World Green Organisation and Dah Sing Bank jointly launch Green WALK Hong Kong 2022 Campaign. Walking Habit Survey Results Call for Hong Kong public to adopt low carbon lifestyle by walking more
(Hong Kong, 4th August 2022) World Green Organisation (“WGO”) and Dah Sing Bank today jointly launched the Green WALK Hong Kong 2022 campaign, collaborating with Mr. Alex Fong, former Hong Kong Olympic swimmer representative, and Din Dong, a well-known local cartoon character, to organise a series of activities on the theme of Walk for Our Climate and A Better Future. The campaign calls for the public to adopt a healthier low-carbon lifestyle to combat climate change together and encourages local communities to walk more and be less dependent on short distance travels via motorised transportations. This year’s campaign also features the Dah Sing Bank 75th Anniversary Charity Challenge, an initiative which features five elite athlete ambassadors who will rally public support on social media to join their walking teams to raise additional funding from Dah Sing Bank for up to a total of HK$750,000 for designated environmental charity groups.
Ms. Phoebe Wong, Deputy Chief Executive, Senior Executive Director, Group Head of Personal Banking of Dah Sing Bank, said,
As a local bank, Dah Sing Bank is committed to supporting Hong Kong’s environmental sustainability through various contributions to promote environmental protection and low carbon lifestyles in our local communities. We are pleased to sponsor the Green WALK campaign, as its goal to promote carbon emission reduction through walking is well aligned with our brand tagline of ‘Together we Progress and Prosper’. Furthermore, riding on our Bank’s 75th anniversary this year, we have invited five local elite athlete ambassadors to rally public support on social media to join them in the ‘Dah Sing Bank 75th Anniversary Charity Challenge’, whereby for each athlete ambassador team attaining 750,000 steps, the Bank will make further donations to designated environmental charity groups they support for up to a total of HK$750,000, so all the participants in these teams will contribute towards carbon reduction as well as charitable causes.
Mr. Alex Fong, the ambassador of Green WALK, said,
I am honoured to be the ambassador for Green WALK Hong Kong 2022, to help promote their online and physical activities to the public this year. I hope more people will actively support the campaign to walk more, exercise more, and to adopt a low-carbon and healthy lifestyle.
Miss Vivian Kong, Hong Kong’s female fencing champion and one of the campaign’s elite athlete ambassadors, said,
This meaningful campaign rallies public support to turn their walking steps into carbon reduction and charitable giving. I hope more people will take part to support our five athlete ambassador teams to each achieve the 750,000-step goal. That will translate into nearly 600 kg in reduced carbon emission, which is equivalent to what 27 mature 10-year-old trees can absorb in carbon dioxide in one year.
Green WALK Hong Kong City Orienteering Competition 2022
Advocating a greener city has always been one of the WGO’s missions. Leveraging its previous successful experience, WGO will organise the Green WALK Hong Kong City Orienteering Competition 2022 at the Vessel, Kwun Tong, on 25th September 2022. The event will include both a “Challenge Race” and a “Fun Walk”.
The participating teams can plan and strategize their walking routes to locate the various checkpoints in the East Kowloon area within the time limit to aim for the highest score. The top three teams with the highest scores will win prizes with a total value that exceeds HK$15,000.
All participants will also receive a race pack which include a Din Dong event t-shirt, towel, race bib and other gifts. A Green WALK reusable cloth face mask and an e-certificate will also be issued upon race completion.
For event and enrolment details, please visit https://www.sportsoho.com/pg/match/read/8829269/
Green WALK Carbon Emissions Reduction Online Challenge
This year, WGO introduces the first Green WALK Carbon Emissions Reduction Online Challenge to encourage corporations and the public to walk more to combat climate changes. From now until 25th September 2022, the public is invited to create a new record on carbon reduction together by walking and tracking their steps through WGO’s Green WALK HK app.
Meanwhile, Dah Sing Bank is additionally sponsoring the Dah Sing Bank 75th Anniversary Charity Challenge, and has invited Mr. Alex Fong, Ms. Vivian Kong, as well as Hong Kong trail runner Mr. Wong Ho Chung, Hong Kong badminton player Ms. Yip Pui Yin and Hong Kong Olympic swimmer Ms. Yvette Kong to become challenge team captains, leading the public to walk for the climate and for charity.
The five challenge captains will rally the public on their social media channels to join their teams and to support their designated charities. These include A Drop of Life supported by Team Alex Fong; Green Monday supported by Team Vivian Kong; Food Angel supported by Team Wong Ho Chung; EcoDrive supported by Team Yip Pui Yin, and Redress supported by Team Yvette Kong. For each team that completes the 750,000-step mission before noon on 25th September through the Green WALK HK app, Dah Sing Bank will donate HK$150,000 to its designated charity, representing a maximum additional charitable donation of HK$ 750,000 by the Bank.
Apart from the Dah Sing Bank 75th Anniversary Charity Challenge, public and corporations can also join the first Green WALK Carbon Emissions Reduction Online Challenge through “Individual Challenge” and “Corporate and Organisation Challenge”. All participants in the online charity challenge will receive an e-certificate, while the top ten individual participants will be awarded a “Din Dong” event T-shirt, towel, Green WALK reusable cloth face masks, an e-certificate and other gifts.
For details, please visit http://wgo.org.hk/greenwalk/tc/carbon_emissions_reduction.php.
Hong Kong People’s Walking Habits survey
The sweltering July heat this summer is a convincing reminder of great importance in carbon reductions and conserving energy. However, a recent survey conducted by the WGO revealed that only 7.8% of respondents would walk more than 30 minutes per day.
In order to understand Hong Kong people’s habit on walking, WGO has appointed Consumer Research Group for the “Hong Kong Walking Habits Survey” this year to uncover the frequency of Hong Kong people walk in a week and the reasons that motivate them to walk or take public transportation.
500 face-to-face surveys with Hong Kong residents who are over the age of 18 have responded in June 2022; only 7.8% of the respondents stated that they walk 30 minutes every day, a 0.6% drop year-on-year from 8.4% last year. Nearly 20% of the respondents commented that they walk 30 minutes or more for two days on average per week; and around 10% do not walk more than 30 minutes on any day within a week. The findings are posing worrying concerns that Hong Kong citizens are severely lacking in walking each week.
Though 12.4% of the respondents have cited that they walked more during the pandemic, the majority 86.6% said the ratio of walking to transportation distances remain unchanged. Out of 500 respondents, nearly 34% have taken short distance transportations instead of walking due to being in a hurry or to save time, followed by 22.4% of the respondents prefers transportation when carrying heavy and bulky items. Another 15% mentioned that weather was a crucial factor, which they prefer transportation if the weather is too hot or too cold, or during rainy days.
Everyone should be taking responsibility in preventing global warming. The survey, however, shows that only 7.6% of the respondents agree that they were responsible, whereas 38.8% and 23.8% of respondents said the government and the transportation industry are fully and solely responsible respectively.
On the brighter side, the majority are aware of the threats imposed by extreme weather events such as heat wave, heavy rain and drought, and therefore, are willing to change their lifestyles. 40% promise to use less disposable plastic items, a 15.4% drop year-on-year. 38% of them will use less air conditioning, 16% increase compared with last year. Only 16.2% said they would use less transport for short distance travels. 64.4% of the respondents said that they are not planning for outbound travels via air even if the pandemic is over in a year, which can also contribute to carbon reductions.
Dr. William Yu, Founder and CEO of the WGO, stated that,
Climate change is severely threatening the health of humans. The HKSAR Government plays a crucial role to tackle the global warming, take the lead to reduce carbon emissions and promoting low-carbon lifestyles. No one is immune to the threat posed by climate changes. We should all take our part to join hands and adopt low-carbon lifestyles and reduce carbon emission.
Hong Kong’s public transportation system is very efficient and convenient. It is not uncommon for the public to take transportation for short distance travels which could worsen carbon emissions. According to our survey, weather is the number three reason for people to take transportation. The hotter the more people taking transportations, resulting more carbon emission. This vicious cycle is a worry factor that causes the increasing temperature globally and more reluctant for people to walk
Dr. Yu aims to encourage the public to walk more with the Green WALK 2022. He concluded that,
Transportation is the second largest industry in carbon emissions. Starting from today, we should start establishing an eco-friendly lifestyle. Walking is good for our health, and it produces zero carbon emissions. We hope the public will break their travel patterns by walking more. This would contribute to carbon reduction and contribute our part to achieve the carbon neutrality by 2050.
About Dah Sing Bank
Dah Sing Bank, Limited (“Dah Sing Bank”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dah Sing Banking Group Limited (HKG:2356) which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Founded in Hong Kong 75 years ago, Dah Sing Bank has been providing quality banking products and services to our customers with a vision to be “The Local Bank with a Personal Touch”. Over the years, Dah Sing Bank has been rigorous in delivering on our brand promise to grow with our customers in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and beyond – “Together We Progress and Prosper”. Building on our experience and solid foundation in the industry, Dah Sing Bank’s scope of professional services now spans retail banking, private banking, business and commercial banking. Meanwhile, Dah Sing Bank is also making significant investments in our digital banking capabilities to stay abreast with smart banking developments in Hong Kong and to support financial inclusion at large.
In addition to its Hong Kong banking operations, Dah Sing Bank also has wholly-owned subsidiaries including Dah Sing Bank (China) Limited, Banco Comercial de Macau, S.A., and OK Finance Limited. It is also a strategic shareholder of Bank of Chongqing with a shareholding of about 13%. Dah Sing Bank and its subsidiaries now have around 70 operating locations in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China.
About World Green Organisation
World Green Organisation (WGO) is a non-governmental organisation who is concerned with environmental conservation, environmental related livelihood and economic affairs by proposing an integrated, three-pronged solution that combines social, environmental, and economic aspects, leading to an environmental revolution. Through science-based policy research and community projects, WGO targets to enhance the quality of the environment, promote a greener economy, and to improve people’s livelihoods. Particularly focus on the social concerns of underprivileged groups and on the creation of a green economy to help realise its vision of sustainable development. For more information, please visit http://www.thewgo.org/.
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Email：williamyu@thewgo.org
Please download the photos and captions of the launching ceremony of “Green WALK Hong Kong” campaign 2022 and “Hong Kong People’s Walking Habits” survey at the link: https://bit.ly/3oPJQej