Launching ceremony of the Green Office Awards Labelling Scheme (GOALS)
The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, officiated the launching ceremony of World Green Organisation’s latest certification program, the Green Office Awards Labelling Scheme (GOALS)
(Hong Kong) – World Green Organisation (WGO), together with the Core Supporting Organisation Junior Chamber International (JCI) North District celebrated the launching of the Green Office Awards Labelling Scheme (GOALS) with a ceremony on 13 May 2013. Mr Wong Kam-sing, JP, Secretary for the Environment, was an Officiating Guest of Honour at the ceremony.
With the support from the officiating guests, the GOALS scheme is now open for application
The GOALS scheme aims at raising local business awareness of global environmental challenges and recognising their efforts to implement green best practices in the workplace. Energy consumption in the commercial sector has increased by 28% in the past decade, a number that research shows could be greatly reduced if green practices are incorporated into daily business operations. According to a study conducted by Intertek Testing Services Hong Kong Ltd., WGO’s training partner, there are five basic energy-saving measures an average office occupying 10,000 square feet can implement that would annually reduce energy consumption by 120,000 kilowatts, eliminate 84 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and save HK$120,000 on operating costs.
Mr. K.S Wong, the Secretary for the Environment, said that it is of paramount importance for the commercial sector to reduce carbon emissions
These measures include cleaning air conditioner dust filters regularly, switching off the air conditioner half an hour prior to the end of office hours, using a split air conditioner system, changing to T5 fluorescent lighting and using notebook computers in place of desktop computers.
Dr William Yu, CEO of WGO, said, “Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) make up over 98% of commercial enterprises in Hong Kong and form an important part of the local economy. However, their knowledge of Green Office Best Practice is limited. The GOALS programme includes green training and sharing sessions, both conducted by large corporations who have successfully undergone similar changes within their organisations. It will help SMEs to implement an applicable green best practice, and reduce operation cost in the long term. GOALS is beneficial to everyone. For instance, university students studying in a related field will participate in the scheme as green auditors, an experience that will increase their environmental awareness and employability even further and encourage them to contribute proactively in the future.”
Dr. William Yu, Founder and CEO of WGO, invites local offices to participate in the GOALS
GOALS offers applicants quality environmental training as well as access to the latest knowledge and skills for environmental best practices in office space. Trained university students will carry out green audits for participating enterprises and prepare a full assessment report, including categories such as energy and water savings, waste reduction and green procurement. Qualified companies will be granted the use of the WGO Green Office Label and the United Nations – UNMDG’s Better World Company Label after successful nomination and verification. For more details about GOALS, please find the link below to the official website: https://www.thewgo.org/site-eng/goals-green-office/