Michael's mic: Secretary for Housing, Planning & Lands Michael Suen speaks at the 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference in Tokyo.

Secretary for Housing, Planning & Lands Michael Suen says the Government is committed to formulating sustainable development strategies by guiding the use and development of land, facilitating suitable development and redevelopment, and encouraging community involvement and support.

Speaking at the 2005 World Sustainable Building Conference in Tokyo today, Mr Suen said given the city's natural constraints, like land, there was a tendency for high-rise development. This made sustainable development and sustainable buildings logical objectives to keep the city going and achieve better quality living.

To realise the strategies, Mr Suen said for public facility developments the Government has taken a holistic approach in considering the integration of the projects with the surrounding environment, and the conservation and efficient use of land, energy and material resources in design, procurement and maintenance.

Green community

"Our policy on public housing clearly defines key environmental principles such as optimising use of resources and minimising the environmental impact for our residents. We provide affordable quality public housing for one third of our population. To keep pace with the rising aspirations of the community, we have successfully advanced new frontiers in the making of a green physical environment and green community for millions of people," he said.

As for private building developments, the Government encourages innovation and adoption of new technology and construction methods, Mr Suen said.

"To quote a couple of our initiatives, we provide incentives in the form of exemption of gross floor area and site coverage for the incorporation of environmentally friendly features in private building developments. We are also developing a building labelling scheme to gauge the sustainability performance of buildings in Hong Kong.

"Our road towards sustainable buildings is made more durable with close collaboration at all levels between the Government and private sector. With this collaborative spirit in striving towards a sustainable built environment, we hope to build a better future for the generations to come."