URA

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY 41 Promoting Walkability A walkable neighbourhood promotes both personal health and an integrated community. The URA is exploring pedestrian-friendly designs to promote walkability in its district-based approach and in the Yau Mong District Study. Pedestrian connectivity is also being realised between the URA’s existing facilities and new projects such as the community corridor in the revamped “H6 CONET” (described in the Operating Review). A walkable pedestrian neighbourhood can ease the pressure on transport infrastructure, reduce car dependency, alleviate traffic congestion, and support the local economy and mixed communities. Through these measures, the URA hopes to cultivate a healthy and low-carbon neighbourhood and elevate the quality of urban life. Greening Our Operation In the six years since its first carbon audit, the URA has sought purposely to reduce the carbon footprint of our own operations and managed properties. The annual carbon audit allows us to measure our environmental performance and instigate more conscientious behaviour among our colleagues and business partners. In 2017/18, provisional estimated carbon emissions from our own operations have achieved a year-on-year reduction of 4.9%. However, due to the expansion of the physical boundary, the Energy Use Intensity has slightly increased from 75.93 to 75.99 kWh/m 2 (note: our own operations take place in a mix of properties, either those with central air-conditioning provided separately, tenant-only lighting and power, or whole buildings). Environmental measures will continue to be implemented in the coming year. In order to track our environmental performance, the URA has participated in environmental audit schemes, including carbon and waste audits. Following the previous introduction of carbon reduction measures and the carbon audit, the URA obtained a Carbon Reduction 5% Certificate (CRC) for its headquarters at COSCO Tower under the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) administered by the Environmental Campaign Committee. This CRC remained valid until 2017, and the result of the URA’s application to renew the CRC is expected shortly. The URA has again participated in the HKAEE WasteWi$e Labelling Scheme in 2017/18 to raise staff awareness and to introduce new waste management measures. By meeting nine of the goals covering reduced resources consumption and waste recycling, the URA has obtained the ‘Excellence Class’ Level. This year, the URA entered the HKAEE Awards and was awarded a Certificate of Merit under the Public Services category for demonstrating green leadership, the excellent performance of its environmental programmes, and its synergy with its partners. By participating in these HKAEE schemes, the URA has gained the title of a ‘Hong Kong Green Organisation’. Furthermore, the URA has obtained Indoor Air Quality Certificates for its offices from the Environmental Protection Department. First employed in 2016/17, e-freezing surveys have again been undertaken for redevelopment projects using tablet computers as an environmentally-friendly measure, and for fast and efficient data reporting. In 2017/18, the URA also introduced the e-valuation report to reduce the use of paper when carrying out inspections of affected owners in our projects.