Country Profiles

Council for Sustainable Development (c/o HK Gov. Sustainable Development Division)

可 持 續 發 展 委 員 會

Contact

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Address: Council for Sustainable Development

c/o Sustainable Development Division

Environment Bureau

46/F, Revenue Tower

5 Glucester Road

Wan Chai

Hong Kong

Website: http://www.susdev.gov.hk/html/en/sd/index.htm

Hong-Kong200

Mission Statement

The terms of reference of the Council are:

  • To advise the Government on the priority areas it should address in promoting sustainable development;
  • To advise on the preparation of a sustainable development strategy for Hong Kong that will integrate economic, social and environmental perspectives;
  • To facilitate community participation in the promotion of sustainable development in Hong Kong through various means, including the award of grants from the Sustainable Development Fund; and
  • To promote public awareness and understanding of the principles of sustainable development.

Composition and Membership

The Council was established by the Hong Kong Chief Executive as one of the initiatives to promote sustainability in Hong Kong. Its first meeting was in 2003.

Chair: Mr Bernard Charnwut CHAN, GBS, JP.

Secretary: Principal Assistant Secretary for the Environment (Sustainable Development).

Members of the Council are appointed by the Hong Kong Chief Executive and include people with experience and expertise in the environmental, social and business sectors, as well as the Government Secretary or Permanent Secretary for the Environment, for Development, for Home Affairs, and for Transport and Housing. Members are currently sitting from 1 March 2011 to 28 February 2013.

The Sustainable Development Division of the Environment Bureau provides secretariat support to the Council.

Role and Functions

  • advising on government policy or making policy recommendations, including NSDS; and
  • stakeholder engagement.

 

Recent Activities

Strategy Sub-committee

The Strategy Sub-committee was established by the Council to assist the Council with the formulation of a sustainable development strategy (SDS) for Hong Kong. The Sub-committee's terms of reference are:

    • To engage stakeholders and the community and implement a consultation programme as agreed by the Council with a view to ensuring that the SDS is inclusive and widely accepted by the community; and
    • To report regularlay to the Council on progress with the formulation of the SDS.

The Sub-committee is chaired by Mr Bernard Chan, who is also the Chairman of the Council. Nine other Members of the Council, as well as four co-opt Members from the non-Government sector also sit on the Sub-committee, again from March 2011 to February 2013.

Support Groups

    • To better inform the SDS, the Council developed, through its Strategy Sub-committee, a series of Support Groups on specific areas of SD to facilitate the engagement of stakeholders and public in the process. E.g. Climate change, Building design, population policy.

Education and Publicity Sub-committee

The Education and Publicity Sub-committee was established by the Council to advise on initiatives aimed at promoting public awareness of sustainable development in Hong Kong through various means, including the assessment of applications for grants from the Sustainable Development Fund; foster partnerships with stakeholders in the community; and advise on the awards of grants from the Sustainable Development Fund in accordance with the funding criteria determined by the Council.

The Sub-committee is chaired by Mrs Miranda LEUNG CHAN Che-ming. Nine other Members of the Council, as well as seven co-opt Members from the non-Government sector, also sit on the Sub-committee.

Study Group on Better Air Quality

The Council established a Study Group to:

    • study the current state of air quality, the current action programme and constraints encountered;
    • identify key issues relevant to Hong Kong's long-term sustainability, in particular the interface between other integrated contributing factors and air quality;
    • identify scope for a public engagement process to facilitate community contribution, including choices that have to be made by the community in order to achieve a clean living environment; and
    • identify possible areas that the Government, businesses, civil society, and every single member of the society may work on further to contribute to a clean living environment.