Views from the Top

How do you see the collaboration?

The Jockey Club extends warm congratulations to the Museum of Climate Change on the successful completion of its first year of operation. As the first museum of its kind in Hong Kong, MoCC is truly a breath of fresh air in a city where such green principles as natural lighting and ventilation, energy conservation and renewable energy usage are in dire need of promotion.

We are particularly grateful to Dr Rebecca Lee for her generosity in allowing the display of her valuable collection based on her lifelong fieldwork at the North Pole, South Pole and Mount Everest. These exhibits offer a vivid demonstration of global warming and climate change. When combined with the other varied interactive and multi-media exhibits, the museum offers an unprecedented opportunity for the public to better understand pressing issues concerning the environment, energy and sustainability.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the untiring work of The Chinese University of Hong Kong in setting up this magnificent museum, along with its related commitment to launching a five-year community engagement programme, the CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia, which encourages active public participation to create a greener and more sustainable community through knowledge transfer, public education programmes and carbon reduction partnerships.

CUHK is well qualified to undertake the programme, having already developed successful research and education programmes in environmental protection. As part of the Environment Project that the Club’s Charities Trust initiated in 2008, Initiative Gaia will disseminate those research results and green knowledge to the public through the museum and other channels, helping to enhance the city’s position in sustainability. Commendably, since the launch of the programme in 2012, two international conferences, 10 public forums, 12 workshops as well as two education fairs have been organised.

How is the work of MoCC related to the missions of your institution?

Every one of us can make a contribution to our environment, and the Jockey Club takes proactive measures to integrate sustainability into planning and operations. We constantly review our sustainability policies and guidelines so as to continuously introduce more green measures to our operations on various fronts.

As part of a comprehensive Environmental Policy, the Club endeavours to embed sustainability concepts throughout both its culture and its business operations. One of the signature projects is a facelift to the rooftop of our headquarters building at Happy Valley to become Our Green Place, which makes strategic use of a number of environment-friendly technologies. And in the area of green mobility, we will be welcoming our first Euro VI vehicle soon and continue to expand our electric vehicle fleet.

Furthermore, in line with the Club-initiated city-wide educational Environment Project, we have converted our entire fleet of golf carts at the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course to solar power and deployed four solar-hybrid catamarans, the first in Hong Kong, to run the ferry service linking the course to Sai Kung.

The Club is a signatory to the EPD’s Carbon Reduction Charter and has become a Carbon Audit • Green Partner, setting itself the target of reducing its carbon and energy intensity by 20% between 2009 and 2015, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2025. Thanks to cross-divisional efforts, we are making encouraging progress. We have reduced our total electricity consumption by 3.1% last year. Our carbon intensity has been reduced by 32.9% compared with the base year of 2009/10.

We will also continue to spread the green lifestyle message to the wider community and to encourage our 26,000 staff members to adopt environmentally-friendly practices, through large-scale programmes, offering myriad opportunities for staff to join green activities with their families and friends.

Visitors to MoCC can see some of the Club’s own environment initiatives, including a full range of waste separation and recycling facilities at all Jockey Club premises.

What remains to be done? And your personal view on climate change?

Climate change is a defining issue of our generation, and we need to be serious about promoting sustainability in Hong Kong so that our city does not lose its lustre. Public education is very important on this issue. Through collaborative efforts, we can all do our part to protect mother earth from further deteriorating, and I believe this is one of the most important objectives of Initiative Gaia.

Climate change brings about extreme weather conditions, from hotter and colder days and nights to more serious and destructive inclement incidents. But the reach of climate change goes far beyond that. In the longer term, it has a bearing on issues such as food security, the resilience of our ecosystems and, in fact, the sustainability of human development, posing unprecedented challenges to our world. That’s why the continuous exploration on new energy and technology is extremely essential for our sustainability, before the natural resources of the earth have been consumed to the final drop.

Individual efforts are just as important as any policy implementation. A simple behavioural change can make a huge difference to the environment, if everyone takes a little step in their daily life in carrying out the 3R principles: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. This makes education a vital key to success. By making use of effective channels such as the Museum of Climate Change, the Club encourages every individual to understand the condition of our environment, realise the current situation and obtain the know-how to adopt a green lifestyle, so we can all give a hand in sustaining mother earth.

The Jockey Club is committed to helping the city enjoy a greener and healthier future, and we commend the outstanding contribution of Chinese University and the Museum of Climate Change in partnering that worthy cause.