8 minute read
Building a Smarter Future for Hong Kong - Bricks, Clicks, and Mortar
By Prof. Lapman Lee, Professor of Practice (ESG, FinTech, Governance), Convenor of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s Sustainable Finance Centre of Excellence, and APAC ICT Climate and ESG value proposition leader at Willis Towers Watson
Today’s interview is with Kevin Ng and Johnny Yu, who is the Head of Sustainability of Henderson Land, whom I had the pleasure to share the stage with at the Willis Towers Watson Hong Kong Strategic Risk Conference on 11 October 2023 alongside industry veterans Donald Choi, CEO of Chinachem Group; Gill Meller, Legal & Governance Director of MTR; and Simon Tang, Chief Project Development Officer of the Hong Kong – Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park.
1. Every well-established property developer has a sustainability strategy. How does Henderson Land differentiate itself from its peers and where does sustainability start?
Kevin: While it may sound a tad cliché, sustainability and innovation at Henderson Land starts with the tenant and end-user in mind, which is contributed to our focus on property development with a predominantly “user-centric” development strategy.
To some peers, sustainability may be driven more by their focus on property investment and management, in addition to property development.
And nowhere is our sustainability approach more evident than in the actual design of our buildings on the drawing boards, where we adopt a “passive design” approach, technically speaking, going for nononsense slim construction first to reduce carbon emission or energy consumption.
In the world of architecture, the passive design methodology considers the local climate conditions (cooling, daylight, temperature, and humidity etc ), building site conditions, and construction materials to create a building that is comfortable to tenants, while cost-efficient through energy efficiency.
When we take these climate conditions into consideration, tenants can reduce the use of air conditioning and electricity, thereby achieving carbon reduction. That’s what we call pursuing sustainability in a sustainable way.
Let’s use The Henderson as an example:
Using durable glass panels: this approach is materialised by two innovative strategies – i. toughened 3D glass fabrication by purpose-built “digital glass bending” furnace to significantly minimise material wastage; ii. upholding “façade resilience” with thoughtful glass composition to combat climate crisis and mechanical damage This helps prolong the building's lifetime while minimising the embodied carbon in its construction. The Henderson is crafted from over 4,000 panels of 4-ply double-laminated curved insulated glass, with over 1,000 different curvatures, for the curtain-walled tower portion.
Abundance of daylight: six mega-columns and a core steel structure on one side, creating a large column-free space to cater for exceptionally wide, light-filled, column-free open offices It helps reduce the demand for artificial lighting, contributing to energy savings and reduction of the operational carbon in the long run.
High-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) equipment and daylight sensors are installed in The Henderson leveraging smart central chiller plant optimisation by means of our intelligent infrastructural provision enabling adaptation over time.
Johnny: As a responsible and forward-thinking company, we endeavor to create long-term value beyond business and build for a better future. The sustainability journey only starts with property construction and development. It is virtually impossible to have a net zero building as we have scope 1, 2, 3 emissions (yes, you can have a carbon-neutral building through carbon offsets). Therefore, you need to bring the tenant into the sustainability journey.
2. How do you bring the tenant onto the sustainability journey and what is the role of data and (green) technology in onboarding?
Johnny: At The Henderson, we launched an industryfirst ESG tri-party partnership collaboration programme, where we work hand in hand with our tenants and their employees to achieve sustainability goals through the leveraging the power of smart technologies:
Big data analytics powered smart app that records and rewards ESG efforts in the four areas of carbon neutrality, health & well-being, partnership for good, and integrated culture. Redeemable tokens called HEND Coins are awarded.
Integrated Tenant Experience Analytic Platform - A dedicated tenant platform, Integrated Tenant Experience Analytic Platform (ITEAP), has been established to ensure tenant-centric smart building experiences, in which its defined data schema and optimised analysis models enable near real-time interaction between building operators, tenants and the assets. The insightful analytics on user behaviour provides a basis to deliver tailored services and adaptive customer experiences for tenants to enjoy This data will be visualised as a dashboard so that senior management can monitor The Henderson’s ESG performance and also respond in real-time to property operations.
Collection in real-time and analysis of ESG data and the creation of a smart virtual building twin of the physical building (using Digital Twin technology). Through integrated building information modelling (BIM) and our intelligent Facility Management System (FM Portal), data across 12 ESG aspects, including energy, carbon and waste management, is collected in real-time and shared with tenant to recommend short and medium-term ESG actions.
The Henderson has been designed and engineered to provide the best workplace experience for its tenants at the heart of Hong Kong’s vibrant central business district. The Henderson is among the first commercial projects in Hong Kong to have secured both WiredScore and SmartScore Platinum certification in recognition of its outstanding digital connectivity and advanced smart technology, which is a reflection of the Group’s unwavering dedication to providing firstclass digital connectivity and exceptional smart building standards.
Kevin: Post-COVID, many companies are motivating their employees to return back to the office with varying degrees of success The Henderson would like to bring about hotelization of office space, where we incorporate hotel-like comfort and convenience
Here are some of the patented / unique features.
Solar Responsive Ventilator
When the sun shines, a cushion of cool air envelops the window area, keeping the sensation temperature comfortable while letting in enjoyable ool, bright daylight, yet without lowering the door temperature generally to achieve user’s comfort and save energies.Liquid Desiccant Cooling System for Banquet Hall
The system automatically dehumidifies, disinfects and filters the air, while saving more than 20% in energy usage, by tactfully monitoring humidity rather than the conventional space cooling.Mini Weather Monitoring Devices
Weather-monitoring devices are installed on the rooftop and underground to provide real-time environmental data, such as temperature, humidity, suspended particulates and wind speed, or conscious decision-making by property management and tenants with given information n the real-time on-the-spot weather What we ant to achieve is to uphold the “User’s controllability of their own workplace environment” and foster a paradigm shift on energy / carbon reduction willingly by the building users.
3. How do you balance people, planet, profit in the triple bottom line? What is the additional cost of adopting sustainability in your buildings?
It’s our Group's vision to drive the development of innovative and smart properties Undoubtedly, the construction cost of adopting building more smart and sustainable buildings is higher than conventional buildings, but surely the additional cost is not overwhelming. Typically, we adopt a “picking the lowhanging fruit approach” to go for sustainability, with cost-effectiveness always in mind. Besides, we take a long-term lifecycle perspective into account By constructing a building with a longer lifespan and lower maintenance burden, it can effectively reduce carbon emissions in a fundamental way and save the recurrent operating costs in the long run This consideration aligns with our commitment to sustainable development and mitigating environmental impact.
4. Hong Kong’s smart city blueprint encompasses smart environment, smart living, smart transportation amongst others. What are the challenges and opportunities to build Hong Kong into a world-class smart city?
Johnny: Building Hong Kong into a world-class smart city presents both challenges and opportunities. For example, implementing the necessary infrastructure upgrades, such as connectivity and data networks etc, to support smart city initiatives can be a significant challenge. It requires substantial investment and coordination between various stakeholders.
On the other hand, developing a smart city ecosystem can foster economic growth and innovation. It provides opportunities for startups, technology companies, and entrepreneurs to develop and implement cutting-edge solutions, creating job opportunities, and attracting investment.
Besides, smart city technologies generate vast amounts of data that can be leveraged for evidence-based decision-making. Analysing data insights can help decision makers to address urban challenges and plan for future development.
Building a smart city requires collaboration among the government, private sector and citizens. This presents an opportunity to foster partnership, knowledge exchange, and co-creation, leveraging the collective expertise and resources for the city's benefit. By addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities, Hong Kong can make significant strides toward becoming a world-class smart city that enhances livability, sustainability, and economic prosperity.
Johnny, Kevin, it was my pleasure to exchange thoughts with you today and I look forward to seeing leading conglomerates like Henderson Land being pioneers and role models in the sustainability journey to help balance people, planet and profit.
