bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Legislators' companies among  thousands still to sign charter

A high-profile campaign to improve air quality in Hong Kong has drawn a cool response from the business sector, with only about 100 of the tens of thousands of Hong Kong-owned factories operating in the Pearl River Delta signing up.

Among those still to join the voluntary scheme are  businesses owned by  executive councillors and lawmakers.

The Clean Air Charter, launched a year ago by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Business Coalition on the Environment, was touted as the first step to combating air pollution in the Pearl River Delta. But by Friday, it had garnered only about 500 signatures,  nearly half of them from business chambers and the services sector, which generate little  emissions.

The revelation could prove embarrassing, with Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen due to sign the charter on behalf of all government departments and bureaus tomorrow.

A senior source within the chamber said the number of signatories fell far short of expectations.

'We are disappointed by the cool response,' the source said. 'When we are all talking about how to clean up the sky, many companies and big bosses do not even bother to sign a piece of paper. There is a lack of social responsibility among the business sector.'

The source said there were fewer than 300 signatures late last month, and some board members and senior chamber staff had resorted to making phone calls to companies in a desperate effort to collect more.

Under the scheme, companies would agree to comply with international emission standards, draft a clean-air plan and cut pollution through energy-efficient practices.

Businesses owned by political heavyweights including executive councillors Victor Lo Chung-wing, chairman of Gold Peak Group, and Bernard Charnwut Chan, president of the Asia Financial Group, were among the absentees.

Big industrialists in Legco, including Bay Apparel director Sophie Leung Lau Yau-fun, Sun Hing Knitting Factory director Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen and Winco Paper Products  chairman Philip Wong Yu-hong are  also yet to sign the charter.

The source said the chamber's 4,000 members had been sent several letters over the past year reminding them to sign up.

Hahn Chu Hon-keung, of Friends of the Earth, said their absence rendered the plan a joke.

He said Mrs Leung,  an honorary adviser to the Hong Kong Environmental Industry Association, had set a strikingly bad example.

'If the government can't even persuade its close allies to join the scheme voluntarily, how on Earth can they expect the rest of the private sector to participate?' he said.

Mr Chan said he had no idea the scheme was aimed at private firms.

'I didn't even know. No one has asked me or my company to sign it. A few months ago, HKGCC asked me to sign the Clean Air Charter as chairman of the Hong Kong-Thailand Business Council. But as president of my company, no.'

Mr Wong said he would sign if he was asked. 'We are mindful about environmental issues,' he said.

The source said some chamber leaders were unhappy at the lack of support from the three other local business chambers, as 80 per cent of the signatories are their members. But Paul Yin Tek-shing, of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association, dismissed the criticism.

'Our membership largely comprises owners of factories on the mainland, many of whom don't live in Hong Kong,' he said.

'Many are unaware of the charter or misunderstand what is required under the scheme. Still, about 150 of our members have signed up. It is a long-term initiative and we will continue to promote it.'

Alexandra Poon Yuen-wah, of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, said there was significant cross-membership between the chambers so many of their members might not have been counted.

Mr Lo, Sophie Leung, Andrew Leung and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce did not respond to inquiries.



Firms slow to back  air quality campaign