Green Deck – An Innovative Project to Enhance Sustainability

Current situation at Hung Hom

Inhabited by up to 160,000 residents, Hung Hom is a district with a considerable percentage of its population made up of the ageing community and University Students. Adding diversity to its demography, the area’s transportation hub moves thousands of commuters and tourists between Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island on a daily basis.

Alongside with the very rapid development in the recent decades, the districts in the vicinity of PolyU witness a number of environmental issues. The heavy traffic of the Cross Harbour Tunnel, with a daily average number of about 120,000 vehicles, has seriously affected the air quality of the districts. The overloaded footbridge linking PolyU and the Hung Hom MTR Station, the poor connectivity and the lack of enough open spaces within the Hung Hom district are all sustainability issues that deserve attention.

Green Deck as a sustainable development solution

PolyU as a university where innovation meets application had come up with an innovative idea to tackle the problems of heavy traffic, poor air quality, overloaded footbridge, poor connectivity and lack of open space to ensure sustainable development – constructing a Green Deck over the Cross Harbour Tunnel plaza. Situated over the existing Hung Hom Cross Harbour Tunnel and its Toll Plaza, west of Hung Hom MTR Station Podium and South East to The Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus, the total deck area can provide approximately 43,000 square metres of space to accommodate a wide variety of recreational, cultural and sports facilities and amenities while solving other problems in the districts.

Green Deck video

Innovative proposals to improve the living environment

The Green Deck has generated eight research proposals from RISUD (Research Institute of Sustainable Urban Design) on various aspects in which PolyU cross-disciplinary faculty experts had come up with innovative solutions for living environment improvement in Hung Hom. The nine research projects to help foster sustainable development and their respective objectives are:

1. Optimal public engagement processes for the Green Deck project – Investigated by Prof. Edwin Chan

• To identify the needs and concerns of the different stakeholders and to enhance the societal benefits and success of the Green Deck Project

2. Effects of the green deck on the local real estate market – Investigated by Prof. Eddie Hui

• To explore the benefits of a green deck for stakeholders

3. Impacts on and improvements of wind environment and thermal comfort of green deck development and pollutant exposure control via ventilation – Investigated by Prof. Niu Jian Lei

• To enhance airflow and wind for maximized thermal comfort
• To reduce pollutant exposure of toll-gate workers and bus passengers by using wind-catchers
• To quantify outdoor environment design based upon wind tunnel testing and state-of the-art computation

4. Effects of the green deck on the local noise level – Investigated by Prof. Tang Shiu Keung

• Aims to understand the acoustical effects
• Propose mitigation measures
• Contribute to general understanding on noise propagation in the presence of discontinuous enclosure

5. Feasibility of installing solar and wind energy facilities on the green deck – Investigated by Prof. Yang Hong Xing

• To estimate the power consumptions and profiles of potential electric energy users for the proposed green deck, including the electricity consumption for lighting, ventilation and air-conditioning
• To investigate the potential of solar photovoltaic (PV) integration on the green deck to generate electricity
• To estimate the potential of wind energy to generate electricity

6. Study of pedestrian flow and traffic emissions on the green deck – Investigated by Dr. Hung Wing Tat

• To critically assessed pedestrian flow patterns before and after the green deck

7. Effects of the green deck on local air quality – Investigated by Prof. Lee Shun Cheng

• To measure the local air pollutants in PolyU’s roadside monitoring station and PQ Podium
• To determine the risk assessment on three carcinogenic pollutants
• To evaluate the improvement on green deck and pollutants control technology

8. Maximise the use of recycled glass – Investigated by Prof. Poon Chi Sun

• To demonstrate PolyU’s developed eco-glass block and architectural mortar technologies

9. The Health and Social Impact of the Green Deck Project on the Population Living in the Neighbourhood – Investigated by Prof. Frances Wong

• To study the health and social impact of the Green Deck on the population living in the neighbourhood

Benefits to the local community

The Green Deck would improve physical environment with aspects of sustainability to the people who live or work in Hung Hom and the neighbourhood.

Better Community Services

Other than the green open space, a viewing deck with Victoria Harbour as the backdrop, art gallery, amphitheater, sports complex, outdoor, exhibition area, play area for the kids, reflection pool are among the items that can be considered for the Green Deck, allowing people to relax and unwind, away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Improved Commute Experience

The Green Deck will enable the provision of an enhanced pedestrian and cycling track network converting Homantin, Hung Hom, Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan and the harbourfront area, facilitating commuting from one place to another while reinforcing a better and intimate inter-district relationship and a green life style.

Enhanced Environmental Quality

Pollution caused by cross harbor traffic (e.g. air quality and noise) would be eliminated by collecting and cleaning up pollutants at their sources.

A Concept Plan which caters for stakeholders views

PolyU is soliciting views from various stakeholders on the Green Deck. We would like to construct a plan that will enhance the environment as well as benefit the community. The Green Deck proposal has recent won the “Merit” award in the Research and Planning category of the Green Building Award 2014, an event jointly organized by the Hong Kong Green Building Council and the Professional Green Building Council.

To learn more about the Green Deck as an innovative project to enhance sustainability, you may go to the exhibition currently staging at Gallery C, Podium Level, The Jockey Club Innovation Tower of PolyU which is on till 28 February 2015 and from the Green Deck official website in English at www.polyu.edu.hk/cpa/greendeck/ or in Chinese at www.polyu.edu.hk/cpa/greendeck/index_tc.html.

RE: MAKE A WISH – The Xmas Baubles Project

Environmental-friendly Stickers in Washrooms on PolyU Campus

With the coordination among Campus Sustainability Committee, Facilities Management Office and Health, Safety and Environment Office, a series of environmental-friendly stickers has rolled out in washrooms on PolyU campus to illustrate the water saving installations and encourage staff and students to cherish water and paper resources.

Canteen@Phase 8 in PolyU Campus joined
“PolyU’s Food Waste Source Separation and Recycling Program”

As one of the Food Wise Partners of the Food Wise Charter in Hong Kong, PolyU launched the “PolyU’s Food Waste Source Separation and Recycling Program” in late 2013 to reduce food waste disposal to landfill. With Canteen@Phase 8’s participation in this meaningful program on 1 December 2014, all food waste from catering facilities on PolyU Main Campus, Hung Hom Bay Campus, Student Halls of Residence (Homantin) and Student Halls of Residence (Hung Hom) were collected and recycled into composts and pig feeds by the Hong Kong Organic Waste Recycling Centre (HKOWRC), a food waste collection and recycling contractor.

All caterers participated in the program received certificates issued by Campus Sustainability Committee and Catering Committee to recognize their efforts.

Minimize the Reliance on Bottled Water

In 2012, Hong Kong consumed 132 tonnes of PET ^{Remarks 1} plastic bottles per day, equivalent to an increase of 32 percent compared with the previous year in 2011 ^{Remarks 2}. Based on the 4R principles “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Replace”, the most efficient way to tackle waste problem is not “Recycle”, but “REDUCE”.

Now you can help to reduce plastic wastes by buying less bottled water and bring along your own water bottles and mugs and refill them at the drinking fountains anywhere on campus. Recently, Facilities Management Office (FMO) has installed new ones at Lee Shau Kee Building (Block Y), GH Podium Annexe and The Jockey Club Innovation Tower.

A Green Map (http://www.polyu.edu.hk/greencampus/map/) is available at the Campus Sustainability Committee's website "PolyU Green Concepts" for your quick reference to locate the drinking fountains on campus near you.

Remarks:
1. PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) is the common plastic material used in making beverage bottles.
2. The figures refer to “Waste Disposal Statistics - Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong” published by Environmental Protection Department.

PolyU Notes Collection Scheme

A group of PolyU students who deeply concerned about overuse of paper has organized a campaign namely “Notes Collection Scheme” which invites schoolmates to donate their lecture notes after exam in December 2014 and distribute to schoolmates who will take the subject in the next semester or academic year in January 2015 aiming to reduce paper waste and promote the value of used notes.

By collecting and distributing lecture notes for reuse, students can reduce printing, save paper and save trees on Earth.

The campaign was very popular among both undergraduate and postgraduate students and a total of 150 sets of notes were collected in this Scheme.

Used-item Collection Campaign on PolyU Campus

On 19 and 20 November 2014, the 2nd round of Used-item Collection Campaign for 2014 was held on PolyU campus. Such activity was jointly organized by PolyU Staff Association and Community Recycling Coop, a charitable organization in Sham Shui Po. A variety of used items, including electrical appliances, clothing, stationery, books and household goods etc., were collected. The collected items will then be sold to the needy at a very low price.

If you have missed this meaningful campaign, you are welcome to bring your used items to the Community Recycling Coop’s stores in Sham Shui Po or contact their Collection Department at 2729 7023 from 11:00 am to 7:30 pm on weekdays. For details, please visit Community Recycling Coop’s website at http://www.iri.org.hk/2nd_shop_team.html (Chinese version only). Also, our Green Tips November 2014 Issue at http://www.polyu.edu.hk/greencampus/files/tips_on_sustainability/2014/201411-Greentips.pdf locates for you a few non-profit organizations that can collect your generous donations.

Campus Sustainability Efforts of the Green Hall of Student Halls of Residence (Homantin)

Green Hall has been coordinating an Inter-Hall Recycling Competition among the six halls of residence at the Student Halls of Residence (Homantin) since November 2014. The aim of the Competition is to nurture a culture of recycling among hall residents. The residents are required to put specific recyclable items into the recycling bins at the lounge of each hall. At the end of each month, the hall with collected recyclable materials which weights most will be the winner.

About 28 kg of plastics and 130 kg of paper was collected in November and December 2014 respectively. In January and February 2015, metals and glass will be collected for the competition respectively. In March 2015, an Inter-Hall Shoe Rack Making Competition (using the collected plastics and waste paper) will be organized.

The Green Hall also took the lead in liaising with hall facilities management to facilitate the collection and storage of recyclables. Furthermore, devoted members from the Green Hall organized monthly movie show, hiking activities and lipstick workshop using eco-friendly material for hall residents’ participation.

PolyU “Recycle More Waste Less’ Marketing Campaign Competition 2014”

To raise university students’ awareness and change their behavior on plastic recycling to ensure recyclable plastics do not end up going into landfills, the Campus Sustainability Committee, Faculty of Business, Health, Safety and Environment Office collaborated with Yan Oi Tong EcoPark Plastic Resources Recycling Centre to organize the PolyU “Recycle More Waste Less’ Marketing Campaign Competition 2014” for all non-final year students studying Bachelor of Business Administration.

Students are required to form into groups of four and each group produced a 5 minute video to share the ideas of their marketing plan for first round of the competition. 5 finalist teams were selected in December 2014 who will present their marketing plan at the finale of the competition to be held at end of January 2015. The winning marketing plan would be implemented at PolyU campus in 2015.

You can find more information about the competition at the competition’s website at http://www.fb.polyu.edu.hk/recyclecompetition/ or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1581299652093811/?notif_t=plan_user_invited.

PolyU Campus Sustainability Weeks 2015

PolyU Campus Sustainability Weeks 2015 will be held from 16 to 27 March 2015. A variety of seminars, workshops, visits and exhibitions are being organized to promote implementation of sustainability in urban environment. This year, we will invite PolyU scholars and experts to our green forum to talk about how sustainable urban design affects us. More details will be available at the PolyU Green Concepts’ website at http://www.polyu.edu.hk/greencampus/ in due course.

Youth Sustainability Summit 2015

Youth to Sustainability Summit 2015 organized by AIESEC, a global youth-run organization, will be held from 11 to 14 June 2015 at PolyU campus to provide an international platform for youths to explore and discuss global and local issues with current leaders from various fields. The topics of this year include i) Green lifestyle, ii) Social inclusion and, iii) Cultural preservation and development. For more details and registration, please visit AIESEC’s website at http://www.accupass.com/go/ys15.

World Environmental Date

Over the years, various world-wide environmental and sustainability-related days have been established to raise public awareness on different environmental, social and ecological issues:

2 February – World Wetlands Day

World Wetlands Day was celebrated for the first time in 1997, marking the date of signing of the Convention on Wetlands, called Ramsar Convention, in the Iranian city of Ramsar. The theme for World Wetlands Day 2015 is “Wetlands for our future”. You can find more information from the World Wetlands Day’s website at http://www.worldwetlandsday.org/en/.

22 March – World Water Day

The World Water Day, designated by the United Nations, was initiated in 1993 as a way of highlighting the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme of 2015 is “Water and Sustainable Development”. You can find more information from United Nation’s website at http://www.un.org/en/events/waterday/.

23 March – World Meteorological Day

The United Nations' World Meteorological Day is annually held on 23 March to commemorate the World Meteorological Organization's establishment in 1950. This year’s theme is “Climate Knowledge for Climate Action”. You can find more information from the World Meteorological Organization’s website at http://www.wmo.int/worldmetday/.

28 March – Earth Hour

Earth Hour is a global campaign launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) since 2007. Earth Hour 2015 will take place on Saturday, 28th March 2015 from 8:30pm to 9:30pm, encouraging individuals, communities, households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol for their commitment to stand against climate change.

For more information about sustainability-related dates, please refer to PolyU Green Concepts’ website at http://www.polyu.edu.hk/greencampus/en/useful-links/world-environmental-dates.html.

PolyU Received Merit Awards in the Green Building Award 2014

PolyU was honored two awards in the Green Building Award 2014 jointly organized by the Hong Kong Green Building Council and the Professional Green Building Council. This award provides recognition to building-related projects with outstanding performance and contributions in sustainability and the built environment. The result announcement and award presentation ceremony was held on 20 November 2014.

Awarded project: Proposed Green Deck over Cross Harbour Tunnel Plaza

• Award: Merit (Research and planning category)
• Description: Please refer to the Feature Story for details.
• Led by: Task Force of the Proposed “Green Deck”, with Mr. Alex Lui as Chairman

Awarded project: Highly dispersed screen-printable nanocomposite paste for self-cleaning curtain walls

• Award: Merit (Building products and technologies category)
• Description: The awarded technology is a novel highly dispersed nanocomposite paste for the low-cost facile screen-printing process to fabricate highly transparent multifunctional coatings on glass. More information can be found at Institute for Entrepreneurship’s website at http://www.polyu.edu.hk/ife/corp/cntimgs/techsearch/2_BSE_07_1014.pdf.
• Led by: Professor Yang Hong Xing from the Department of Building Services Engineering

You can find more information from the Green Building Award’s website (https://www.hkgbc.org.hk/gba2014/).

First In-building Hydropower

Underground water pipe network needs to be monitored constantly to ensure reliable water supply to the city. To operate monitoring devices in remote areas without power grid can be very challenging. A hydropower system invented by PolyU can convert the superfluous water flowing through the pipe into electric power. Owing to its compact size, the system can be fitted in the limited space often found in city underground. The system has already been applied at several locations by Water Supplies Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, providing renewable and continuous power to support real-time water pipe monitoring.

Professor Yang Hong Xing, Coordinator of the Renewable Energy Research Group in the Department of Building Services Engineering of PolyU collaborated with Sino Group and Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited to develop the first in-building hydropower system with the use of the novel vertical-axis turbine invented by PolyU for the hydropower system as described above.

Installed in a shopping complex, water current passing through the water pipeline drives a novel vertical-axis turbine developed by PolyU and Water Supplies Department, which generates hydroelectricity from water pipelines. Electricity generated is stored in a battery and can be used to power a typical lift lobby’s lighting system.

This application makes use of the unused water head in the portable water pipelines, making it a promising and sustainable solution by reducing our reliance on fossil fuel based power plants.

International Coastal Cleanup 2014 across the Shoreline of Hong Kong

International Coastal Cleanup is a global event initiated by Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit group based in United States, in 1986 with the aim of engaging citizens to remove trash and debris from beaches, identify the sources of debris, and change the behavioral patterns that contribute to pollution.

The Green Council has been coordinating this event in Hong Kong since 2008. Between September and November 2014, over 2,500 volunteers collected a total of 4.5 tonnes of rubbish across the shoreline. 7 out of the top 10 items of marine debris collected were plastic products and more than half of the rubbish collected was made of plastic. Plastic waste undoubtedly was one of the biggest threats to our oceans’ health. You can find more information about the event at Green Council’s website at http://www.greencouncil.org/eng/community/icc.asp.

Reference:
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1648781/plastic-waste-tops-list-rubbish-found-hong-kongs-beaches
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20141126/18948199

WWF Released the Latest Figures for Hong Kong’s Ecological Footprint

World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) Hong Kong published “Hong Kong Ecological Footprint Summary 2014” in October 2014. According to the latest data, Hong Kong people are using 540 times more resources than the territory can provide. If everyone on earth lives the same way as Hong Kong people, 3.1 Earths are required. This figure is much higher than the global average of 1.5 Earths. For the full report, please visit WWF’s website at http://awsassets.wwfhk.panda.org/downloads/wwf_hk_footprint_eng_web_141017_1.pdf.

Searching for New Directions – A Study of Hong Kong Electricity Market, Consumer Council

For over a century, the electricity market of Hong Kong has been regulated by the Scheme of Control Agreements (SCAs) signed between the HKSAR Government and the two power companies, the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited (CLP) and the Hong Kong Electric Company Limited (HEC) who provide electricity services to consumers living in Kowloon and New Territories, and Hong Kong Island respectively The energy policy objectives of the HKSAR Government have been to ensure that the energy needs of the community are met safely, reliably, efficiently and at reasonable prices, while minimizing the environmental impact of electricity generation.

The Consumer Council released a study report in December 2014 which investigated the shortfalls in the current regulatory regime of the Hong Kong electricity market from the perspectives of consumers, environmental protection and combating global climate change.

The study report sets the agenda for a public consultation this year on the post-2018 regulatory road map on the mix of fuels in Hong Kong’s electricity market.

The study report also calls for the development of renewable energy, the importation of electricity and more nuclear power from Guangdong, and greater use of natural gas to meet the government’s goal of supplying reliable, safe, sustainable and affordable energy.

You can find more details about this study report in the executive summary at Consumer Council’s website at http://www.consumer.org.hk/electricitymarket2014/summary_e.pdf.

IPCC Released the Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was set up in 1998 by the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Environment Programme, is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change. During the period from September 2013 to November 2014, IPCC released the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) to provide a clear and up to date view of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change since 2007. The AR5 consists of three Working Group Reports and a Synthesis Report.

The Synthesis Report integrates the findings of the Working Group contributions. It confirms that climate change is being noted around the world and the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide are unprecedented in at least the last 800,000 years. Adaptation and mitigation are complementary strategies for the problems of climate change. Substantial emissions reductions can contribute to climate-resilient pathways for sustainable development.

The Fifth Assessment Report can be found at IPCC’s website at http://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/index.shtml.