WWF Recognizes Eight Manufacturers that are Helping to Build a Quality Pearl River Delta (PRD) Low Carbon Region

WWF-Hong Kong is delighted to announce the news that eight manufacturers which joined our Low Carbon Manufacturing Programme (LCMP) have been accredited with LCMP labels, rewarding them for significantly reducing their carbon emissions. The average annual reduction in their carbon intensity was 7.2 percent in 2010. For profiles of these manufacturers, please see Appendix 1.

The LCMP helps measure manufacturers’ effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions and equip them with best practices in greenhouse gas management. As of today, there are 32 factories with over 40,000 staff participating in LCMP. LCMP shares common ground with China’s twelfth Five-Year Plan, which formalised a target of a 17 percent reduction in carbon intensity.

Dr Kitty Poon, Under Secretary for the Environment said, "The three governments of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macau are consulting the public on the findings of a study on the Regional Cooperation Plan on Building a Quality Living Area, which outline initial proposals for transforming the Pearl River Delta region into a low-carbon, high-technology and low-pollution city cluster of quality living. By improving their energy efficiency and reducing emissions, private enterprises have an important role to play in the region's drive towards a low-carbon and sustainable development pathway."

The implementation of the LCMP will raise a company’s energy efficiency standards to the best practice level and uncover operational inefficiencies. This is a simple and effective method of saving money in the long run (see Appendix 2 for details). Nowadays, consumers across the world pay attention not only to the price and quality of the products they buy, but also to a brand’s transparency and its efforts to control carbon emissions.

“The LCMP ensures that low-carbon manufacturing practices are properly taught, learned and implemented along the supply chain and is a useful tool to help manufacturers improve their image and competitiveness while doing business with the US and European brands”, said Karen Ho, Business Engagement Leader, Climate, WWF-Hong Kong. One of the awardees, Leedarson Lighting, achieved the highest annual carbon intensity reduction in 2010 (over 24%), and was invited by their customer Kingfisher - Europe's leading and the world’s third-largest home improvement retailer - to join the LCMP.

WWF-Hong Kong believes that carbon reduction is not only the responsibility of manufacturers but also the responsibility of listed companies in Hong Kong. In April 2011, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) started to provide training for listed companies on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting and preparing for consultation on a draft ESG Reporting Guide. “We believe that the HKEx ESG Reporting Guide will result in further reduction in carbon emissions, as well as data collection, measuring and verification in both Hong Kong’s and the PRD’s business and industry communities. The manufacturing supply chain definitely plays an important role in supporting the ESG Reporting and LCMP is a practical tool that manufacturers may rely on in measuring and monitoring their carbon performances”, said Karen Ho.