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CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia (Gaia) held the Go Green Community Sharing Workshop cum GAIA Award Presentation Ceremony last Saturday (30 May).  Prof. FUNG Tung, Associate Vice-President of CUHK, Ms Imelda CHAN, Executive Manager, Charities of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, and Prof. Gabriel LAU, Director of the Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability of CUHK, gave certificates of participation to the Go Green Citizens, i.e. school and NGO members of the Go Green Community—Jockey Club Carbon Reduction Partnership Scheme (the Scheme), and presented awards to the outstanding members of the GAIA—Green Aspirations & Innovative Actions Online Platform (the GAIA Online Platform).

Launched in 2012, the Scheme is a partnership project engaging schools and NGOs to reduce carbon emissions, through a variety of activities that fit the schools’ curricula and the NGOs’ environmental policies.  The GAIA Online Platform (cut-carbon.gaia.cuhk.edu.hk/) is one of such initiatives, which gathers schools, organizations and individuals who are keen on environmental stewardship, to sign up and pledge to undertake actions on the GAIA carbon reduction checklists, such as minimizing water and energy consumption, reducing waste, and participating in environmental activities.  Through the platform, GAIA members share green tips and green information, creating more collaboration within and among communities.  To encourage GAIA members to continue working towards a sustainable future for Hong Kong, annual awards are given to institutional members who are successful in meeting the goals, and to the 30 individual members with the highest amount of reduction in carbon footprint. 

At the sharing workshop, Mr Jacky KO, award winner of Eco Star Award 2014, Mr AU Kwong-wing, Principal of The Chinese Foundation Secondary School, and Mr TSUI Chun-cheung, Principal of Tai Po Old Market Public School (Plover Cove), shared their experience in promoting green lifestyle and implementing green policies.  Mr Henry DONG, Assistant Programme Director of Gaia, briefed the audience on the first Carbon Audit Benchmarking Report.  The report summarizes the carbon audit findings of the Pilot Phase (2012–2014), sets benchmarks for environmental efforts and forms the basis for the schools and NGOs to devise their own strategic plans on carbon reduction.  The Report can be downloaded from the website of Gaia (http://www.gaia.cuhk.edu.hk/ggc/cabenchmarkingreport).

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia

CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia is a 5-year community engagement programme launched in 2012 by CUHK, with a generous donation of HK$70 million by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.  Committed to paving a sustainable future for Hong Kong, the programme aims at promoting environmental conservation and sustainability in local communities, through public education and carbon reduction partnerships with schools and non-governmental organizations.

The Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change (MoCC) maintained by Gaia is open for free to the public.  The MoCC showcases the ‘Three Poles’ (the North Pole, the South Pole and Mt Everest) collection of the renowned Hong Kong explorer Dr Rebecca Lee, innovative research in environment, energy and sustainability initiated by CUHK, and the Trust’s initiatives that promote green living in the community.

More details of the CUHK Jockey Club Initiative Gaia can be found at www.cuhk.edu.hk/gaia.