F, Octa Tower, Kowloon BayAutotoll Limited 11/F, Tower A, Billion Centre, Kowloon

BayBaby Kingdom 1/F, Houtex Industrial Building, Kwun

TongClotex-Labelon 8/F, City Industrial Complex, Kwai

ChungEcolab Limited 15/F, Lu Plaza, Kwun TongIntertek Testing Services Hong Kong Limited

2/F, 3/F, 6/F & 11/F, Garment Centre, Sham Shui Po

Kai Shing Management Services Limited – East Point City (Commercial) Management Services Office

East Point City, Tseung Kwan O

Kier - Laing O'Rourke - Kaden Joint Venture

Harcourt Garden, Admiralty

Konica Minolta Business Solutions (HK) Limited

2/F & 3/F, Eastern Centre, Quarry Bay

0.1% 13.6%2.2%

34.1% 34.1%

χ-α χ+2αχ- 2αχ- 3α χ+3αχ χ+α

This office scored one standard deviation above the mean.

This office performed better than 84.1% of other offices.

Normal curve of LOOP labels

LOOP LABEL GRADES MAPPING CRITERIALOOP label Normal standard

deviation curvePerformance

scores

CERTIFIEDBelow mean -1 standard deviation

< 52.27%

SILVERBetween -1 standard deviation and mean

From 52.27% to 66.59%

GOLDBetween mean and +1 standard deviation

From 66.59% to 80.91%

PLATINUMAbove mean +1 standard deviation

> 80.91%

2. Cumulative Achievements 2010 – 2014 2.1 CARBON EMISSIONS SOURCES

2.2 COMPARISON BETWEEN THE BASE YEAR AND PROjECTED “BAU” EMISSIONS

2.3 CHANGES IN CARBON INTENSITY AND EMISSIONS VOLUME (2010 – 2014)

Carb

on e

mis

sion

s (by

per

cent

age)

of

LOO

P as

sess

men

t are

as in

all

veri

fied

offic

es (2

010-

2014

)

0

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

45%

35%

13%

20%

14%

21%

11%

19%

16%

17%

18%

59% 62% 58% 58%

0%3%

2%

1%

THE TOP THREE EMISSIONS SOURCES IDENTIFIED WERE ELECTRICITY, OVERSEAS BUSINESS TRAVEL AND STAFF COMMUTING TO WORK.

As a result of continuous monitoring and improvement, LOOP offices collectively avoided a total of 2,719 tonnes of carbon emissions, or 15.2 per cent of base year emissions.

Among the verified companies in 2014 is a group of “pioneer companies” that have been participating in the LOOP since 2010. Similar to other participating offices, the first drop in the carbon intensity of these businesses happened in the second year of the LOOP implementation, and was achieved by adopting low-cost and even no-cost housekeeping practices. The companies then experienced a plateau period, during which time they enjoyed the benefits of addressing this “low-hanging fruit”. To create further reduction in carbon intensity and move past this plateau, these pioneers had to invest in more advanced technology or renovate their offices.

BASE YEAR refers to the earliest year that verifiable emissions data became available. LOOP companies normally use verified data from the first year’s LOOP assessment as base year data.

BUSINESS AS USUAL (BAU) refers to the estimated amount of greenhouse gas emissions that would be produced under a business’ current operations, without employing any carbon reduction measures in its office.

PERFORMANCE YEARrefers to verified emissions data from LOOP offices in 2014.

Carb

on e

mis

sion

s (CO

2-e

tonn

es)

Base Year

AvoidedEmissions

Projected Emissions (BAU)

Performance Year0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

CO2-

e To

nnes

CO2-

e To

nnes

/ S

taff

2010 2011 2012 2013 20140

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

0

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Aggregate total carbon emissions of pioneer companies 2010-2014

Overall Electricity Consumption

Overseas Business Travel

Local Business Travel

Staff Commuting

Company Vehicle

Paper Use

Fresh Water & Sewage

Total emissions (CO2-e tonnes)

Carbon Intensity (CO2-e tonnes per staff per year)

6

7Low-carbon Office Operation Programme 2014 Verification Results Highlights

2.4 CARBON PERFORMANCE INDEX

2.5 ORGANIzATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOUR INDEX

Performance areas 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 (2014 vs 2013)

A. Commitment – policy and goal setting (maximum credits: 18) 12.6 11.8 10.5 10.4 10.5 6.6%

B. Calculation – measurement and monitoring (maximum credits: 24) 19.9 20.3 19.3 20.5 20.4 -1.9%

C. Cut – carbon reduction strategy and actions (maximum credits: 30) 18.3 16.8 14.0 13.1 11.8 8.7%

D. Communication – internal and external (maximum credits: 18) 11.5 11.8 10.5 10 10.5 -2.2%

E. Other merits (bonus points) (maximum credits: 10) 2.7 2.9 2.7 1.7 2.5 -9.8%

Total score (maximum credits: 100) 64.9 63.6 57.1 55.7 55.7 2.1%

The overall carbon performance score for 2014 saw a marginal improvement over 2013. The score increased to 64.9, up 2.1 per cent compared with 2013.

A large improvement in the “Commitment – policy and goal setting” and “Cut – carbon reduction strategy and actions” sections has been observed through the years. At the start of their journey, not many LOOP companies put a climate change

policy statement in place, and were unsure about how to set a reasonable reduction target. But after joining the LOOP and benchmarking their own carbon performance against other companies, LOOP companies were able to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) reduction targets based on the verified data and continue to monitor their progress towards achieving this goal.

During the on-site assessment, both organizational and individual employee behaviour was observed and measured against an established set of LOOP criteria. We found that air travel and lighting were two key areas which saw notable positive improvements between 2010 and 2014, due to advancements in technology and the fact that more offices are willing to invest in new appliances to reduce carbon emissions. For example, LED lights are an excellent replacement for T8 fluorescent tubes and halogen spotlights, as LED lights consume much less energy and have a longer lifespan; while high-definition tele-presence equipment allows people to meet virtually without travelling to other cities. The charts on the right illustrate the carbon intensity of these two areas and the corresponding index scores over the past five years. The graphs show that the higher the index scores (i.e. when best practices are more widely adopted), the lower the carbon intensity (resulting in less emissions).

CO2-

e To

nnes

CO2-

e To

nnes

/ S

taff

2010 2011 2012 2013 20140

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

0

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Aggregate total carbon emissions of pioneer companies 2010-2014

Carbon Intensity (tonnes per staff per year)

Checklist score

CO2-

e to

nnes

per

em

ploy

ee p

er y

ear

Inde

x sc

ore

2010 2011 2012 2013 20140.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

010%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

CO2-

e to

nnes

per

em

ploy

ee p

er y

ear

Inde

x sc

ore

2010 2011 2012 2013 20140.0

0.3

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

010%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

CARBON INTENSITY VS CHECKLIST SCORE (LIGHTING)

CARBON INTENSITY VS CHECKLIST SCORE (OVERSEAS TRAVEL)

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CHANGES OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS

Technology2010 2014

Management Practices

FLUORESCENTTUBES

REDUCTION TARGET

SPOTLIGHT

CARBON DISCLOSURE

PRINTING

AIR TRAVEL

IT

GREEN COMMITTEE

• T8 and T5 tubes

• Unsure as to how to set achievable reduction targets

• Halogen – companies resistant to switch to LEDs because of the cost, light colour and renovation work required

• Uncommon

• Desktop printer / Network printer

• Unstable audio / videoconference facilities e.g. VoIP phones, Skype

• Physical servers in a server room

• Some companies set up green committees, involving HR and Administration departments

• T5 tubes and LED tubes

• Defined and differentiated reduction targets – e.g. carbon intensity, electricity use, paper use, reduction in business travel

• LED – price of LEDs went down and they are now easier to change

• Disclose carbon emissions information in Annual Report / CSR report

• Multi-function device• Secure printing

• HD tele-presence facilities

• Cloud server, virtual servers

• Most companies have green committees / CSR teams

• Involve HR and Administration departments and senior management

• Regularly organize staff engagement activities

NOCONNECTION

CLASSIFIED

9

Behavioural Change

Other Changes

PAPER

DATA DISCLOSURE BY PROPERTY

MANAGEMENT

PRINTING

CARBON AUDITING

STANDARD

LIGHTING AND EQUIPMENT

HVAC

RECYCLING

SWITCHING-OFF HABITS

• Monitor printer meter (number of pages printed)

• Ordinary printing paper

• Reluctant to disclose data

• Printing options available but not commonly used, e.g. duplex printing, multi-page printing

• LOOP• ISO 14064

• Reminder to switch off devices / save resources

• Room temperature set at 22 – 25 degrees

• Mainly paper and printer cartridges

• Small amounts of plastic bottles and aluminium cans

• Some staff did not switch off computers and monitors after work

• Monitor printer meter• FSC paper

• More and more property management offices are willing to share data regarding water consumption and electricity use of HVAC

• Default duplex printing, multi-page printing, printing in black and white

• On-screen reading i.e. not printing, is now more common

• Government offers CarbonSmart matching funds for all eligible carbon audit exercises (include the LOOP)

• Reminder to switch off devices/ save resources

• Use timers/ motion sensors to control appliances

• Switch off devices during lunch hour

• Room temperature set at 24-26 degrees

• Set up thermometers to monitor room temperature

• Adjusted dress code (from business formal to business casual) in the summer months

• Mainly paper, plastic, aluminium cans and printer cartridges

• Others: dry cells, glass, coffee grounds, mooncake boxes, stationery, books

• Most staff switch off computers and monitors during meetings and after work

CLASSIFIED

FSC

10

WORKING WITH OTHERS

CHALLENGES

The LOOP is a one-of-a-kind carbon management programme for businesses in Hong Kong. Now in its fifth year of operation, the programme is both connected to and recognized by many other environmental and social schemes. This convergence creates greater visibility and allows companies to use resources even more efficiently.

The LOOP team has visited more than 60 offices in the past five years. The journey towards reducing carbon emissions can often be filled with obstacles and difficulties, and every office has encountered challenges. LOOP companies face three general types of obstacles.

INSTALLATION RESTRICTIONS SET BY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES AND LANDLORDSIn Hong Kong, most companies lease their offices rather than owning their premises. When a company wants to install low-carbon fixtures in its rented office, it may face several restrictions:

1. The lease may expire before the investment is fully repaid.

2. The terms of the lease may state that it is the tenant’s responsibility to restore the office to its original condition – including re-installing old fittings – when the tenant moves out, disregarding the fact that the next tenant may wish to inherit the new fittings; and

3. It may be infeasible to carry out fitting or retrofitting work during normal office operations.

PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCES When a company begins its low-carbon journey, it will first work towards emissions reduction goals which are easy to achieve – “low hanging fruit” – as its employees may not possess enough knowledge about climate change or carbon accounting. But after these “quick wins”, these companies may “plateau” – neither investigating other solutions nor investing in step-change improvements, creating obstacles to even larger emissions reductions.

Scheme / Award Organizer Connection with LOOP

HONG KONG AWARDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE (HKAEE)

Environmental Protection Department

The LOOP has established a mutual recognition mechanism with Wastewi$e, Energywi$e, the Carbon Reduction Certificates and the Sectoral Awards (for selected sectors) of the HKAEE.

CARING COMPANY SCHEME

The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS)

The LOOP is listed as a “Caring for the Environment” criterion in the Caring Company Scheme.

CARBONSMART PROGRAMME

Funded by the government and managed by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC)

Companies with LOOP verification are eligible for CarbonSmart funding.

“As the ‘low hanging fruit’ has been harvested – it is

more challenging to make significant new

improvements to our Carbon Footprint. Most things that

can be done have been implemented.”

Helmut Schwarting, Managing Director,

Markant Trading Organisation (Far East) Limited

11Low-carbon Office Operation Programme 2014 Verification Results Highlights

LOOKING FORWARD In 2014, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose to almost 400 ppm (parts per million), a 40 per cent increase over 1820s (the height of the Industrial Revolution). The fifth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states with 95 per cent confidence that humans have most likely caused all global warming over the past 60 years. The phenomenon of climate change is undeniable and it has already begun. Everyone on Earth should now be working together to mitigate the situation as best we can.

Business drives regional and local economies all across the world. WWF has urged and will continue to urge the private sector to act responsibly and ensure that the natural resources and ecosystems underpinning their operations are utilized sustainably. In light of this shifting dynamic, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) has planned to raise the obligation level of some items in its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report to “comply or explain” by 2015. WWF sees this as the “first wave” of sustainability disclosure in Hong Kong, as it is expected that in the future this ESG reporting guide will be rolled out across all industries.

After five years of success, the LOOP is now

preparing to expand its scope. One of the future focuses of the programme will be the “Green Lease”. The tripartite relationship between tenants, property management offices and landlords is close and inseparable. The aim of the Green Lease is to make the emissions data of a building more transparent, allowing tenants to understand the carbon performance of an office building and collaborate with the property management office to carry out low-carbon initiatives inside the building, eventually delivering achievements that all three parties can be proud of. We hope that the Green Lease model will create “win-win-win” leasing conditions for businesses in Hong Kong.

The LOOP will also deepen the human engagement side of our operations. Many LOOP companies have carried out different staff engagement activities over the years. These activities have given rise to numerous best practices which deserve to be shared with other companies. While continuing to provide this platform for experience sharing, the LOOP will also consolidate these best practices into a user guide, allowing LOOP co-ordinators and staff from different companies to replicate these practices in their own offices. With this guide, everyone will have the ability to be a Changemaker!

Another hurdle is staff turnover. As it takes time to cultivate a low-carbon culture in an office, a company may lose momentum in its carbon reduction efforts, or even take a step backwards, when a “low-carbon champion” leaves the company, or when the prevailing atmosphere is one which lacks concern about climate change.

MANAGEMENT DIRECTIONGenerally, the performance evaluation system which is used by the business sector still focuses on a single bottom-line variable: profit in monetary terms. The triple bottom-line concept of “people, profit, planet” is still relatively new to Hong Kong.

As the monetary benefits brought by carbon measurement, reporting and verification activities take time to realize, companies may carry out a number of one-off activities focusing on philanthropical support or irregular staff engagement activities, instead of evaluating the overall, holistic environmental and social impacts of these investments.

LOW-CARBON OFFICE OPERATION PROGRAMME

WWF.ORG.HK• LOW-CARBON OFFICE OPERATION PROGRAMME 2014 VERIFICATION RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS

The annual carbon emissions per employee of the 32 verified LOOP offices in 2014 was 2.98 tonnes.133

84%

94% of verified companies formally established a green committee responsible for implementing environmentally-friendly policies and practices.

94%

2.98133 offices have participated in the LOOP since 2009.

84% of verified offices established a time-bound carbon emissions reduction target.

© 1986 Panda Symbol WWF - World Wide Fund For Nature (also known as World Wildlife Fund)® “WWF” is a WWF Registered TrademarkWWF-Hong Kong, 1 Tramway Path, Central, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2526 1011, Fax: (852) 2845 2734, Email:wwf@wwf.org.hkRegistered Name 註冊名稱：WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE HONG KONG 世界自然（香港）基金會

（Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability by guarantee 於香港註冊成立的擔保有限公司）

© WWF-Hong Kong. All rights reserved.

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Why we are hereTo stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment andto build a future in which humans live in harmony and nature.

Why we are here

wwf.org.hk

To stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment andto build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.