The measures and practices adopted by the District to improve the environment and minimise waste and pollution at the work place are so significant that it is the only Government organisation to be chosen and presented with a "Green Office" gold award by the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) this year.

What makes the WTS District a cut above the rest - in terms of initiatives, which are environmentally friendly - is the leadership, dedication and commitment shown by officers in recognition of the long-term benefits to the community as a whole.

For these reasons, the WTS District, which includes WTS, Tsz Wan Shan and Sai Kung Divisions, received a Gold Award in the Green Office Award category of the 2001 Hong Kong Eco-Business Awards presentation ceremony held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on January 21.

Providing the leadership in the green movement is WTS District Commander Ian Tyzzer who, together with Tsz Wan Shan Divisional Commander Yolanda Chan, put into practice a host of measures which, after detailed assessment by ECC, led to the award of this accolade.

In an interview with OffBeat, Mr Tyzzer, who is a volunteer member of the Force Steering Committee on Green Management, revealed that the District began putting into practice eco-friendly measures about two years ago by forming a Green Management Committee involving several officers from the three Divisions.

"Chaired by Ms Chan, the committee jump started the action plan by introducing a host of new initiatives to minimise waste and pollution, save energy both indoors and outdoors, and publicity to enhance awareness amongst ourselves and the general public," Mr Tyzzer recalled.

"We did get help from other Government departments such as the Environmental Protection Department and our own Planning and Development Branch to implement our measures, but in most instances we used our own resources through savings and cost cutting.

"This shows that cooperation and dedication amongst the staff is crucial in achieving our goal which sometimes may appear to be rather difficult.

"I would also like to add that JW Marriott Hotel has given us considerable assistance in our effort. The hotel, which received one of the top awards in an earlier presentation, invited us over to their place and walked us through their programme involving initiatives to improve the environment."

One of the more outstanding initiatives to drastically reduce the use of paper in the District is the introduction of "paperless morning report", whereby electronically recorded data would be projected onto a screen during morning briefing sessions attended by senior officers.

This system saves manpower as well as about 800 sheets of paper daily at the stations. As a result, the e-Police Unit of the Information Technology Branch has developed plans to extend the system to other Police Districts.

Other measures taken include the installation of timer switches, energy saving light bulbs, water flow restrictors and oil filters in canteens.

Ms Chan, who oversees the implementation of the measures adopted by her committee, explained that a major obstacle experienced by her group was convincing colleagues to actively participate in this worthy cause.

"Generally, officers accept that the eco-measures are to the benefit of all, but to get them to actually develop habits compatible with our aims will take a little longer to achieve," Ms Chan said.

Each of her committee members, four Chief Inspectors, one Senior Inspector and a civilian staff, is responsible for different tasks assigned to them. These include air quality, energy saving, education, publicity, housekeeping and waste management.

"Most of the above measures have already been introduced and are proving to be effective. This does not mean that we have completed our work, because there are quite a few schemes that we are working on," Ms Chan said.

In the longer-term, the District plans to establish a performance pledge to meet targets in energy and water savings, waste reduction/ recycling and monitoring of wastewater discharge from canteens.

"With this recognition of our achievement, I hope it will assist in encouraging other Police Districts and Formations to follow our lead. By building up in this way, the Force as a whole will make good environmental progress, save resources and be a leader within the Government and community." Mr Tyzzer said.

Paperless morning report session