Hong Kong Best Green ICT Awards, call for entry

Dec. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- Recognizing the leaders in environmentally friendly information technology

Hong Kong Best Green ICT Awards, call for entry

In the pursuit of a better quality of life, Hong Kong has flagged environmental protection as a key stepping stone towards a brighter future. In recent years the notions of conservation and green living have floated around society, passing in and out of the agenda of individuals, businesses and corporations alike. The Hong Kong ICT Awards - The “Best Green ICT Award” aims to anchor this Green notion into various realities by celebrating the Green ICT enhancements fulfilling corporate social responsibility by actively working on becoming more Green. The “Best Green ICT Award” hopes to inspire more action in the ICT community. Registration for consideration of the award is now open and all are encouraged to apply.

Environmental practice: Individuals and institutions

Environmental protection is everyone’s responsibility; it is essential for individuals, government agencies and corporate organizations to practice environmental behaviors. In recent years, the "Best Green Technology Award" and government policy have encouraged individuals and businesses to actively introduce a variety of environmentally friendly measures.

Green ICT plays a more important role not only for today’s business operation, but also in our daily lives. The creation and utilization of information and communication technologies, products, and services such as energy efficient data center, cloud computing, BYOD (bring your own device) can reduce energy and resources, optimizes operational efficiency and achieve savings while serving the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and waste disposal.

A growing number of commercial organizations and companies are implementing green policies. Many corporate IT departments have Green Computing initiatives to reduce the environmental impacts of their IT operations. The use of "green paper" photocopy; motion sensor lighting system; switching off computers that aren’t in use for more than 15 minutes are just some of the energy-saving measures implemented by many companies in an attempt to adhere to green policies and ensure that the concept of environmental protection practice in the work place becomes a norm.

Reduce paper, bank online

For their polices implement in January 2010 , the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) won the ‘2012 Best Green ICT Grand Award’ and ‘Best Green ICT (Adoption – Large-scale Enterprises) Gold Award’’. They operated with a policy to "minimise the environmental impact by reducing carbon footprint, using resource more efficiently and effectively, and promoting environmentally responsible business practices”. The company encouraged the use of online banking, mobile banking and electronic statements resulting in the reduction of approximately 1,613 metric tons of paper consumption.

BOCHK implemented a four phase hardware change in an attempt to improve operational efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. The change resulted in a remarkable annual power consumption savings of about 470,000 kilowatts, and a lowering of carbon dioxide emissions by about 329 tons. Committed to the sustainable development of procurement policies, BOCHK takes measures to ensure that their suppliers are also efficient: providing products that aren’t over wrapped or are easily recyclable. This great example is an excellent, professional, green technology-led program, which is a well-deserved winner of the awards.

The ‘Best Green ICT Award’ is co-organized by the Green ICT Consortium (GICTC) and Communications Association of Hong Kong (CAHK). The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), The Hong Kong Productivity Council and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council fully support the easing on the environment by improving operational effectiveness in the information and communications technology industry to achieve the goal of a Green future.

“Best Green ICT Award” is one of the ten categories of Hong Kong Information and Communications Technology Awards, with each category having its own award. Submissions cover a wide scope of ICT applications. Submissions can be from an individual, team or organization. January 11th, 2013 marks the closing date for entries.

For more information www.greenictaward.cahk.hk