The Quality Assurance & Safety department in Hactl is responsible for promoting sustainability and safety within the company. As the temporary assistant, my job duties included planning and organizing green campaigns and policies for Hactl. I was also responsible for work in the safety fields.
I am pleased to have joined Hactl during its implementation of “Green Terminal,” a project to reduce the terminal’s pollution by renewing water dispensers, giving out reusable cutlery and organizing green events for staff. During my working period, I participated in events like “Strawless Friday Talk,” “Strawless Cold Drinks,” “HACTL Green Terminal-Don’t Wait Act Now” and preparation work for “Green Week 2018.”
Strawless Friday Talk:
The talk was held on 6th July, 2018 by the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong. It aimed to raise staff’s awareness by sharing how plastics (straws) affect marine life (dolphins and whales) in Hong Kong. I was happy to be the emcee of the event and to share some of my views with the staff. Not only did I learn more about dolphins and whales in Hong Kong, I also learned skills to promote and share environmental-related issues. To interest the public in these environmental topics, I shared fun facts and stories during my presentation. This worked well in engaging my audience.
Strawless Cold Drinks:
After raising staff’s awareness on the impact of plastic straws, we encouraged staff to stop using straws by giving them real experiences of going strawless. On 20th July, 2018, we set up a booth at the company’s lift lobby to give out free cold drinks without straws to all terminal users. This event aimed at changing staff’s habit of using straws by giving them a taste of strawless drinking. This was an effective method for promoting long term behavioral change, because it nudged people to take their first step out of their comfort zone. I will apply this strategy on similar promotions in the future.
Hactl Green Terminal – Don’t Wait Act Now:
The “Don’t Wait Act Now” campaign on 3rd August, 2018 was designed to instill a sense of urgency over the need to reduce society’s collective environmental impact, and illustrate how every individual can make a worthwhile contribution. We were honored to have Mr. Donald Tong – Permanent Secretary for the Environment / Director of Environmental Protection as the guest of honor at the event. The event featured a fashion show of upcycled garments modelled by Hactl staff, as well as upcycling workshops. I was responsible for introducing the upcycling workshops (using waste fabrics and CD to make a clock) to guests and I noticed people were amazed and surprised by how ‘waste materials’ can be reused to make something else that is useful. I believe that upcycling will be a hot environmental topic among the public.
Green Week 2018:
Green Week is an annual event organized by Hactl to gather green organizations to promote different environmental issues. Green Week 2018 is scheduled to be held in November and I am delighted the team is going to use my idea as this year’s theme of the event: low carbon footprint and upcycling. I enjoyed planning and organizing this meaningful campaign, especially since we can support local green groups while introducing important environmental topics to the staff.