More than 80% of Hong Kong people are willing to walk instead of taking short-distance vehicles to help combat climate change. WGO’s “Green WALK Hong Kong” promotes Hong Kong as a walkable city and encourages a low-carbon lifestyle.
(Hong Kong, September 11) World Green Organisation (WGO) held a conference at the World Trade Centre to announce findings from our “Hong Kong People’s Walking Habits” survey and gave out details for the “Green WALK Hong Kong 2016” event on November 5th. The findings were very hopeful. Over 80% of Hong Kong people that we surveyed were willing to walk instead of taking short-distance vehicles to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Through this “Green WALK 2016” campaign, WGO hopes to encourage more people to adopt a low-carbon lifestyle by reducing their use of public transportation especially in short distances.
More than 80% of Hong Kong people are willing to walk instead of taking short-distance vehicles to help combat climate change. WGO’s “Green WALK Hong Kong” promotes Hong Kong as a walkable city and encourages a low-carbon lifestyle.
85% of Hong Kong people were willing to walk more when they realized that walking directly reduces CO2 emissions. In fact, out of the 85%, 70% were willing to walk more than 10 minutes every day. This means that as long as we educate the general public about the direct correlation between walking and CO2 emission, we can motivate the Hong Kong people to live a low-carbon lifestyle.
People drive, even if their destination is only 5 minutes away. However, a majority of people would be willing to walk for more than 10 minutes for environmental reasons.
The Hong Kong transportation system is very convenient and easy. As a result of this, a majority of Hong Kong people would take vehicles for short distance transportation (less than 5 minutes). Because of this however, there has been an increase of carbon dioxide emissions which leads to air quality deterioration. WGO’s survey aimed to understand Hong Kong people’s walking frequency and find out the reasons people take short distance transportation instead of walking. We surveyed 408 Hong Kong people (aged 18 and above) on the streets. Out of the 408 people, over 60% of respondents took short distance transportation instead of walking because they were “in a hurry/to save time” or because “the weather was too hot/too cold/rain etc.”. For the 65 years and older population, over 25% were taking short-distance transportation because they were “sick/more convenient”. We found that the younger population were more likely to choose “in a hurry/to save time” reason: more than 70% for the 18-29 year olds, 60% for 30-64 tear olds, and only 20% for those that are 65 years or older.The young people are still young, they still have plenty of time to transform their walking habits.
World Green Orgnisation (WGO) will hold its first “Green WALK Hong Kong 2016” on November 5th to encourage Hong Kong people to walk all over Hong Kong. The general public is invited to walk anytime, anywhere using WGO’s free Green Walk app.
‘Walking was listed as the best exercise by the World Health Organisation. We suggest people to walk at least 8,000 steps each day. Walking not only helps to prevent obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, it can also help relieve stress. I recommend planning your walking routes based on your own preferences. We hope to turn Hong Kong into a walkable city together.’ – WGO’s CEO William Yu
For the other question, 50% of hong Kong people were willing to walk if “the destination was very close by”. Close to 50% chose to walk because it was “exercise/healthier” and to “waste time/not in a hurry”. About 25% of women and 12% of men chose walking because there was “shopping on the way/sightseeing”. Only 10% of respondents chose walking because of “environmental – CO2 reduction/reduce climate change, etc.” reasons.
However, once the public realized that walking can directly help the environment by reducing CO2 emissions, more than 85% were willing to walk instead of taking transportation for short distances. In fact, out of the 85%, 70% were willing to walk more than 10 minutes every day. This means that as long as we educate the general public about the direct correlation between walking and CO2 emission, we can motivate Hong Kong people to live a low-carbon lifestyle.
The survey found that more than half of the respondents failed to meet the “basic requirements” by LCSD; to walk at least 30 minutes or more every day at least three days a week. This reflects Hong Kong’s need to increase efforts to encourage its citizens to walk more. WGO believes that the general public understands the importance of environmental protection. However, things are easier said than done. In order to increase public health and environmental protection, people need to walk more and drive less or use less short distance transportation to personally reduce the carbon burden on the environment.
Walking to increase physical and mental health. Themed walking routes to add interest!
In order to promote Hong Kong as a green, walkable city, WGO is holding a “Green Walk Hong Kong 2016” event on November 5th. Anyone, anytime, and anywhere can join this program by walking around Hong Kong using our free mobile app. The app keeps track of the number of steps, amount of calories burned per day, as well as the amount of carbon emission reduced by walking. This allows the public to enjoy the physical, mental, and environmental benefits of walking.
WGO’s first “Green WALK Hong Kong 2016” will encourage people to walk. In the app, there is a map that shows the numerous historical, cultural, or any special attractions that Hong Kong has to offer on this day for a slow and healthy weekend.
Hong Kong’s Olympic badminton representative, Mr. Ng Ka-Long showed his support to walk instead of taking transportation so that he can contribute more to reduce carbon emissions and to combat climate change.
Mr. Ng Ka-Long, Hong Kong’s Olympic badminton representative, showed his support to walk instead of taking transportation. He said “We must try our best to cultivate a good walking habit, to transform our environment that we live in so that we can breathe the fresh outdoor air, enjoy the cityscape, and fight against climate change by reducing carbon emissions.
Mr. Ng Ka-Long, Hong Kong’s Olympic badminton representative, showed his support for walking instead of taking transportation. “Badminton is an indoor sport so I always try to walk as much as I can by not taking transportation if I can walk to my destination.”, he said. He added that he tries to play his part by reducing carbon emissions so that he can change the environment around him for the better, breathe the fresh outdoor air, and enjoy the scenery that Hong Kong can offer.
Being environmental and having a good quality of life can coexist. Designers will use waste to produce art.
There are many ways to practice being green in everyday life. WGO and Architectural Intelligence Association Limited (AIA ltd) are both very concerned about climate change and are partnering up to challenge the misconception that being green and having a good quality of life are mutually exclusive. Through this partnership, WGO aims to alert the public about the impact and consequences of not being green. There will be a press conference that will showcase AIA designers’ concept map which will be exhibited at a later date. The artwork will utilize materials such as construction waste and new building technologies (such as walls that can clean the air and solar panels) to produce works of art. Through the collaboration, WGO hopes to show that being green and having a good quality of life can actually coexist. Through this effort, WGO hopes to encourage the general public to reduce waste.
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Assistant Manager, Marketing Communication, Ms. Noel Wong
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