Environmental Report for 2001

The Labour Department and its Services

The Labour Department is the principal agency in the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the execution and co-ordination of major labour administration functions. It has four key areas of work namely, Labour Relations, Employment Services, Safety & Health at Work and Employee Rights & Benefits. As at 31 December 2001, the department had an establishment of 1,852 staff, accommodated in 39 office locations throughout the territory.

As the department attaches great importance to environmental protection, a committee comprising directorate officers was established in 1999 to oversee the department's environmental policy and performance. The committee has directed its efforts at various levels in its objective of achieving a green office throughout the years. With an increased environmental consciousness amongst our officers and their support, good progress has been made.

Our Environmental Policy & Measures

The Labour Department is committed to environmental protection by complying with relevant legislation and codes of practices as well as the provision of a green environment for its staff and members of the public visiting its offices. The following policies have been adopted in pursuit of such commitment:

  1. Minimisation of Consumption
    The department monitors stringently the effectiveness of various existing measures implemented under the Green Management Scheme, which cover minimisation of resource consumption, energy conservation and wastepaper recovery. A detailed description of measures taken is annexed for general information.

  2. Training and Publicity amongst Staff
    Through promotional and educational programmes, the department aims to ensure all staff members are aware of their environmental responsibilities. In 2001, a photo competition "Let's touch the nature" and two visits to Mai Po Marshes were organized by the Departmental Staff Welfare Committee with a view to boosting staff's environmental awareness. In addition, posters and memoranda were issued to solicit staff's participation and support in environmental activities including "No Plastic Bag, Please" campaign, the "Community Chest Green Day" and "No Smoking Day". Staff have also been encouraged to put forward suggestions of green initiatives under the Departmental Staff Suggestion Scheme. In 2001, two suggestions on environmental protection were received from staff.

  3. Review of Office Practices
    The department takes a proactive approach in reviewing office practices that are not environment friendly and introduces various improvement measures whenever feasible.

  4. Minimising Environmental Pollutants
    The department takes every measure to minimise the production of environmental pollutants and/or nuisance by following the guideline on infection control issued by the Department of Health regarding clinical waste disposal in our Occupational Health Clinics. Chemical wastes from the Occupational Hygiene Laboratory are collected by specialized waste collector. Asbestos wastes produced by the Laboratory are disposed of by appointed asbestos waste collector as required.

Performance & Targets

 
Paper Consumption
(in reams)
Electricity Consumption
(in kWh)
Wastepaper Collection
(in Kg)
2000(Actual)
33,622
7,822,324
20,987
2001(Actual)
33,677
6,769,175
23,875
2002(Estimated)
33,670
6,760,000
24,000

Despite the anticipated increase in the level of activities in 2002, the department will sustain its effort to achieve zero growth in paper and electricity consumption. The department will continue to encourage all staff to take active measures in waste minimization and energy conservation such as communication by e-mails, using both sides of paper, switching off electrical appliances not in use, etc. A list of such measures is in the Annex.

Annex

Green Housekeeping Measures Taken

Waste Minimisation

  • Using both sides of paper
Memorandum was issued to staff encouraging them to write and print on both sides of the paper.
  • Using the blank side of used paper for drafting or printing of works
 Boxes are provided for collection of paper, which has been used on one side only, for printing and drafting jobs. Internal documents like Departmental Permanent Orders, Departmental Advisory Memoranda, file copies and flimsies are printed on the blank side of used paper.
  • Using recycled paper
 98% of the paper used by the department in 2001 was recycled paper.
  • Minimising photocopies
 Starting from 2000, documents like government gazette notices and internal proforma have been uploaded to the Headquarters Local Area Network for viewing and accessing.
  • Minimising copies of circulars
 100% of circulars of the department were dispatched by means of e-mail in 2001. Approximately 1200 reams of paper were saved with the wider use of e-mail for circulation.
  • Communicating by e-mails
 The department has endeavoured to enhance the e-mail network and about 400 e-mail accounts have been provided to staff in 2001.
  • Using plain paper fax machines
 100% of fax machines in the department are plain paper type.
  • Using double-side photocopiers
 The department has been replacing photocopying machines which are due for disposal by those equipped with double-side photocopying function.
  • Avoiding use of fax leader pages
 Officers are encouraged to use fax note stickers, instead of fax leader pages.
  • Exchanging softcopies / diskettes within and outside of department
 Through issuing of memorandum, officers are encouraged to minimise the printing of hardcopies by exchanging softcopies (by e-mail) / diskettes (by dispatch).
  • Using old sets of documents for circulation
 For those documents like Departmental Permanent Orders that require routine re-circulation, the original sets of documents have been and will be preserved for re-use.
  • Redeploying serviceable furniture and equipment that no longer meet business requirement to other offices
 Whenever there are surplus of serviceable new style furniture and equipment, officers will be invited to consider taking up the furniture and equipment that are unsuitable for the original users. 44 pieces of serviceable new style furniture were successfully redeployed for further usage in 2001.
  • Using refillable ball pens
 All officers have been provided with refillable ball pens.
  • Re-using decorative materials
 The old set of decorative materials has been kept for re-using since 1998.
  • Re-using envelopes, using transit envelopes or not using envelopes for unclassified documents
 The number of two main types of envelopes consumed in 2001 are 279,200 and 119,200 respectively, representing 26 % and 5% of decrease over 2000.
  • Re-using loose minute jackets
 The number of loose minute jackets used was reduced from 2,690 in 2000 to 2,520 in 2001, representing a decrease of 6%.
  • Minimizing use of wooden pencils
 There is a sharp reduction of 44% of consumption in wooden pencils in 2001 when compared with the level of 2000.

Waste recovery for recycling/re-use

  • Collection of waste paper
 23,875 kg of waste paper was collected in 2001, representing an increase of 14% when compared with the level of 2000.
  • Collection of personal computers that are no longer serviceable or no longer meet business requirement
 189 personal computers were collected and sold to Government Supplies Department's contractor for re-use or recycling in 2001.

Energy conservation

  • Routine checking to switch off electrical appliances not in use
  • Using high efficiency electric lamps/tubes
  • Reducing lighting to the minimum required for illumination
  • Setting air conditioning to energy-efficient temperature so that staff feel comfortable rather than cold
  • Encouraging staff to use staircase for inter-floor traffic
 With our concerted effort in effecting the various measures on energy conservation, there is a sharp decrease of 13% in electricity consumption in 2001 (6,769,175 kWH) when compared with the previous year (7,822,324 kWh).