In the Chief Executive’s 2019 Policy Address, the plan to improve the energy efficiency of government buildings and to encourage bureaus and departments to show their commitment to low-carbon growth has focused attention on sustainability in the real estate sector again. “The discussions around green buildings are not new, but we are now seeing greater commitment than before from the government and developers,” says Alex Katsanos, director and head of business advisory for Hong Kong and Macau at natural and built assets consultancy Arcadis. This is certainly the case for the city’s leading developer New World Development Company (NWD) that has been at the forefront of promoting green building projects, such as the Green Atrium, in Hong Kong. The group’s Sustainability Vision 2030 (SV2030) references the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and steers NWD to curate business offerings and initiatives revolving around green, wellness, smart and caring. “Sustainability is embedded in NWD’s property development life cycle from project planning, design and construction to property management and leasing,” says Ellie Tang, head of sustainability at NWD. NWD’s policy specifies that new projects should achieve Gold-level or above certification under the Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (BEAM) Plus and/or US Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building standards, while considering other sustainable landscape standards. BEAM Plus is Hong Kong’s leading initiative to offer independent assessments of building sustainability performance and is certified by the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC). “Key green building certificates, such as Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM), LEED and BEAM Plus, are gaining momentum here, along with other green building initiatives, including Climate Action Plan 2030+ and the Green Building Awards,” says Katsanos. “It is very encouraging that more companies are using Building Information Modelling (BIM) throughout the construction process to achieve better planning, design and quality of construction and to minimise waste.” NWD’s Green Atrium received BEAM Plus Gold-level certification a few years ago. But a more recent sustainable building from the group, the K11 Atelier office building on King’s Road in Quarry Bay, has received three of the highest sustainable building certifications: Hong Kong BEAM Plus Provisional Platinum Certification, US LEED Platinum Pre-certification, and the world’s first WELL Building Standard v1 Platinum Pre-certification. With an estimated 34 per cent annual energy saving compared with the Hong Kong Building Energy Code, the building features the largest hybrid solar panels (220 square metres) in Asia and a total area of greenery of 6,700 sq m – equivalent to 1.5 football pitches – with an innovative vertical and ceiling greenery system. Wellness is another highlight of the K11 Atelier project. In addition to good air and water quality, the building provides a 170-metre rooftop jogging trail and a multipurpose event space to promote wellness, art and culture. “These features epitomise the SV2030 and our user-centric approach when planning for the design of development projects and future operations, with the well-being of building users and lowering our environmental impact being our utmost priorities,” says Tang. Katsanos notes that Hong Kong’s construction industry has been quite slow to embrace technology. However, there has been a growing adoption of green building features and smart technology in recent developments, such as the installation of solar responsive facades, waste-to-energy tri-generation systems, rain water harvesting, grey water recycling, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system condensate recycling, smart irrigation and AI smart building consoles. Katsanos says: “More attention is being given to health and well-being with extensive use of greenery to promote sustainable urban living and better air quality”. NWD’s K11 Atelier project also embodies the application of state-of-the-art technologies in green building. “In terms of renewable energy installation, the technological breakthrough for combining photovoltaic and thermal to co-generate electricity and heat can be applied more widely,” says Tang. “Our PVT panels at the K11 Atelier King’s Road project are the first such application in commercial projects in Hong Kong. The panels are expected to generate 1.3 per cent of total building energy consumption.” The developer is now working on Hong Kong’s first urban biodiversity museum and sustainability-themed education park, the Nature Discovery Park at K11 Musea, that features workshops and an urban farming experience to promote a sustainable lifestyle. The K11 Musea can be found at Victoria Dockside in Tsim Sha Tsui. Hong Kong is one of the world’s most densely populated cities and existing buildings are responsible for most of the city’s carbon emissions. “Hong Kong has lots of multi-owned buildings. It is difficult to get consent to turn the existing buildings into green buildings,” says Cary Chan, executive director of the HKGBC. “Support from the government would help to initiate green project trials and then implement the regulations or provide subsidies to the industry. However, some developers are keen on upgrading the existing building portfolio […] but more premium is needed to encourage more investors and private developers to work on green buildings.” To address some of these issues, the HKGBC has commissioned the drafting of the new Hong Kong Smart Green Building Design Best Practice Guidebook that “once complete, will offer practical guidelines and strategies for designing and operating smart green buildings in Hong Kong”, says Katsanos. “This guidebook is the first of its kind in the region and will redefine the interface between green and smart,” he says.