HK businesses just don't get green, says another survey
HK businesses just don't get green, says another survey
By Robert Clark | Jun 11, 2010
Thumbnail:
Yet another survey has found that Hong Kong business lags the world in green practices.
A survey by business center operator Regus reveals just 17% of firms in the territory measure and monitor their energy consumption, compared to 56% cent in China and 75% in Taiwan.
The survey of 15,000 customers found that 37% of companies worldwide measure their emissions and just 19% measure the carbon footprint.
A poll by Schneider Electric and Hong Kong University (HKU) released two weeks ago said Hong Kong firms took a “crude approach” to energy conservation.
More than two-thirds of Hong Kong businesses said they have invested in low carbon or energy efficient equipment, but just 17% have a company policy to invest in greener equipment. This is in contrast to 54% of Taiwan firms and 42% of mainland companies.
With a “disappointing” 40% of companies worldwide investing in low-carbon equipment, Regus said there was a need for governments to offer tax breaks to encourage investment in green officer gear.
Almost half of those surveyed said they would invest in low-carbon equipment only if the costs were the same or lower than those of conventional equipment. 75% said tax incentives would spur them to make more green investments.
In Asia, 95% of companies in Taiwan and 88% in China believed that incentives would financially motivate them to reduce their carbon emissions, compared to 67% in Hong Kong.
“Take-up of green equipment and monitoring initiatives is still disappointingly low, particularly for smaller companies,” Regus said.
“If governments are serious about supporting growing investment in clean energy, then they need to further incentivize the change. At the moment, low-carbon business technology is often limited in range and sold at premium pricing, proving an obstacle for businesses to invest.”
One hopes that the cost
One hopes that the cost savings start to show through and Hong Kong business catches up!
As a friend said to me the main thing a business in HK does to become green is to change the colour of their walls. Hopefully they will also learn that certain paints are more eco than others!