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57.
With continuous
improvements in the air quality monitoring network, the
government should seek to undertake full data disclosure to the
public for the whole region.
Through the cross-border liaison mechanism, the HKSAR
government should encourage and facilitate the
Guangdong
counterpart to adopt
mandatory
public reporting of emissions for large emitters in the region,
as well as publication of an annual emissions inventory, broken
down by individual pollutants and greenhouse gases as well as by
type of emission sources, as is now done in
Hong Kong
. (37)
58.
More generally, the HKSAR government has plenty of good scientific
resources and if they can be re-orientated towards providing
quantitative information at more regular intervals, this
may help catalyse a change to transparency and enable both
government and other stakeholders to engage in scientific
dialogue productively, and hence engender policy development
more effectively. Given
that health impact information is being continually studied
and updated, sound and scientifically-based policy development
is crucial lest the gap between mitigation needs and what may be
affordable in socio-economic terms should be larger than policy
makers are prepared to adopt.
(38)
59. In the case of the private sector, many
Hong Kong
companies have already incorporated social responsibility
objectives and programmes into their business process, but have
not yet taken on the task of reporting these activities.
There should be a vigorous campaign to encourage
environmental or sustainability reporting, building on the best
practices promoted by bodies such as the Global Reporting
Initiative.
60.
The Government can help kick-start this campaign by
requiring all government departments and publicly-owned
corporations to publish sustainability reports.
With the support of the Hong Kong Exchanges and the
Securities and Futures Commission, a campaign should be launched
to encourage all listed companies to undertake environmental or
sustainability reporting, especially on the measures they and
their subsidiary companies are taking to reduce air pollution.
The reports can become a driver of corporate social
responsibility by enhancing communication and trust between the
respective organizations and their stakeholders.
If these companies can be measured and rated on this
front voluntarily, with more companies adopting such reporting,
it could eventually become part of the reporting requirement of
the Hong Kong Exchange for listed companies. Already, some
international funds are giving credit to investee companies that
are socially responsible. (39)
61.
The situation is more complicated in the cross-border
context, manufacturers in the
PRD being more reluctant to disclose information on emissions
lest they should be targeted for enforcement and possible
financial penalties. The
lack of transparency results in insufficient data to determine
emission reduction targets, develop the environmental services
industry, or formulate policies on emission trading.
62. To
help enhance transparency of environmental performance across
the border, perhaps a voluntary self-regulatory approach is
worth exploring. On
the part of
Hong Kong
enterprises, a ˇ§code of environment practices in the
Mainlandˇ¨ could be established, perhaps initially by the Hong
Kong Exchanges and Securities and Futures Commission for listed
companies, providing guidelines on disclosure of emissions and
regulatory compliance. Apart
from encouraging Hong Kong companies to be responsible global
citizens, this may also have an effect on their
Guangdong
counterparts. In
time, such a code can be promoted more widely to the business
sector as a whole, through institutions like the Greater Pearl
River Delta Business Council. The ultimate aim is to help
promote environmental management as a core business competence.
(40) |