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Green practices reflect shift in client demands

Nick Walker

Sector answers the call for environmentally friendlier facilities with various energy saving and recycling initiatives

IF HONG KONG'S serviced apartments sector provides a barometer of the city's economy, then the outlook is good.

Amid robust economic growth, demand remains healthy and customer expectations are rising. This has led to a general upgrading of facilities throughout the sector, and the emergence of a trend towards environmental friendliness. 'Our serviced suites guests, especially expatriates from Canada, Britain and Australia, are very environmentally conscious. This thinking is also coming from local sentiment. We are paying very close attention,' said Stephen Henry Chu, deputy general manager for leasing, Harbour Plaza Hotel Management. Mr Chu oversees one of the 'greenest' serviced apartment facilities in an increasingly diverse market.

Tucked away in the northwest New Territories, the Harbour Plaza Resort City offers more than 500 serviced suites close to the Mai Po Marshes, Deep Bay and the new Tin Shui Wai wetland park. The hotel is in the centre of the 2 million sqft Tin Shui Wai Central Park.

With this location, it seems only natural that the hotel should adhere to lofty eco-friendly standards.

Mr Chu spelled out the specifics: 'In terms of hardware, all serviced suites are equipped with energy-saving light bulbs, which use 80 per cent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs. Where more illumination is needed, custom light reflectors are installed behind bulbs, thereby making a room brighter without additional energy cost. Windows are tinted to reduce the greenhouse effect from sunlight. Air-conditioning is carefully adjusted throughout the day in the public areas to ensure they are not 'overcooled'.

'In the back-of-the-house areas, motion sensors have been added so lights turn on only when staff are in the immediate vicinity. When no one is around, they turn off automatically.'

The hotel's housekeeping department uses environmentally friendly cleaning solutions and the hotel laundry uses environmentally friendly detergents.

'Thanks to suggestions from our overseas guests, recycle bins are on all serviced suite floors. Besides the usual newspaper, plastic bottle and aluminium recycling, Harbour Plaza Resort City has collection bins for glass bottles, mobile batteries, and even CDs and DVDs,' Mr Chu said.

Pacific Place Apartments are a fair distance from the leafy northwestern New Territories and in a forest of their own - the spectacular high rises that climb up Hong Kong Island.

Leasing manager, Pacific Place Apartments, Jeremy Lamburn said: 'We diligently adhere to the renowned credo of Swire Properties to protect the world's environment wherever we can do so. We believe that improving the environment is both an individual and communal task, and make a conscious effort to emphasise this by example to our tenants, business partners and workmates alike.'

Mr Lamburn said preservation of natural materials was a priority.

'During the recent redesign of Parkside, we insisted that our designers make use of original teak floors - which had remained unpolished and unexposed in the original design beneath wall-to-wall carpeting, bathroom floor and wall marble, as well as the granite and marble features in the main lobby. Although treating and re-laying the teak flooring was actually more costly than purchasing new floors, we were adamant that the existing wood be reused rather than wasted,' Mr Lamburn said.

'Before commencement of the redesign, the company was already in eco-mode and arranged for existing furnishings to be reused. With the help of a recycling organisation, furnishings were shipped to specific regional locations where they were immediately reused in suitable buildings.

'Other efforts that we make on a daily basis at Pacific Place Apartments include use of energy-saving lighting wherever possible; bed and bath linen laundered at a frequency requested by residents rather than standard daily laundering; strategic power-saving efforts throughout the buildings during night; and use of electronic communication wherever possible as opposed to paper.'

Pacific Place Apartments employ an energy-saving system at The Atrium and Parkside to prevent excessive temperature and lighting control when an apartment is unoccupied. Regular recycling events are conducted with residents.

'With a number of our commercial buildings awarded 'excellent' status from HK-BEAM, we are anxious to demonstrate that environmental efforts are shared by all members of the Swire Properties family,' Mr Lamburn said.

Steady demand in the serviced apartments sector has manifested itself in new units opening up, notably in Happy Valley where, from this September, Happy Valley 88 Luxury Serviced Apartments will be offering 48 studio or one-bedroom units at 42 Blue Pool Road.

Gary Cheung, business development and operations manager of Central 88 Luxury Serviced Apartments, at 88 Des Voeux Road, is excited about the company's eastward expansion.

'Like our Central operation, we offer elegant contemporary style with classical Chinese touches and decor. Most exciting of all are the balconies. In a town famous for memorable views, we've gone one stop further - horse-racing views,' she said.

The Central 88 group's luxurious lifestyle does not compromise its green standards.

'We recycle at every opportunity and are looking at ways to upgrade our ecological awareness, and in ways that yield practical results,' Ms Cheung said.

Green issues are at the forefront of the agenda at Four Seasons Place. Director of leasing Belinda Kuan said: 'Four Seasons Place and the entire IFC complex has been designed to be environmentally friendly, with a range of 'green' technologies installed to save energy and conserve resources.'

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