Press Release

Housing Society Clinches Accolades for Innovation in Promoting Sustainable Development

The Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) has earned recognitions from renowned industry sectors and bagged two prestigious awards for its efforts in building sustainable communities and fostering community care.  For the first time, HKHS was honoured with the “ESG Project Innovation Award” at the Television Broadcast Limited (TVB) ESG Awards 2023 and won the Silver Award in the “COVID-19 Response” category at the 5^th Hong Kong Public Relations Awards 2023, an event hailed as the “Oscars” of the local public relations industry.  HKHS was commended for its all-rounded Community Care Campaign launched during the pandemic and its creativity in advocating sustainable community development with remarkable outcomes.

HKHS Chief Executive Officer James Chan said, “We would like to express our gratitude to all parties for their recognition and commendation of the Housing Society’s effort in promoting sustainable development.  With a commitment to innovation for 75 years, the Housing Society has not only provided quality housing for its residents, but also proactively engaged stakeholders with innovative ideas and approaches to encourage community participation, building a sustainable community in joint effort.  During the pandemic, the Housing Society launched two rounds of Community Care Campaign to demonstrate solidarity with residents, shop tenants and our staff with diverse initiatives such as providing anti-epidemic items, financial assistance, and mental and physical health support for the communities in need, fostering collective resilience in the face of the pandemic.  In an impressive feat, HKHS even set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORD^TM in one of these activities of the campaign.  These could not have been achieved without the unwavering support from the community, the residents and our staff.  The achievements are also testament of our efforts in promoting ‘Creating Homes for Sustainable Living’.”

HKHS was presented with the “ESG Project Innovation Award” at the TVB ESG Awards 2023 for its multiple initiatives in promoting sustainability for Hong Kong, such as the development of housing options attuned to the needs of the Hong Kong people, an example of which is the launch of the Senior Citizen Residences Scheme to address the housing demand brought by an ageing population.  Playing the role as Hong Kong’s “housing laboratory”, HKHS put in place an environment management system as early as two decades ago, making it the first housing development organisation to receive ISO14000 certification.  HKHS is also a pioneer in adopting innovative technologies, such as “Modular Integrated Construction” and “Building Information Modelling”, which have significantly enhanced the speed and efficiency of flat production, reduced construction waste and carbon emissions, and minimised nuisance from construction sites to the adjacent environment.

In addition, the 6-month Community ESG Programme launched this year has emerged as the largest estate-based carbon reduction campaign in Hong Kong so far.  Using a newly developed mobile app, participants can digitise and quantify their carbon emission reduction efforts and track their carbon footprint and performance, while being incentivised by rewards from over 600 participating shops and restaurants.  The programme aims to encourage over 30,000 households living in HKHS’s 20 rental estates to develop green and healthy living habits and adopt low-carbon lifestyles.  The campaign has successfully raised public awareness of carbon reduction, bringing together the community to play a part in achieving the sustainable development and carbon neutrality vision of Hong Kong.

In the 5^th Hong Kong Public Relations Awards 2023, HKHS was honoured the Silver Award in the “COVID-19 Response” category.  This award recognises HKHS’s swift response in supporting its tenants, employees and the communities in need during the pandemic.  HKHS has implemented two rounds of Community Care Campaign, one focused on offering multiple immediate assistance to the needy and the other focused on mental health.  Caring measures offered in the campaigns cover rent reduction, distribution of anti-epidemic packs, donation to food banks, provision of short-term job opportunities, visit to the elderly tenants in rental estates, as well as dissemination of latest pandemic information and positive messages to stakeholders through multimedia channels and five major social media platforms.  In order to promote physical and mental health amid the epidemic challenges, HKHS, together with residents and community groups, have successfully set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORD^TM for the “Most People Stretching Simultaneously Online and in a Single Venue”.

In support of its long-term pursue in sustainability, HKHS has set up a cross-divisional Sustainability Working Group last year and developed a sustainability blueprint.  This year, a formal sustainability framework has been formulated encompassing the governance structure and strategy.  The framework consists of three pillars, namely “Sustainable Homes”, “Low-carbon Transformation” and “Future-fit Capabilities”, serving as a guiding principle for all divisions to implement sustainability in a cohesive and coordinated manner.