Information Services Department 2003 Enviornmental Report

Introduction

Green management has been one of the major commitments of Information Services Department. In this fifth environmental report, we shall review the effectiveness of the various environmental initiatives and measures taken in 2003 and sets out our green targets in 2004.

Environmental Goal & Policy

2. Same as in previous years, the Information Services Department is committed to ensuring that government's Public Relations and Information policies, both locally and overseas, are implemented in an environmentally responsible manner. Throughout the year of 2003, we adopted the following policies in meeting our environmental goal: —

(a) implementing government's PR policies in an environmentally responsible manner such as issuing press releases and photographs electronically to all news organisations; promoting the use of the Internet for dissemination of information; publishing the Hong Kong Annual Report on the Internet and in CD-ROM format and reducing hard copies of publications produced;
(b) promoting communication within the department through electronic means via GCN and the Intranet; working towards the concept of paperless office to reduce the use and dispatch of paper; adopting the principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in the consumption of materials and seeking continuous improvement in the efficient use of natural resources and energy, e.g. by re-engineering of work processes;
(c) complying with the relevant environmental protection ordinances;
(d) providing training for staff to develop an environmentally responsible culture and increasing their awareness of continuous improvement in protecting the environment; and
(e) recommending to clients the use of environmental friendly paper and ink for printing publicity items and publications.

Environmental Management and Performance

3. With the green commitments in mind, we went through another year of green management in 2003 with the following fruitful results:

Environmental Aspects	Measures	Performance in 2003
A. Use of Energy and Material
Energy	(a) All officers to comply with the energy conservation policy of switching off lights and air-conditioners whenever offices are not in use. Routine checks are conducted.	Effective compliance.
Energy	(b) Reduce fuel consumption by rationalising the trips run by departmental vehicles.	Effective compliance.
Material	(a) Adopt measures to economise the use of paper. This includes using the blank side of used paper for drafting, printing on both sides of paper, sticking large press cuttings on paper already printed on both sides and re-using envelopes, etc.	Effective compliance. As a result of our continuous efforts, we have not only met the voluntary saving target for A4 size photocopying paper set by the Policy Committee, i.e. 2.5% (300 reams) in 2003 but also achieved extra saving of 1.49% (179 reams).
	(b) All officers to maximise the use of the Internet and e-mail facilities for communication.	Effective compliance.
	(c) ISD Intranet was set up in May 2001 to facilitate communication among officers in the department and to reduce the need for hard-copy circulation and facsimile transmission of paper and documents. More than 15 categories with over 1,500 items are posted on the Intranet.	All staff can log into the Intranet and gain access to departmental information, thus minimising the need for hard-copy circulation. The on-line booking of conference rooms and departmental transport available on the Intranet was particularly useful in reducing paper forms required for processing these bookings.
	(d) Use of computerised office equipment, e.g. high-speed scanners, digital senders and fax servers improved office efficiency and minimised paper consumption.	Effective Compliance.
	(e) An Occurrence Log System set up in 2003 replaced the hardcopy log books of the ISD News Enquiry Desk. In addition to logging incidents, the system serves to record, update, and allow for retrieval of press enquiry records, emergency operations manuals, contact lists, records of exercises and operation of the Combined Information Centre. Linking the system to the ISD Intranet facilitates information sharing among ISD officers.	The Occurrence Log System has eliminated the need for keeping hard copies of these records.
	(f) Introduction of environmental initiatives in respect of the production and sales of Government publications minimised paper consumption:
	i) Uploading of the E-Gazette onto the Government website for public viewing.	The number of printed copies of Government Gazette was reduced from 1,250 in 2002 to 1,050 in 2003, representing a drop of 16%.
	ii) Uploading of the Government Telephone Directory onto the Government website since March 2002.	Some 27,000 printed copies of the publication were saved annually since the hard copies ceased to be produced from 2003.
	iii) Uploading of the publications catalogue and list of new publications onto the online Government Bookstore and ISD website to replace the hard copies that had been produced in the past.	Some 8,000 copies of the "Government Publications Catalogue" and 11,000 copies of the "Monthly New Publications List" were saved annually since they were no longer printed from 2002 and 2003 respectively.
	iv) The information sheet of "Hong Kong Background Information" has been produced in CD-ROM format instead of hard copies since November 2001.	About 232,400 sheets of paper were saved in 2003 as a result of the cessation of the production of the hard copies.
	v) Printed copies of the "Hong Kong: The Facts" series have ceased to be produced from April 2002 since the series are made available on the Government website.	More than one million sheets of paper were saved in 2003.
	vi) A review of the requirements of printed copies of the booklet, Hong Kong in Brief, has led to a decrease in the production of the publication from 15,000 copies in 2002 to 11,000 in 2003.	The reduction in production led to saving of some 50,000 sheets of paper in 2003.
	vii) Production of the e-version of the departmental Christmas Card replaced the traditional hard copies in 2003.	Saved about 1,100 sheets of paper in 2003.
	viii) Hard copies of the "Hong Kong Background Facts" have ceased to be produced since October 2003.	Saved about 3,700 sheets of paper in 2003.
	ix) Hard copies of the "Hong Kong Information Notes" have ceased to be produced since October 2003.	Saved about 38,000 sheets of paper in 2003.
	(g) Officers of the TV/radio monitoring team have been re-using audio and video tapes for recording purposes.	Effective compliance.
	(h) The e-Bulletin launched in December 2002 has served as an additional channel for the Government to communicate directly with the public through the Internet.	Publicising Government policies electronically reduces the need for printed publicity materials. The public can express their views to the Government by sending e-mails instead of letters.
	(i) Setting up of the Bulletin Board System (BBS) for 11 overseas offices in December 2002 enabled the posting of the latest information such as list of visitors to Hong Kong to facilitate access by overseas staff electronically.	A substantial quantity of paper was saved as information need not be sent through fax to overseas offices.
	(j) The News Services Support System (NSSS), which originally carried only English dispatches from news agencies, was enhanced to incorporate Chinese news dispatches. With the new web interface, the system has also been linked to the ISD Intranet for easy information sharing among ISD officers.	The enhanced system eliminated the need for hard copy printouts. Useful news dispatches selected are now distributed mainly by e-mail and computer fax; or shared among ISD officers via the ISD Intranet.
B. Pollution Prevention
Air-quality	(a) Conducting random checks to ensure the implementation of Government's Smoke-free Workplace Policy.	Full compliance.
Air-quality	(b) Regularly reminding all drivers of the need to switch off engines of cars while waiting.	Full compliance.
Waste	(a) Collecting used printer cartridges for re-cycling.	Used printer cartridges totalling 358 were collected in 2003 and $5,370 was donated to Sowers Action under the Recycling Campaign.
Waste	(b) Switching to digital cameras to generate news photographs was completed in 2003. The photos are distributed by Digital Photo System to news organisations and other users in digital format.	No recycling of used plastic film containers was required in 2003.
Hazardous waste management	(a) Properly containing and storing chemical waste emitted in the course of photo-processing.	Amount of Chemical waste disposal was reduced by half in 2003. Arrangement has been made to comply with the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation.
	(b) EPD's contractor collects the waste for disposal.	The contractor has been requested to dispose of chemical waste in an environmentally safe manner.
	(c) Conducting regular site inspections to ensure proper handling of hazardous waste.	Full compliance.
Purchasing	(a) Wider use of green products, eg. recycled photocopying paper, alkaline batteries, energy-saving light bulbs and refillable ball-pens, etc.	Green products are widely accepted by all users.
	(b) Purchase of stores items made of durable materials (e.g. protective clothing made of Gortex), new equipment of low voltage (e.g. LCD monitors) and energy efficient models (for electrical appliances).	Conscious assessment and judgment on environmental friendliness are made on all procurement.
	(c) Trade-in of used computer equipment when making purchase of new computer equipment.	Traded in a total of 30 sets of used PC and 30 sets of used cathode ray tube monitor in 2003.
C. Management Action/Initiatives on Environmental Improvement
Green Management Initiatives Implemented
Green management scheme	Each Division has nominated an officer to be the Green Management Co-ordinator who is responsible for gauging staff's views on environmental improvement, relaying views to management and conducting regular checks and reviews on progress of green housekeeping measures implemented.	The management maintains close liaison with the green management co-ordinators. Progress of green housekeeping action plans was highly satisfactory in 2003.
Environmental policy	Departmental management, in consultation with staff, has developed an environmental policy. The policy has been implemented smoothly and is kept under regular review.	The environmental policy was first introduced in December 1999. The Policy Statement is circulated regularly and made available on the Intranet for staff's information.
Support of green activities	Staff members are encouraged to participate in the green activities organised in the community.	Colleagues participated in the World Environment Day in June 2003 and joined the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Festival in November 2003.
D. Education and Training
Training	Arranging environmental audit training for staff in the Photo Section to equip them with knowledge on the handling of chemical waste discharged in the course of photo-processing.	All technicians handling chemical waste attended related training.
Green practice guideline/ information for staff	Departmental circulars on energy conservation, economy in the use of paper and other environmental protection matters are circulated to all staff periodically and placed on the Lotus Notes Bulletin Board for easy access and re-circulation.	Continuous effort is made on dissemination of information to enhance environmental consciousness.

Environmental Initiatives in 2004

4. The department will make continuous efforts to implement green management in our workplace and further improve the housekeeping green measures. In particular, we are directing our efforts towards an e-office environment. The new Government News and Media Information System (GNMIS), expected to be put into operation in 2004, will enhance the workflow in disseminating press releases with photos and other attachments in multimedia format electronically and automatically, through different distribution channels such as e-mail, fax and SMS (via mobile phone), as selected by the subscribers. GNMIS will also provide a web-site where subscribers can access press releases and other supplementary information electronically. This will help minimise the use of paper for handling press releases amongst various Departmental Units in ISD and manual faxing of hardcopies to subscribers. On the other hand, in line with the Government's Economy Drive to economise on the use of resources, we will work closely with all Green Management Co-ordinators to work towards the goal of environmental protection within the office and achieve further saving targets in the coming years.

Your suggestions are welcome

5. If you have any suggestion or points to make on this report, you can telephone, call at or write to the Deputy Departmental Secretary (Telephone No. 2842 8626, Fax No. 2525 6584, internet e-mail hywong@isd.gov.hk)

Previous Environmental Reports

Last updated : August 2004