Developing green building policy in Hong Kong

Author(s):  
Lok-yan, Esther Fung
Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Ann T. W. Yu ◽  
Irene Wong ◽  
Zezhou Wu ◽  
Chi-Sun Poon

Hong Kong is a densely populated city with high-rise developments, and as in other metropolitan cities, the amount of waste generated from construction projects in the city is increasing annually. The capacity of existing landfills is expected to be saturated by the 2020s. Construction waste management has been implemented for years but the performance is still not satisfactory. The aim of this research paper is to explore and formulate strategies and measures for effective construction waste management and reduction in highly urbanized cities such as Hong Kong. A desktop study on construction waste management practices was carried out for a preliminary understanding of the current situation in Hong Kong. Semistructured interviews and focus group meetings were further conducted to shed light on how to improve construction waste reduction and management in Hong Kong. The main contributions of this research study are the potential short-term, medium-term, and long-term strategies, which are related to the design stage, tender stage, construction stage, and government support. The five major strategies recommended are financial benefits to stakeholders, public policies in facilitating waste sorting, government supports for the green building industry, development of a mature recycling market, and education and research in construction waste minimization and management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 251-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayantha Wadu Mesthrige ◽  
Ho Yuk Kwong

Purpose An understanding about the criteria determining the successful application of green features, and the barriers to implementation is essential in order to promote and enhance green building development. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, the criteria determining the success of GBFs; and second, the barriers to implementing GBFs in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach A multi-method approach comprising a comprehensive questionnaire survey and a semi-structured group discussion with construction professionals, along with three case studies was adopted to address these two issues. Findings Findings suggest that although environmental performance is the most significant criterion, the living quality of occupants and the costs of green features play a crucial role in determining the success of their application. However, the environmental aspects of buildings are not sufficient for rating or determining the greenness level of a building. As for barriers, the green cost implications; the structural unsuitability of the current stock of old buildings; and the lack of financial incentives were found to be crucial barriers preventing the application of green features in the Hong Kong building sector. Originality/value GBFs have received extensive attentions by the academia and industry. This paper used a mix method approach by exploring success criteria and barriers to implementing green features in the building sector in Hong Kong. As green building development is still a contemporary subject of discussion, this study would be beneficial to decision makers as it identifies the criteria determining the success of green building adoption and barriers to implementation of such features. Hence, relevant stakeholders will have better understanding of the factors affecting the adoption of GBFs.


2013 ◽  
Vol 284-287 ◽  
pp. 1325-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Sheng Chang ◽  
Kuei Peng Lee ◽  
Wen Sheng Ou

The reinforced concrete (RC) buildings commonly used in Taiwan not only create great pollutions in material manufacturing and construction phases but also destroy the environment. On the other hand, the light weight steel buildings are safe, healthy, comfortable, producing less waste, and environmental friendly. Therefore, light weight steel buildings have been promoted in Taiwan by the government as an important “green building” policy. In Taiwan, there is still a large market of low rise light weight steel housing. To promote light weight steel housing in Taiwan, we should evaluate its influence on environment. In this research, we established a CO2 emission database for light weight steel building materials and calculated CO2 emission for a light weight steel house. The results showed that a low rise light weight steel house has 39% less CO2 emission than an RC house in the same scale. A light weight steel house has a good building envelope that decreases energy consumption of air-condition by 35.42-42.95%. Therefore, a light weight steel house has less CO2 emission from building materials and energy consumption than an RC house.


Author(s):  
Yanqing Xiao ◽  
Jingkuang Liu ◽  
Yongshi Pang

Under the green building policy, the recycling of construction waste has become an important issue. However, many obstructions in the industrial chain of construction waste recycling, slow integration of production elements in the chain, and inefficient resource allocation hinder the development of the construction waste recycling industry. In this study, a co-evolution model of the industrial chain of construction waste recycling is constructed based on the Lotka–Volterra model, and the Jacobian matrix is used for stability analysis. Finally, a numerical simulation is performed. The simulation results indicate that: (1) There is a high product correlation between upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain of construction waste recycling; (2) The conversion coefficient of supply and demand of upstream and downstream enterprises has a higher impact on and is more sensitive to the evolution of this industrial chain; (3) The co-evolution of upstream and downstream enterprises promotes the added value of products and maximizes the overall benefits of the industrial chain, which provides reference value and theoretical basis for the development of the industrial chain of construction waste recycling.


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