UNIfy: Sustainable Living #StayAtHome Edition-Week 2

(15 April 2020)

“Energy Vampire” refers to appliance that consumes electricity in standby mode, especially those with clock display, remote control sensor or battery charger. They lurk in your home, taking the form of phone charger, router, television, microwave oven, etc., and can account for up to 10% of your electricity bill.

How to get rid of these vampires?

More details from here.

(12 March 2018)

HKSCC members are working together to tackle disposable plastic waste through the UNIfy: Skip the Straw campaign that launched on March 12, 2018.

This campaign aims to reduce disposable plastic waste and raise awareness across the higher education sector and beyond in Hong Kong. Disposable plastics are often used momentarily and may take up to 1,000 years to degrade. They can also leach chemicals into our environment and end up as harmful litter in our oceans. 

To make an impact on this issue, the campaign is harnessing the individual work of each university to make a large impact. Every university was previously working on disposable waste independently, but this unprecedented effort is the first time all eight UGC-funded universities are working together on a joint environmental campaign.

More details from here.

HKSCC Sharing session with HKSAR Environment Bureau

(10 June 2016)

In response to the COP 21 Paris Agreement on climate change, five representatives from the Environment Bureau, including Mr. Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment, were invited to attend the 19th Hong Kong Sustainable Campus Consortium (HKSCC) meeting to present the Energy Saving Plan for Hong Kong 2015 - 2025+.  Secretary Wong highlighted at the meeting the important role of the building management sector in any energy saving action plan and shared examples and possible actions on how universities can contribute to the target.  HKSCC members also shared the on-going energy conservation measures and initiatives implemented on their campus.

HKSAR Environment Bureau’s visit to the HKSCC

(8 December 2015)

The Acting Secretary for the Environment, Dr Christine Loh, together with the Assistant Director (Nature Conservation & Infrastructure Planning), Mr Elvis Au, and the Political Assistant to Secretary for the Environment, Ms Michelle Au visited the Consortium at its 17^th meeting held on 8 December 2015.  The Government team brought the Consortium’s attention to the Food Wise Eateries Scheme and the latest food waste treatment, and encouraged member institutions to participate in the Scheme and make use of the newly introduced food waste treatment facilities.  They also presented a recent energy saving project conducted in a student hostel in The University of Hong Kong, which is a good example of achieving energy saving through behavioral change by public education/engagement and simple modification of existing infrastructural settings.  Dr Loh told the Consortium that Mr K S Wong JP, Secretary for the Environment, shared this energy saving project at the COP21 meeting held in Paris this year.

HK Tertiary Schools COP21 Challenge 2015

(September to November 2015)

The Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in December 2015 presents an educational opportunity to focus the attention of Hong Kong tertiary students on the critical issue of climate change. Partnering with the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau, the HK Sustainable Campus Consortium will facilitate a student-oriented competition that will generate interest and excitement about the upcoming COP21 talks while providing students with a chance to increase their marketable skills.  The Competition will proceed in two stages.  In the first stage, students from Hong Kong tertiary institutions to form teams and design video to address climate change. The winning teams will join an intensive two-day “Design Thinking” workshop to focus on developing feasible solutions of a specific climate change problem in Hong Kong. The students in Stage Two will be regrouped into inter-school, interdisciplinary teams to produce a short speech (3-5 minutes) and will present their ideas to the Secretary for the Environment.  More details from here.

2015 Green Campus Symposia 

(18 to 20 June 2015)

The 2015 Green Campus Symposia will be held from 18 to 20 June 2015 in City University of Hong Kong to promote green education and a green campus. Keynote speeches and plenary sessions will be held on 19 June while school/university campus visits will be conducted on 20 June 2015. The event is supported by the HKSCC and a number of local and overseas universities and government bodies. Further information can be obtained from http://cgbchk.org/GCS/index.php.

The United Nation’s Sustainability Literacy Test – A Global Pilot-run

The Sustainability Literacy Test is an international initiative that originated from the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in June 2012. It is an innovative tool that can be shared worldwide, regardless of a student’s degree level or area of study, and can help faculty to measure the sustainability literacy level of their new incoming students and those about to graduate. Subsequently, these indicators can be employed to drive changes in pedagogy and in the curriculum. Ultimately, this is a learning process which will help enhance the knowledge and awareness of students, staff and faculty towards sustainability.

A pilot version (V1) of the Sustainability Literacy Test was created by 200 volunteers from around the world and includes contributions from the HKSAR. The test consists of 50 questions which draw from both local and international perspectives. 

The Hong Kong Sustainable Campus Consortium (HKSCC) was invited to take part in the global pilot run together with 261 universities from 34 countries. The pilot version was launched worldwide between January and October 2014. In administering the pilot test,the HKSCC member institutions discussed numerous approaches and implementation strategies to suit the opportunities and constraints of each individual institution. A total of 824 Hong Kong students completed the test in April/May 2014.

The full report of the UN Sustainability Literacy Test Pilot-run is here.