Information Services Department 2008 Environmental Report

Information Services Department 2007 Enviornmental Report

Introduction

Green management has been one of the major commitments of Information Services Department. In this tenth environmental report, we have reviewed the effectiveness of the various environmental initiatives and measures taken in 2008 and set out our green targets in 2009.

Environmental Goal & Policy

2. As in previous years, the Information Services Department is committed to ensuring that government's Public Relations and Information policies, both local and overseas, are implemented in an environmentally responsible manner. Throughout the year of 2008, 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; uploading the Hong Kong Annual Report onto the Internet 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 2008 with the following fruitful results:

Environmental Aspects	Measures	Performance in 2008
A. Clean Air Charter 2006 – In line with the spirit and principles of the Charter, we have adopted following energy/emission reduction measures in our operations.
Energy	(a) All officers to comply with the energy conservation policy of switching off lights, air-conditioning units, computer workstations including monitors, photocopiers and other office equipment whenever offices are not in use. Routine checks on staff's compliance are conducted.	Effective compliance.
Energy	(b) Reduce fuel consumption and emission of air pollutants by rationalising the trips run by departmental vehicles, organising car pool and using unleaded petrol or LPG.	Effective compliance.
	(c) Use of LCD monitors	Reduce the consumption of power and dissipation of radiation.
	(d) Reduce energy consumption by adjusting the air-conditioning system and keeping the room temperature at 25.5^oC during the summer months.	Effective compliance.
	(e) Use of energy saving type fluorescent lights instead of T8 type.	Save about 30% energy consumption in respect of lighting.
Air-quality	(a) Conducting random checks to ensurethe implementation of Smoke-free Policy for Government Offices following the enactment of the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance 2006. Departmental Circular on this subject is recirculated to colleagues annually.	Full compliance.
	(b) Regularly reminding all drivers of the need to switch off the engines while waiting.	Full compliance.
B. Use of Material
Material	(a) Adopt measures to economise the use of paper. These include 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.
	(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 full set of the Government Gazette onto a website maintained by the Government Logistics Department for public viewing since December 2000.	The number of printed copies of Government Gazette was reduced from 3,500 in 2000 to 700 in 2008.
	ii) Hard copies of the "Hong Kong Background Facts" have ceased to be produced since October 2003.	Saved about 3,700 sheets of paper annually since then.
	iii) Hard copies of the "Hong Kong Information Notes" have ceased to be produced since October 2003.	Saved about 38,000 sheets of paper annually since then.
	iv) Since 2006, the Publications Sales Unit has started using plastic bags made of recycled material to pack government publications sold to customers at the sales counter. Plastic bags will only be given to customers upon request.	Effective compliance.
	(g) Officers of the TV/radio monitoring team have been re-using audio and video tapes for recording purposes. Rechargeable batteries have also been used for recording purposes since 2005.	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 via e-mail instead of sending 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.
	(k) Implementation of the e-Leave system in August 2004 obviated the need for application on paper.	Saved about 5,750 sheets of paper in 2008.
	(l) With the full operation of the new Government News and Media Information System (GNMIS) in August 2005, press releases and other attachments in multimedia format are disseminated through electronic channels.	Dissemination of attachment in multimedia format to the media resulted in substantial saving in paper.
	(m) Duty Officers in News Sub-division use email to circulate agency reports, radio/TV news and important press releases to bureaux/departments.	Saved about 265,000 sheets of paper in 2008.
	(n) Setting up of an electronic archive system for storage of Government publicity materials such as TV and radio Announcements in the Public Interest, scripts and production related information in early 2006 helped reduce the use of VHS, Betacam/Digital Betacam tapes, MDs, mini-DVs and paper in the office.	Effective compliance.
	(o) Setting up of a pilot system on Knowledge Management for sharing of information.	Information stored could be retrieved and shared electronically, reducing greatly the need of hard-copy print out.
	(p) Continuing to use recycled paper for photocopying in 2008.	Effective compliance.
C. Pollution Prevention
Waste	(a) Collecting used printer cartridges and waste paper for re-cycling.	707 used printer cartridges and 7761kg of waste paper were collected in 2008 for recycling.
Waste	(b) News photographs generated by digital cameras 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 2008.
	(c) Collecting old Beta video tapes for reuse purpose.	Old APIs since 90's were transferred to master tapes in order to save space. Used Beta video tapes totalling 150 were collected in 2008 and sent to individual film contractors for reuse.
Hazardous waste management	(a) Properly containing and storing chemical waste emitted in the course of photo-processing.	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, recycled paper hand towel, alkaline batteries, energy-saving light bulbs and refillable ball-pens, etc. Wider practice of the 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle' principles in the procurement and consumption of materials.	Green products are widely accepted by all users.
	(b) Including “Trade-in option” of stores items in quotations.	“Trade-in option” has been adopted when purchase of color multifunction machine and photocopiers was made.
	(c) Purchase of environmentally sound products such as fax machines using plain paper and photocopiers with double-side photocopying feature.	Environmentally sound model of fax machines and photocopiers will continue to replace the old equipment in phases.
	(d) Purchase of HDD-DVD video recorder equipped with rewritable harddisks and DVD drives for recording TV news round-the-clock, thus reducing the use of video tapes.	The video tapes are replaced by rewritable harddisks and DVD.
D. 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 colleagues' 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 2008.
Environmental policy	Departmental management, in consultation with colleagues, 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 re-circulated regularly and made available on the Intranet for colleagues' information.
Support of green activities	We have encouraged colleagues to participate in the green activities organised in the community.	Colleagues are encouraged to participate in green activities.
E. Education and Training
Training	Arranging environmental audit training for colleagues in the Photographic Section to equip them with knowledge on the handling of chemical waste discharged in the course of photo-processing.	The technician 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 re-circulated to all colleagues periodically and placed on the Lotus Notes Bulletin Board for easy access.	Continuous effort is made on dissemination of information to enhance environmental consciousness.

Environmental Initiatives in 2009

4. The department will make continuous efforts to implement green management in our workplace and further improve the housekeeping green measures. To encourage colleagues and their family members to play an active role in green activity, a tree planting event has been organised in May 2009. With a view to maximising energy efficiency, we are installing variable speed drives to all the air-conditioning handling units. This is expected to be completed by mid 2009. With effect from July 2009, the Publications Sales Unit will cease giving out plastic bags to customers purchasing government publications. And in line with the Government's Economy Drive to economise on the use of resources, we will continue to work closely with all Green Management Co-ordinators towards the goal of environmental protection within the office with a view to achieving further saving in the coming years.

Your suggestions are welcome

5. If you have any suggestions or points to make on this report, you can telephone, fax, email or write to the Deputy Departmental Secretary (Telephone No. 2842 8626, Fax No. 2525 6584, Internet e-mail address christinalee@isd.gov.hk)

Previous Environmental Reports

Last updated : July 2009