Green Building Materials
Hong Kong
Overview
| x | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Total Market Size | 91 | 95 | 100 |
| Total Local Production | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total Exports | 115 | 121 | 127 |
| Total Imports | 206 | 216 | 227 |
| Imports from the U.S. | 18 | 19 |
20 |
All figures are in US$ million, and they are unofficial estimates.
Best Products/Services
There has been growth in the usage of environmentally friendly building products during the last five years. One reason is that developers find “green” features economical in the long run, despite higher initial installation costs. Another is that they help attract multinational corporate tenants. Government incentives and brand building concerns are also significant contributing factors.
Best sales prospects include those products that help to save energy, recover heat, reduce waste or maintenance needs, improve indoor air quality or come from sustainable sources. Twenty to thirty percent more green buildings have been built in Hong Kong in the past five years. T5 lamps, variable speed pumps, heat recovery systems, service-on-demand features, advanced window glazings and motion sensors have become more common. Building-integrated photovoltaic panels also is becoming popular. The market for green building products has significant potential.
Hong Kong re-exports over 50% of its imports to China. In 2005, major Hong Kong property developers paid more than USD4 billion to acquire 90 million square feet of land in China. U.S. companies should take advantage of Hong Kong’s strategic location and its ties with China to penetrate the China market.
Opportunities
Government regulations and incentives are playing a significant role in promoting the use of green building materials. Since 2001, the government has provided incentives to encourage developers to adopt green building features and construction methods to reduce waste. The incentive exempts green features from the calculation of the gross floor area of a property, which grants developers extra floor space to boost the market value of properties.
Universities in Hong Kong are promoting the concept of “green campus” through various measures including the use of more environmentally friendly building products. For example, the City University of Hong Kong planned to reduce energy consumption by 7% over 5-year period using year 2003 as the baseline. In the first two years until end of 2005, 5.5% savings in electricity bill was achieved. Some of the energy saving measures included replacement of exit signs with LED lamps, raising room temperatures to 25 ºC, replacement of lighting fittings with T-5 energy efficient fluorescent tubes, installation of heat pump for hot water supply for shower use, installation of capacitor banks to power distribution systems to enhance the power factor.
On the private-sector front, there is a voluntary certification scheme that began in 1996 called the Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method (HK-BEAM). HK-BEAM recognizes improved environmental performance in building design and management. Through May 2005, there have been 100 buildings or over 60 million square feet of floor space assessed by HK-BEAM. These include 52,000 residential units, equivalent to the homes of 150,000 people or slightly over 2% of Hong Kong population. The numbers make HK-BEAM the most widely used scheme of its kind in the world on a per capita basis.
In August 2005, the Hong Kong Government’s Building Department also launched CEPAS (Comprehensive Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme), a new buildings’ rating system. The scheme is voluntary, rating buildings on a “five-star” grading system. The rating system is based on 34 criteria in eight categories, ranging from hygiene and ventilation to waste management and cultural preservation during the design and construction stage. The best buildings will be given a platinum label. The other grades are gold, silver, bronze and unclassified. The certificate will be valid for five years. This system is meant to become a benchmark for all construction in Hong Kong, making environmental awareness a business plus.
In a sign that the public is growing increasingly environmentally conscious, the government plans to roll out the mandatory energy efficiency labeling scheme to cover air conditioners, refrigerators and compact fluorescent lamps sold in Hong Kong. Officials have estimated the scheme will save 150 million kwh of electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 105,000 tonnes each year. If Hong Kong follows the global trend, landlords and developers could be next – with the mandatory energy efficiency labeling on buildings, which is currently only a voluntary measure.
Resources
Major Trade Shows:
Hong Kong International Building Materials & Construction Equipment Fair (Oct 27-30, 2007): http://www.hkbuildingmaterialsfair.com
Asia Building Technologies 2008 (June 4-6, 2008: http://www.asianbt.com/)
Associations:
Hong Kong Professional Green Council
Substainable Development Strategy
Hong Kong Commercial Specialist’s Contact:
Elanna Tam
Email: elanna.tam@mail.doc.gov
Tel: (852) 2521-1467; Fax: (852) 2845-9800