The University of Hong Kong is committed to developing and managing its activities in a manner that supports the transition to sustainable development.  A Sustainability Workshop was held on February 28 and 29, 2008, for staff and students, to discuss how sustainability can be implemented in the Centennial Campus. 

The first session focused on overseas experience and benchmarks of sustainability.  Dr Justyna Karakiewicz, Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne, was invited to deliver a keynote speech “Sustainability: good starting point”.  Local and overseas expert consultants of the Centennial Campus were also invited to present the latest sustainability initiatives being deployed in architectural design and innovation, trends and practices among peer universities and assessment tools.   

Participants made contributions in the second session, which was a group brainstorming discussion on various aspects of sustainability, including energy and water saving, materials and construction methodology, carbon footprint reduction, indoor environmental quality and landscape and open spaces, and how they could be implemented in the Centennial Campus. 

The workshop came up with a list of possible initiatives that could be adopted by HKU either for the Centennial Campus or the Main Campus.  Based on the suggestions received, the project team would undertake a selection exercise as to which ones can be taken further for cost assessment and adoption at the Centennial Campus.