Winners of coveted environmental awards make green initiatives in their business practices
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Organised by the Environmental Campaign Committee, alongside the Environmental Protection Department and significant chambers of commerce in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) and the Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards (HKGIA) are prestigious awards aimed to inspire organisations to be environmental champions.
A presentation ceremony of the 2020 HKAEE and the Hong Kong Green Organisation Certification (HKGOC) was held yesterday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in hybrid physical-digital format. All Gold, Silver, and Bronze Award winners of the HKAEE and the HKGIA and Outstanding Green Achievers were honoured at the venue for their outstanding achievements in adopting environmental practices and management.
The ceremony was officiated by the Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing, the Chairman of the Environment and Conservation Fund Committee Douglas Woo Chun-kuen, the Chairman of the Environmental Campaign Committee Simon Wong Kit-lung, and the Chairman of Awards Committee on the HKAEE Conrad Wong Tin-cheung. The Chief Executive of the HKSAR, Mrs Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor congratulated the winning companies and organisations via video and commended them for their dedication in promoting environmental protection. She also called for all companies and organisations to join hands with the government to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Another record year
Despite the economic fluctuation under the pandemic, the awards have continuously attracted vast numbers of participants last year. There are altogether 2,785 corporates, including 540 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and 86 organisations that entered the 2020 HKAEE and the 2020 HKGIA, respectively. The HKAEE features 47 winners of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards and 159 winners for Certificate of Merit. For the 2020 HKGIA, there are one Gold Award, one Silver Award, one Bronze Award, and two Certificates of Merit.
The HKAEE encourages organisations to implement environmental management, measure organisations’ performance on their commitment to environmental management within the industry, and recognise organisations with excellent performance on environmental management. The HKGIA, meanwhile, considers and acknowledges organisations solving real-world problems with innovative, green, and practicable ideas, resulting in real benefits to the environment and the wider community.
Both the HKAEE and the HKGIA are decided following robust assessment mechanisms. For the former, the performance and outcomes of Green Leadership, Programme and Performance and Partner Synergy of the entries are carefully examined to select the winners; for the latter, entries are assessed independently for their Level of Innovation, Environmental Achievements and Practicability and Contribution to Society.
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The HKAEE has given impetus to companies to enhance and implement more effective environmental measures to improve their operation mode and be more concerned about the environment. Naturally, the award serves to enhance participants’ corporate image and strengthen their connection with industry peers and business partners.
In addition, participating organisations can obtain free and professional advice from the scheme’s technical consultant during the assessment process to improve the effectiveness of environmental measures. The advice is valuable to companies, particularly SMEs. Meanwhile, winning organisations may also benefit from various publicity opportunities, such as exposure at the highly anticipated presentation ceremony, across traditional and digital media platforms, and in multiple exhibitions, etc.
Special schemes to recognise organisations and individuals
The awards are ever-evolving to reflect the changes in environmental needs. Two commendation schemes were organised in 2020. The schemes are the Outstanding Promotional Partner Commendation Scheme for organisations that have pro-actively assisted the promotion of the HKAEE and the Outstanding Green Achiever Commendation Scheme for passionate employees who are fully committed to promoting environmental protection within their organisations and to the community. A total of five employees as Outstanding Green Achievers and 38 Outstanding HKAEE Promotional Partners were also recognised in the ceremony.
The 2021 HKAEE and the HKGIA are now open for entry. Be a champion of the environment for the benefit of Hong Kong and beyond. All businesses, organisations, and functional units operating primarily within Hong Kong with their core business fulfilling the definition of the respective sector are eligible and encouraged to apply.
