GLOSSARY

Quote from BEAM Society, 'A means by which to benchmark and improve performance in the planning, design, construction, commissioning, operation and management of buildings.' BEAM Plus is a comprehensive environmental assessment scheme recognised by the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC). Issued in 2012, BEAM Plus Version 1.2 for New Buildings and Existing Buildings is enhanced from the earlier version in providing Passive Design as an alternative method for assessment.

Building Information Modelling is the process of generating and managing building data during its planning, design, construction and operation stage. The process uses multi-dimensional building modelling software and unified data structure to enhance team collaboration and increase productivity.

A systematic and scientific approach to account for the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the operations of buildings

The carbon footprint is the measurement of all greenhouse gases an individual produces in daily lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating, transportation, etc, usually in the unit of tonnes (or kg) of carbon dioxide equivalent.

The Code on Access to Information (the Code) defines the scope of information that will be provided, sets out how the information will be made available either routinely or in response to a request, and lays down procedures governing its prompt release. The Code authorises and requires civil servants, routinely or on request, to provide information, and sets out procedures for review or complaint if a member of the public considers that the provisions of the Code have not been properly applied.

ArchSD aims at enhancing its operational efficiency by applying smart and innovative technologies in the work process through the CO-i development. The core of the proposed CO-i development is a big data bank with linkage to various application systems to facilitate the 'Architectural Intelligence', including integrated project management platform, advanced asset information system integrated with Building Information Modelling (BIM), mobile platform for construction site supervision and work flow digitalisation, etc.

It is a proactive design approach which focuses on the ease of manufacture and efficiency of assembly, enables offsite manufacture of high-quality construction components and efficient assembly of components on site. It is a well-established approach for accomplishing significant improvements in productivity, safety, quality and sustainability. It also enables identification, quantification and elimination of waste or inefficiency in product manufacture and assembly to achieve lean construction.

The ArchSD Extranet is a private secured web portal with restricted access to enhance communication and information exchange with external users such as consultants and contractors, and to streamline contract management of works projects undertaken by the Department.

A multi-stakeholder-governed institution which provides a framework for sustainability reporting, which is commonly used all over the world. This framework sets out the principles and disclosure requirements that entities can use to measure and report their economic, social and environmental performance. GRI launched its Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards) in October 2016.

Jointly organised by the Hong Kong Green Building Council and the Professional Green Building Council, GBA is a biennial industry award which aims to provide recognition to building-related projects with excellent performance and contributions in sustainability and the built environment. It also encourages the industry to transform the mainstream market towards wider adoption of sustainable planning, design, construction, management, operation, maintenance, renovation and decommissioning of buildings.

Green Contractor Award is organised by ArchSD every year to appraise contractors that have excellent performance in construction sites through demonstrating their environmental and social conscious commitments with the implementation of effective green measures.

Greenhouse gases refer to those which absorb and hold heat in the atmosphere, either occurring naturally (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and water vapour) or exclusively resulting from human activities (e.g. hydroflurocarbons).

Greenhouse Gas Protocol establishes comprehensive global standardised frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions. It also supplies the world's most widely used greenhouse gas accounting standards.

The Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2030+ report, published by the Environment Bureau, sets out the city’s new carbon emissions reduction target for 2030 and responds to the Paris Agreement. The report covers an extensive range of elements including targets, mitigation and adaptation initiatives and plans to strengthen the city’s resilience, which call the work of Government and the participation and contribution of business and the community at large.

The Hong Kong Green Organisation Certification (HKGOC) aims to benchmark green organisations with substantial achievement in green management, to encourage participants to adopt environmental practices in different aspects and to recognise their efforts and commitments to the environment. It consists of five Certificates, namely ‘Wastewi$e Certificate’, ‘Energywi$e Certificate’, ‘Productwi$e Certificate’, ‘IAQwi$e Certificate’ and ‘Carbon Reduction Certificate’.

ISO 14001 is an international standard first published by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1996, which specifies requirements for the establishment of an environmental management system. It is intended for use by organisations seeking to manage its environmental responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to the environmental pillar of sustainability. Similar to other well-known ISO standards, it is based on the PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT approach to assist organisations in achieving continual improvement.

ISO 45001 is an international standard first published by International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 2018, which builds on the success of earlier international standards such as OHSAS 18001, the International Labour Organization’s ILO-OSH Guidelines, various national standards and the ILO’s international labour standards and conventions. The standard specifies requirements for an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system, and gives guidance for its use, to enable organisations to provide safe and healthy workplaces by preventing work-related injury and ill health, as well as by proactively improving its OH&S performance.

ISO 50001 is an international standard first published by International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) in 2011, which specifies requirements for the establishment of an energy management system. Adopting ISO 50001 Energy Management System enables organisations to improve their energy performance, which generally includes energy use, energy efficiency and energy consumption, in a systematic approach. Similar to other well-known ISO standards, it is based on the PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT approach to assist organisations in achieving continual improvement.

ISO 9001 is an international standard first published by International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) in 1987, which specifies requirements for the establishment of a quality management system. Adopting ISO 9001 Quality Management System supports organisations to consistently provide products and services that meet customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and enhance customer satisfaction through the different improvement processes. Similar to other well-known ISO standards, it is based on the PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT approach to assist organisations in achieving continual improvement.

The Integrated Management System is the combination of our obtained certification of ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard, ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard, ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard and ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Standard which altogether constitute our Integrated Management System (IMS).

KM portal is to manage the knowledge life cycle from generation, harvesting, formation of practice wisdom and sharing to publishing, monitoring and renewal. The whole process is manifested in the operational regime under a 3-tier system, i.e. the ArchSD Knowledge Bank (K-Bank), branches/divisions KM hubs and knowledge community workspace.

Mandatory Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme label showing the level of water consumption and water efficiency of the plumbing fixtures and water-consuming devices helps consumers to make choices of purchase. WELS has been implemented since 2009 for six types of plumbing fixtures and water-consuming devices, viz. showers for bathing, water taps, washing machines, urinal equipment, flow controllers and water closets.

Microclimate generally refers to the specific climatic conditions within a small area (such as street, park, riverside, etc). Due to the influence of the surrounding terrain, orientation and density of buildings, weather conditions during the time as well as other factors, the climatic characteristics at an area may differ from those prevailing over the surrounding large region.

Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) refers to a construction method whereby free-standing volumetric modules (with finishes, fixtures, fittings, etc.) are manufactured off-site and then transported for constructing buildings.

A measure of the energy transferred through the envelope of a building and has a direct correlation with energy consumption.

Post Occupancy Evaluation is a management tool tailor-made to evaluate the performance, assess the effectiveness of sophisticated building services systems after client occupancy, and to address clients' concerns on the functional requirements and energy consumption of their recently completed building projects.

QBA is jointly launched by nine professional organisations in Hong Kong, China at biennial intervals to present public recognition to buildings of outstanding quality that have demonstrated excellent teamwork. The Award aims to promote a collective commitment by the building industry to maintain the highest standards of professionalism and competitiveness.

It is a practice to schedule activities and assign available resources in an economic way, so that predetermined constraints of resource availability and/or project time are not exceeded. Each HKSAR Government Department has to earmark an amount of Recurrent/Capital spending in October that to be included in the budget of the following year.

It refers to individuals, groups or organisations which experience directly or indirectly the actions and policies implemented by an organisation.

Sustainable development is the development approach which meets the desires of the present and preserves the environment and natural resource for the future generations.

'TEAM+' is designed to equip site supervisory staff with the required competences to face the challenges of increasing service demand and staff retirement wave. It consists of four components covering: T - Technical knowledge; E - Site Experience; A - Safety and Environmental Awareness; M - Management Skills, and coupled with the reinforcing agent '+' to boost team spirit for a better training outcome.

The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainnable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030.

Vertical greening is the application of a vegetative cover to a wall/vertical structure. It serves as the thermal insulation to building to moderate temperature and relative humidity to the site. It also helps in filtrating dust pollution, reducing noise pollution and enhancing the biological diversity of the building and its surroundings.