HKGBC Green Tenancy Driver for Office Buildings
9
The
Significance
of
Building Operation:
A
s an economic and financial hub which
houses a dense population of 7.2 million
people (Population - Census and Statistics
Department, 2014), Hong Kong consumes a high
amount of energy to power its various industries.
Globally, it is a unique entity, even when compared
to other cities around the world. With the highest
amount of buildings taller than 20 floors in the
world, the dense metropolitan areas in Hong Kong
are truly a sight to behold. However, these buildings
also consume a very large amount of resources.
The average design lifespan of a building is often
more than 50 years. After the initial usage of
resources in the construction stage,
an office building
consumes about three times its initial capital cost over
its operational lifespan
(Flanagan & Jewell, 2008). It
has been found that costs incurred by operation far
outweigh the costs incurred during the construction
stage. Hong Kong Energy End-use Data 2013
(2013) shows that Hong Kong’s commercial sector’s
end use energy consumption represents 42% of
Hong Kong’s total end use energy and 66% of
Hong Kong’s electricity consumption in 2011. In
addition, a building consumes high quantities of
water and produces large volumes of waste. With
cost of electricity rising year on year with diminishing
amounts of fresh water and landfill capacity, the
development of a sustainable strategy is needed for
our future. Perhaps, the present biggest question is:
What strategy is the most suitable to minimise
the impact caused on the environment during
the
operation of a building?
CH1
INTRODUCTION
