Our Director Ivan Fu shared insights on sustainable development in the construction industry during an interview with Construction+, a quarterly magazine under the umbrella of Sydney-based BCI Media Group focusing on the construction market.
“It’s apparent that end users in Hong Kong start to consider more green products in their shopping list (than ever),” said Fu, also Chairperson of the Construction Industry Council’s (CIC) Committee on Environment and Zero Carbon Building Management Board.
The council is committed to bridging the industry and the Government on construction matters, and Fu is engaged in developing tools and models ranging from carbon assessment to financing.
“Besides the awareness of higher ESG performance, the market is more receptive to sustainability and wellness,” he said, while sharing how CIC advances toward China’s 2060 carbon neutrality goal and Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050.
Take waste management as an example. Fu held that “digitalization is the future, which streamlines waste management process, eliminates time-consuming paperwork and enhances project efficiency”.
However, Fu noted the current industry productivity cannot cope with large-scale sustainable transformation, as a critical challenge now is the aging workforce with an average age hitting 53.7.
“Training is essential to ensure that workers, technicians, and supervisors are well equipped for such an industry transformation.”
In addition, he aspired that the CIC and other stakeholders in the market can stimulate the industry to procure greener materials and encourage suppliers to take sustainable steps in the manufacturing process, and that more resources will be deployed for application.