HKU has long been an advocate of sustainability; leading as an example of how sustainable living is a permanent and continuous development, rather than a fleeting glimpse of “carbon-free living” at the cost of a world-wide standstill.

 

Matthew Pryor, Head of the Division of Landscape Architecture and an Associate professor within HKU’s Faculty of Architecture, believes that “The University is a microcosm of society, we would be leading the way,” he says, “We should be showing people how to do it.”

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Did You Know? 

 

Hong Kong University’s sustainability efforts go above and beyond what most students realize. “In fact, amongst universities in Asia, it’s probably the most sustainable,” says Matthew, “I’ve attended university sustainability forums and HKU is a lot further on with their plan than most other universities.”

 

The campus itself has many unique features as part of the ‘Green Buildings’ initiative, with wind turbines on the third-floor garden of Centennial Campus generating approximately 100,000 kWh of electricity a year, as well as solar panels on the roof and building integrated photovoltaic panels that contribute power. Other features include rainwater recycling systems, night air purging, dual flush sensors for all lavatories. 

 

The Chi Wah Learning Commons is also strategically built, with external shading in the windows to reduce energy consumption and escalators that slow down when nobody is using them. 

 

The University is currently working on more initiatives to reduce energy consumption and increase awareness in sustainable practices on two fronts. HKU plans to retrofit older buildings by replacing fluorescent tubes of light to energy-saving LED light bulbs, as well as installing new window films that reject heat, reduce UV rays and reflectivity. 

 

How HKU Made it Possible 

 

HKU’s sustainability developments are costly, this is undoubtedly the biggest obstacle to implementing sustainable structures within the campus. But where did all of this money come from, how is HKU capable of affording these changes? 

 

“The really, really, impressive thing HKU has done is that they’ve set up a green revolving fund,” says Matthew. He explains the green revolving fund as an investment, almost as if it were shares and stocks, paying it forward and then reaping the benefits over time. “If you want to save energy by using low energy lightbulbs, for instance, it’s going to cost a lot upfront. But then you make that saving over the next 3-5 years through less energy required to use the lightbulb.”

 

The university has set up a body of money that offices and other people can use to invest in projects on the understanding that the money is being paid back through savings. They have added liquidity to the whole situation by making this money available. As for the magnitude of the undergoing developments, HKU has allocated approximately 600M dollars worth of funding to make changes across the campus. The initial funding is the key trick that the sustainability office has made work, and that’s why they do such an impressive job. 

 

Yuki Chan, a member of HKU’s sustainability office believes that the campus is a great living lab to test out solutions that can be applied to the greater society. 

 

She entails some of the initiatives that have been put into action here at HKU. Initiatives such as the Plastic Free Campus (https://www.ditchdisposable.hku.hk/) which aims at eliminating disposable plastics on campus, and the Edible Spaces project (https://www.ediblespaces.hku.hk/) which uses campus space to teach and practise organic farming, are some of the examples. “Through awareness campaigns, workshops, policies and infrastructural upgrades, staff and students are actively engaged to put sustainability into action,” she says, “with the help of the creative and talented HKU students, we turn these experiments into online resources, hoping to share the experience and skills beyond campus.”

 

Where we can improve

 

One of the key areas HKU is missing is on the educational front. The University does not currently offer a degree programme in sustainability. Matthew believes this is an incredibly important development to rectify in the following years. “I think we need to have sustainability at the core of the faculty, and we need to have that, we have to have that at the core of one of the faculties.” He intends to start up an MSC and undergraduate programme in sustainability next year. 

 

Matthew also believes that a lot more can be done to HKU roof spaces, as well as improving natural ventilation to reduce energy demand. “Personally,” he says, “I would like to see more promotional work and a lot more experimentation, for instance, the Piezoelectric tiles — kinetic energy you impart on the tile, so you can actually make electricity out of students. To me, this is a fun idea, you know, on University Street or by hosting dance competitions.” 

 

It is important to note that sustainability should not only come to the foreground during times like this but should be an unceasing effort for all members of the community. For that reason alone, the University campus is a great place to start learning more about sustainable living and how to get the most out of it. 

 

As mentioned by both Yuki and Matthew, the university is a ‘great living lab’, and should be more open to experiments, not only to develop new ideas but to test out new ideas as well. Students and staff alike should see the campus as an opportunity to not just apply existing knowledge and practice but to develop knowledge and practice.

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