“30-Hour Low Carbon Campaign” challenges teams to complete low carbon missions within 30 hours

The Link and Commercial Radio have partnered to launch the "30-Hour Low Carbon Campaign”, inviting members of the public to complete low carbon missions in shopping centres of The Link to encourage environmental protection through green living.

Officiating guests share their experiences on how to lower one's carbon footprint and live a greener lifestyle.

Officiating guests, the DJ teams and guest singers sing out the slogan “Green Living starts with me” during the event launch using musical instruments created with recycled materials.

Four winning teams will win a free six-day “Low Carbon Journey” in Japan that will give them the opportunity to learn and experience advanced environmental protection concepts. In this photo, the winning team of last year embarked on their “Low Carbon Journey” to Singapore.

To support its belief that sustainable development has a positive impact on the community, The Link Management Limited (“The Link”) promotes green living through its extensive network of shopping centres to encourage a low-carbon lifestyle and raise awareness of environmental protection among the public.

In 2013, The Link invited Commercial Radio to co-organise the successful “30-Hour Low Carbon Campaign”, Hong Kong’s first 30-hour environmental marathon event. This year, The Link has again partnered with Commercial Radio as well as the World Green Organisation to organise the second “30-Hour Low Carbon Campaign”, which aims to promote a green Hong Kong. The official launch of the campaign took place today (10 June) at Lok Fu Plaza, overseen by officiating guests George Hongchoy, Chief Executive Officer of The Link; Hilda Wong, Head of Marketing of The Link; Stephen Chan, Commercial Radio; Rita Chan, General Manager of Commercial Radio; and Dr. William Yu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of World Green Organisation.

With the slogan of “Green living starts with me”, participating teams will make use of their creativity and team spirit to complete a series of low carbon missions in several of The Link’s shopping centres throughout Hong Kong within 30 hours. The four winning teams will win a free trip to Japan, where they will participate in a six-day “Low Carbon Journey” that will give them the opportunity to learn and experience advanced environmental protection concepts.

The Link’s sustainability performance is recognised
The Link’s ongoing commitment to sustainability has been recognised by various organisations around the world. It has been granted the Wastewi$e Label by the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence and has also been selected as an index component of the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index in 2013/2014. Additionally, for the second year in a row, The Link has been included as a constituent in the FTSE4Good Index Series, a highly regarded index that measures the performance of companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards.

Aiming at higher energy efficiency targets
In 2012/2013, The Link adopted its 20/20 vision, which aimed to reduce total annual energy consumption by 20% of 2010 levels by 2020. Through measures like the introduction of energy-efficient hardware and proper monitoring of facility operations, the goal was achieved six years ahead of schedule in 2013/14. Energy management will continue to be a major component of The Link’s cost management and environmental management strategies. Not content to rest on its laurels, The Link has already established a more ambitious target which seeks to achieve a 30% reduction in annual energy consumption by 2020, again using 2010 as a baseline.

Sharing ideas on low carbon and sustainability
Officiating guests George Hongchoy of The Link, Stephen Chan of Commercial Radio, and Dr. William Yu of World Green Organisation shared ideas on low carbon and sustainability at today’s launch. George Hongchoy said, “The Link has a thorough understanding of the benefits that environmental management and sustainability can bring to the community. We believe these benefits can also apply to the individual lives of people in the community, so we encourage residents to live greener lives. For example, when we plan and design asset enhancement projects, we increase recreation areas and engage in the greening of facilities. We also make use of our extensive network of shopping centres across Hong Kong to organise and support various green campaigns, such as ‘International Coastal Cleanup Hong Kong’ and the ‘Lai See Packet Recycle and Reuse Programme’ to promote a sustainable lifestyle. In its second year, the ‘30-Hour Low Carbon Campaign’ has become an annual flagship event of The Link, and we hope to continue organising similar events to contribute to Hong Kong’s sustainable development.”

“Commercial Radio and The Link share the goal of building a low carbon Hong Kong,” said Stephen Chan of Commercial Radio. “By providing the public with low carbon tips through our radio and online platforms, we hope to educate the public and promote the importance of low carbon living so that Hong Kong residents will be able to make use of green concepts in daily life.”

Dr. William Yu said, “The impacts of global warming on the ecosystem are obvious, and these impacts threaten not only wildlife, but also human survival. Environmental protection and green living are therefore vital components that affect all of humanity. Through this campaign, we hope to encourage changes in the living habits of more Hong Kong residents and encourage them to engage in low carbon living.”

Join “30-Hour Low Carbon Campaign 30” to complete low carbon missions and win a free “Low Carbon journey” in Japan
Those interested in taking the challenge can form a “Low Carbon Team”. Online applications will be open to the public from 16 June to 16 July, and selected teams will visit shopping centres of The Link to complete a series of low carbon tasks in 30 hours on 9-10 August (Saturday and Sunday). The four winning teams will have the opportunity to participate in a six-day “Low Carbon Journey” in Japan, experiencing advanced environmental technologies and learning new low carbon ideas and methods.

Others who support the campaign will also have the opportunity to join the journey too. For more information and online registration, please visit the campaign’s official website (www.thelink.com.hk/lowcarbon30) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lowcarbon30).