News & Events

BEAM Plus Certificate Presentation Ceremony 2022
BEAM Plus Reaching New Breadth and Depth for a Sustainable Future
 

Hong Kong, 8 December 2022 – Co-organised by the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) and BEAM Society Limited (BSL), the BEAM Plus Certificate Presentation Ceremony 2022 was successfully held on 8 December 2022. Officiating at the ceremony were Mr David LAM Chi-man, JP, Under Secretary for Development of the Government of the HKSAR and Miss Diane WONG Shuk-han, JP, Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology of the Government of the HKSAR. This year, 112 projects have been certified with BEAM Plus.
 

Since 2010, BEAM Plus has been Hong Kong’s leading initiative to offer independent assessment of building sustainability performance. The number of certified projects increases year by year, reaching its new height. Besides, with support from buildings owners and property management companies, the number of certified properties under BEAM Plus Existing Buildings has grown substantially. These certified properties have demonstrated that their sustainability performance has met or even exceeded the assessment requirements. Some of them have adopted innovative designs, significantly reduced carbon emissions and enhanced the environment for the wellbeing of occupants.
 

In the Opening Remarks, Mr CHEUNG Hau-wai, SBS, Chairman of the HKGBC, congratulated all team members who had their projects certified this year. The Council would work relentlessly to collaborate with different stakeholders in the society and promote the adoption of green building standards.
 

Mr LI Ho-kin, Chairperson of BSL expressed his pleasure on reaching the milestones of 2,200 registered BEAM Plus projects. BSL would continue to listen to the voices from different sectors proactively to see a clear picture of the actual needs of the industry.
 

HKGBC and BSL are committed to listening to stakeholders’ views and implementing enhancements to the rating schemes. In particular, the two organisations have put in great efforts to facilitate existing buildings to participate in BEAM Plus. Since the implementation of the BEAM Plus Existing Buildings Volume Certification scheme in 2019, 298 real estate properties and 11 property management companies have participated. The streamlined assessment process facilitates applicants to assess the sustainability performance of multiple existing buildings in a faster and more economical manner, synergising corporate sustainability policies across buildings managed by the same company. Apart from the efficiency in obtaining certification, the certified properties also implemented a series of new measures to improve building energy efficiency and environmental performance.
 

To further widen the spectrum of BEAM Plus, in October this year, the Council and BSL jointly launched “BEAM Plus Existing Schools Version 1.0” - Hong Kong’s first and foremost assessment tool designed to rate the sustainability performance of school premises. Funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, more than 120 schools will then undergo assessment to evaluate the greenness of their management and the school premises. The launch of the Existing Schools rating tool pioneers green building rating for primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, advocating green building and sustainability to the next generation.
 

To promote green finance, more and more banks in Hong Kong are offering green mortgage plans for residential properties buyers. By adopting BEAM Plus Gold and Platinum ratings as the criterion for green residential properties, eight banks in Hong Kong are offering preferential loan terms to buyers of green properties. With the support from the banking industry, BEAM Plus is gaining wider recognition from the general public and will continue to reach new heights in the future.
 

In support of the Government’s target to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, special awards have been presented since last year to recognise projects that have outstanding performance in reducing carbon emissions and using renewable energy. This year, we are pleased to see that projects are achieving deeper degrees of decarbonisation, and one public sector project is able to act as a “powerhouse” that generates significant surplus electricity for the power grid. Besides, two new awards, namely the most active participation in BEAM Plus New Buildings and the most active participation in Existing Buildings Volume Certification, have been added this year to recognise organisations’ enthusiasm in repeatedly joining BEAM Plus and thus creating higher numbers of green buildings.
 

BEAM Plus is Hong Kong’s leading initiative to offer independent assessments of building sustainability performance in various stages including master planning, design and construction, fitting out, as well as management, operation and maintenance. It consists of different kinds of assessment tools, namely New Buildings, Existing Buildings, Interiors, Neighbourhood, Data Centres and Existing Schools. Under the rating scheme, the buildings are assessed by BSL and certified by the HKGBC. As of now, there are around 2,200 registered BEAM Plus projects, covering a Gross Floor Area exceeding 73 million sq. m., equivalent to the total pitch area of 7,500 Hong Kong Stadiums. The expected environmental benefit is a saving of 1.4 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity annually.

The Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) is a non-profit, member-led organisation established in 2009 and has become a public body under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance since 2016. The HKGBC strives to promote the standard and development of sustainable buildings in Hong Kong. The HKGBC also aims to raise green building awareness by engaging the government, the industry and the public, and to develop practical solutions for Hong Kong’s unique, subtropical built environment of high-rise, high density urban area, leading Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and to become a world’s exemplar of green building development. The Founding Members of the HKGBC include the Construction Industry Council (CIC), the Business Environment Council (BEC), the BEAM Society Limited (BSL) and the Professional Green Building Council (PGBC).

To learn more about the HKGBC, please visit http://www.hkgbc.org.hk.

BEAM Society Limited (BSL) is a non-profit organisation. Since the development of Building Environmental Assessment Method (BEAM) in 1996, and BEAM Plus in 2010, BSL has committed to administering and developing the BEAM Assessment Tools, offering impartial assessment on building sustainability and training BEAM practitioners - BEAM Professionals (BEAM Pro) and BEAM Affiliates. BSL has become a public body under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance since 2016.
 

BSL has committed to improving the overall quality of the built environment in Hong Kong. BEAM assessment tools available include: BEAM Plus New Buildings, BEAM Plus Existing Buildings, BEAM Plus Interiors, BEAM Plus Neighbourhood, BEAM Plus New and Existing Data Centres and BEAM Plus Existing Schools. They assess the impact of overall planning, design, construction and maintenance on the environment.