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Our News
WWF Proposes Innovative “Green Leases” to Reduce Electricity Consumption in HK Offices
Today, WWF-Hong Kong is presenting labels to 43 companies participating in our Low-carbon Office Operation Programme (LOOP) and celebrating their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption. The overall reduction in carbon intensity achieved at LOOP-verified offices, measured in carbon emissions per employee, was 5.19 percent.
However, the 2012 LOOP verification results reveal a surprising discrepancy in electricity consumption: offices in Grades A and B commercial buildings consumed much more electricity than those situated in industrial buildings – 368 kWh per square metre, 350 kWh per sq. m. and 270 kWh per sq. m. respectively. The main factor behind this situation is that Grades A and B commercial buildings use centralized air-conditioning systems, and tenants of these buildings have limited incentives to optimize their use of air-conditioning.
To tackle the high electricity consumption inherent in commercial buildings, WWF proposes a ground-breaking concept for Hong Kong: the “green lease”. Green leases address key environmental issues like indoor air quality, energy and water use and recycling, among others. Through communication, cooperation and the setting of joint targets, green leases encourage landlords or property management companies to provide incentives to tenants who adopt environmentally-friendly practices.
By conducting a trial of a green lease in a premium commercial building, WWF hopes to create a breakthrough concept which will allow both landlords and tenants to work together to reduce a building’s energy consumption and carbon emissions, creating mutual and environmental benefits.
Having run LOOP for three consecutive years, Mr Patrick Ho, WWF-Hong Kong’s Business Engagement Manager for Climate observes that “while we see more companies promoting low-carbon office operations, the process of developing a true low-carbon economy is still missing a few links. First and foremost, businesses expect much stronger leadership from the government.”
To further promote the low-carbon operations concept to the broader business community in 2013, WWF calls for more forward-thinking companies to participate in LOOP. Companies participating in LOOP verification are also eligible to apply for the Carbon Audit Pilot Fund, a match fund created by the government-funded CarbonSmart Programme. Each application is eligible to receive funds up to a maximum of HKD 30,000.