HKUST Annual Report 2017-18

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 - 1 8 53 HKUST SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS The Sustainable Operations Executive Committee, led by the Vice President for Administration and Business, developed a performance scorecard to steer 13 energy and waste reduction projects over the year. Under the guidance of the Committee, each initiative advanced, with the projects collectively responsible for keeping energy roughly level – even though the campus grew by around 6,500 m 2 since the 2014- 15 baseline year. Aggressive measures in waste management resulted in reducing landfill waste by 13.2% during that same period. Schemes during this past year included changing more than 10,000 fluorescent lights for energy-efficient LED lights and sensors, recommissioning the building management systems in the Enterprise Center, and replacing equipment. Waste reduction ventures included recycling and recovery of electronic waste, expanded polystyrene foam, wood products, and landscape waste. The food waste recycling program also widened to student hostels and staff quarters. SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES Campus groups are actively building a vibrant and collaborative sustainability community at HKUST. The Green Team, a volunteer community of students and staff, organized beach clean-up activities and launched a Meal Boxes Go Green campaign in Fall 2017. Both activities engaged hundreds of staff and students, with the latter reducing use of disposable boxes by 2,500 pieces over a three-month period. A separate student group organized a Takeaway Box Circular Program, which signed up 400 individuals committed to reusable lunch boxes instead of takeaway disposables. In addition, the new Boar’s Paradise community garden brought together volunteers to experience and find out more about gardening. The 30 designated representatives from Schools, offices, and departments that form the Sustainability Network met regularly to address sustainability and office operations, share good practices, and discuss effective solutions. Over the year, Network members helped introduce food waste collection in office pantries, assisted colleagues in transitioning to rechargeable batteries, and facilitated the elimination of plastic water bottles at the office level. The Shanghai Commercial Bank-HKUST Sustainable Campus Leadership Program, on-going since 2014, provided training and hands-on opportunities for green campus projects. Over the year, the groups launched projects to better utilize outdoor spaces, reduce one-time use bottles and containers, create compost and experiment with ways to build nutrient-rich soil, and design a campus aquaponics project combining fish and agriculture. SUSTAINABILITY DEMONSTRATION On World Water Day on March 22, 2018, HKUST officially announced plastic water bottles under one liter would no longer be sold on campus. The move was the culmination of a year of planning, comprising a series of focus groups and campus surveys, water taste tests, and community engagement. The plan included physical infrastructure changes as well as the installation of 17 new water fountains in high-traffic areas. As part of the engagement strategy, reusable water bottles were distributed to all new students, and a start-up program initiated to support offices as they made the transition away from disposables. The announcement was celebrated with an event in the Atrium, where supporters, NGOs, and the Department of Ocean Science organized booths advocating the reduction of plastic disposables. A whale skeleton sculpture made out of hundreds of recycled plastic bottles from the HKUST campus was created by a local designer to remind the University community of the impact of consumption choices. Other activities included the annual Green Products Fair, and green events during the student societies’ promotional period and Orientation camp. In addition, the first No Straw Week was organized in March 2018 by the eight University Grants Committee- supported institutions, reinforcing HKUST’s commitment to decrease plastic disposable waste. SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION The University continued to evolve its educational and research framework to ensure that all students gain solid understanding of sustainability concepts and graduate with the capacity and commitment to solve problems locally and globally. During the year, the Division of Environment was renamed the Division of Environment and Sustainability. The Division will now take the lead in promoting broader development of sustainability education in partnership with Schools. In line with this, a cross-School Sustainability Education Advisory Group was formed and undertook a review of the undergraduate curriculum to identify gaps and opportunities in existing provision. The review identified nearly 50 courses that address specific sustainability ideas, principles, or content, and approximately 50% of the undergraduate population take at least one of these courses before they graduate. In the year ahead, the group will pursue strategies to engage the rest of the student population. The Sustainability Education Community was also established. Over 50 faculty and staff joined the community. A launch brainstorming event and follow-up sustainability education workshop provided opportunities to discuss how best to draw students to this issue. Through the group’s efforts, HKUST also became the first in Asia and one of 14 universities globally to be designated a Center for Teaching Sustainability Across the Curriculum by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.