Bright ideas

Nancy Poon Chui-yan became a changed woman after watching An Inconvenient Truth. The documentary about former US vice-president Al Gore's campaign on climate change made such an impression that Poon has embraced a low-carbon lifestyle to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"I saw An Inconvenient Truth last year and it really moved me," says the Inland Revenue Department employee. "I realised that if we don't do something, the earth is in danger."

Poon, 30, started by walking more, recycling her plastic and switched all the light fittings in her Sai Wan Ho flat to energy-saving bulbs - well before the government announced its incentive scheme.

At about HK$30 each, the energy-saving bulbs cost more than regular ones, but they last longer so it's cheaper in the long run, she says; but more importantly, it also means they have a smaller carbon footprint.

Poon has also taken to carrying drinking water in her own container rather than buying bottles from a convenience store and adding to the city's mountain of discarded plastic. "I have been using the same plastic bottle for months," she says.

With many people hooked on convenience and short-term gain, Hong Kong has been slow to tackle climate change. But as global warming disrupts climatic patterns, bringing more frequent and intense storms in some areas and severe drought in others, it's getting harder to ignore the signs.

The lessons are filtering through in local workplaces as well as among individuals. At HSBC (SEHK: 0005, announcements, news) , Teresa Au Pui-yee is charged with helping the bank reduce its carbon footprint while promoting the green lifestyle she has adopted at home to thousands of colleagues. She took a crash course on environmental issues after becoming the bank's head of corporate sustainability for Asia-Pacific three years ago.

"A few years ago, I was just like everyone in Hong Kong. I didn't know much about carbon emissions and only had a sketchy understanding of climate change," Au says.

But one green principle she has long been familiar with was not to waste things. "I didn't come from a wealthy family and understood even when I was little how important it was to avoid waste."

Simple changes in office routines can make a difference, she says.

"For instance, we now install only a few printers for each section and everyone must use their staff cards to print documents. This has significantly reduced paper use."

Since introducing the new system, annual paper consumption at the bank's Hong Kong head office has dropped from 2.5 million pieces to 1.8 million pieces, representing US$1 million in savings.

With technological advances, the bank is also making greater use of video-conferencing facilities instead of flying in managers for meetings. Having open-plan offices with access to natural light also reduces reliance on artificial lighting and energy consumption.

But securing colleagues' backing for corporate measures to trim their carbon footprint is no easy task.

"Some staff will do it to satisfy their bosses, but when the manager isn't around they'll ignore the policy," she says. "Staff think green policies are introduced simply to cut costs."

But Au and her team realise they must get most, if not all, colleagues involved to make a significant impact.

"We have 14,000 employees in Hong Kong. If everyone had a better understanding of the need to lower carbon emissions then they could educate their families. It's very important to be role models."

Social pressures in materialistic and status-conscious Hong Kong deter senior executives such as Au from adopting simple lives. But she tries to be more eco-friendly by donating unwanted furniture and clothes to charities or giving them away to friends. With two children, Au is setting an example at home by adopting energy-saving measures such as using less air conditioning and minimising waste.

"We always take away food we cannot finish. It is very important not to waste," she says.

"We also seldom use plastic bags, we buy more local vegetables and food as this means the produce doesn't have to be transported a long way, reducing carbon emissions in the process."

Jaco Ho Wai-kai, a bag manufacturer, has used the close-knit ties in his small firm to draw staff into adopting low-carbon practices. When he set up Sanmark Industrial more than 10 years ago, Ho used to think being environmentally friendly would increase his costs, but he has learned that he doesn't have to make a loss to be green. Ho and his colleagues have substantially reduced the company's carbon footprint by rethinking their logistics.

As an importer and exporter, Sanmark requires many of its 16 employees to travel frequently to the mainland.

"Travel, whether commuting from home or overseas, accounts for 70 per cent of our carbon emissions," says Ho.

Sanmark is among more than 20 firms taking part in a low-carbon office scheme initiated by the WWF earlier this year, which uses Web-based software to help managers to keep track of carbon emissions.

So instead of visiting their factories and office in Guangdong individually, staff now try to co-ordinate to travel in the same car.

"There is no need to make two or three separate trips to the mainland in a day. This not only cuts carbon emissions, it also lowers travel expenses," Ho says.

Although some staff at first found it inconvenient, synchronising trips has become routine.

"Most have been in the company for a long time and they are prepared to adjust their schedules to complement others. This is a subtle change of company culture," says Ho, adding that it has cut travel spending by 10 per cent.

"The government should take the lead in becoming a low-carbon office like us," says Ho, whose company is also making greater use of the internet for conferences and exchange of documents to eliminate unnecessary travel and paper use.

Like Au, Ho and his team began with a poor understanding of how reducing their carbon footprint  can check climate change, but  they have learned that every little  bit helps.

"When you leave the office, switch off the lights and air conditioners," Ho says. "It is a simple thing to do, but many of  us just forget or don't pay attention to this."

In Kwai Fong, a building management firm has shown how much can be achieved in one simple move: it assigned a worker to monitor outdoor temperatures and adjust air conditioners. The measure helped Kai Shing Management Services cut the annual power consumption for air conditioning  at Metroplaza Tower by 15 per cent last year.

"We didn't need extra staff - it only required a tiny change in work patterns," says property and facility manager Mina Lam Chui-lin of the changes at Metroplaza, which comprises two 46-storey buildings and a shopping arcade.

"Smaller air conditioners are used at night and a variable speed drive is used to lower electricity consumption."

Also a participant in the WWF scheme, Kai Shing made the move after learning that 99 per cent of carbon emissions from its buildings came from power usage, 60 per cent of which went to air conditioning.

The firm's efforts have cut its carbon emissions by 2,100 tonnes - equivalent to planting 91,000 trees according to a government guideline on greenhouse gas emissions, Lam says.

Additional reporting by Ben Sin