Green Council launches Hong Kong Green Purchasing Charter (HKGPC)

(Hong Kong - 4 October 2007) Green Council, a non-profit organisation committed to promoting and assisting Hong Kong's business sector in incorporating good environmental practices into business strategies, has announced the launch of the HKGPC. The HKGPC is a call for action for local and international companies to buy environmentally preferable products (i.e. green products) as part of its daily purchasing activities.

HKGPC will provide assistant and recognition to companies which practice environmental management through green purchasing. Green Council, with the motto of 'Conservation Begins with Education', will guide companies seeking to improve environmental business strategy and practice with different activities and programmes such as seminars, guidebook and workshops.

The Charter has already garnered extensive support from the business community with eleven HKGPC Founding Members (please refer to Appendix 1) already signed. Other companies wishing to apply as members of the Charter will need to agree on the "Statements of Commitment" including:

• Formulating green purchasing policies
• Developing and implementing practical and sustainable green purchasing strategies
• Promoting the principles of green purchasing

Green purchasing best practice requires that businesses identify, select, purchase and use products and services with less adverse environmental impact than their alternatives.

The launch took place today at signing ceremony officiated by Mr Edward T W Yau, JP, Secretary for the Environment and hosted by Ms Linda W P Ho, CEO of Green Council. The ceremony saw representatives from the eleven Founding Member companies sign their names to the charter as a show of support. While some companies using cost as a preventative issue to adopting green purchasing practices, Green Council actually found in a survey conducted last year with 654 respondents and conducted that 75% of them actually willing to pay more for environmentally preferable products, but 59% had found it difficult to identify these products.

Ms Linda W P Ho, CEO of Green Council, commented, "The HKSAR Government developed and published 'A Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste' in 2005, which outlined a ten-year waste management framework. Green procurement/purchasing is one of the eleven key areas of focus. HKGPC marks an important step for our government to commit to promoting green purchasing practices.

Green purchasing involves buying products or services that minimise, or provide positive impact on the environment.

Green purchasing requires companies to consider the quality of products, cost and the environmental consequence of a product through all stages of its life cycle - from product development and manufacturing, through product use, to the ultimate disposal of whatever remains of the product at the end of its life span."

Green Council also supports businesses in identifying green products via its Hong Kong Green Label Scheme. The scheme, launch in 2000, provides certification of environmentally preferable products.

About the Green Council

The Green Council is a non profit organisation committed to promoting and assisting Hong Kong's commercial sector to include environmental practices within their production and management processes. With one of its key mottos being -- 'Conservation begins with education', Green Council officials provide its members with training and education on: green procurement; sustainable management concepts and practices; re-use, reduction and recycling; as well as renewable energy alternatives. The Green Council is funded by membership fees, public donations and sponsorship from organizations, businesses and individuals that share Green Council's vision. Since its inception in 2000, the Green Council has launched a number of environmental programmes, including the Hong Kong Green Label Scheme [an environmental performance leadership identification, certification and labelling scheme regarding products produced and/or marketed in Hong Kong], annual Green Carnivals, and most recently, the Hong Kong Green Purchasing Charter. For more information, please visit www.greencouncil.org.

Appendix 1: HKGPC Founding Members Representatives

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