Carbon Neutrality

HKBU Carbon Neutrality

HKBU aspires to foster a culture where sustainability and environmental responsibility permeates our daily learning, teaching and research endeavors.  In order to reach our goal of carbon neutrality, it is crucial that we integrate our academic and communal efforts, share our knowledge and wisdom to promote sustainable learning, and practice good corporate citizenship. Our ambition is to lead the way among higher educational institutions in creating a more environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient future.  In line with the Government’s policy to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, HKBU continues to share our vision to support sustainable development and recognises the urgent need to address climate change and its impact on the global community.  As part of the community, we commit to taking action to reduce our carbon footprint and achieve carbon neutrality.

Our Target

HKBU commits to achieving carbon neutrality for Scopes 1 & 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions* by 2044.  As a roadmap to achieve this target, we aim to reduce the concerned GHG emissions* by 50% by 2035/36, compared to 2012/13 level.

To ensure that we are making strides towards carbon neutrality, the University continues to conduct an annual assessment and measurement of its GHG emissions to gauge its environmental impact and identify areas for improvement (if any).

^{*The GHG emission is quantified by adopting the methodologies stated in Guidelines to Account for and Report on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removals for Buildings (Commercial, Residential or Institutional Purposes) in Hong Kong (2010 Edition) (https://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/climate_change/ca_guidelines.html), which is issued by the Environmental Protection Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government.  The Guidelines released by the HKSAR Government have been mapped out by making reference to two well-accepted international protocols, “the Greenhouse Gas Protocol – A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard” of the World Resources Institute/World Business Council on Sustainable Development, and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14064-1, to ensure its consistency with international practice.}

Our Strategy

To this end and taking reference from the Government’s Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050, the University has developed four strategies as the core of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality: