Policy Created: 2010
Last Reviewed: 2023
Hong Kong Baptist University aspires to attain the highest possible standards of low carbon campuses and to cultivate a culture in which sustainability and environmental responsibility permeates our everyday learning, teaching and research activities. We are committed to taking on our social responsibility in outreaching and partnering with the wider community to achieve a sustainable society. We strive to surpass applicable standards of sustainability in our facilities and will monitor the impact of our daily operations in the natural world. Our goal is – through our academic and communal pursuits, knowledge and wisdom sharing for harmonious living and good corporate citizenship practices – to be at the forefront of higher educational institutions in securing a greener and more resource efficient future.
We, as a University, undertake to put into practice the principle of sustainability that involves balancing environmental, social, economic and cultural considerations in all aspects of operation through:
Resource and Energy
a. Continually raising energy consumption efficiencies by strategic conservation means, including University-wide adoption of electricity, water and fuel saving measures, recycling of materials and environmental friendly commutation.
b. Utilising materials, services and technologies with less negative environmental impacts demonstrated by expanding green procurement, adopting renewable energies and other low carbon technologies.
c. Integrating sustainable features into new building design and application.
d. Ensuring that all campus development will be compatible with the surrounding natural and cultural environments, and enhance the natural biodiversity of local areas wherever possible.
e. Complying with all relevant legislation while exploring ways to extend beyond stipulated standards.
Sustainable Culture
f. Instilling environmental literacy and a prudent sense of responsibility for the future into the goal of educating the whole person.
g. Fostering a culture of sustainability and promoting green lifestyles in the University community through curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.
h. Contributing to the sustainability wisdom and knowledge development by conducting sustainability-pertaining research studies.
i. Engaging the public to address the issues of climate change and to raise our environmental awareness.
The responsibilities in this policy are shared by all individuals of the University. The policy will also be made available and known to all stakeholders including alumni, suppliers, contractors, service providers, government and the public. Regular sustainability performance monitoring is to be performed to ensure the progressive reduction of our ecological footprints.