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Government to extend Green Manager Scheme
The Government is planning to extend the Green Manager Scheme to cover environmental audit and management systems.
This follows the conclusion of a pilot audit carried by a consultant in the Planning Department and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department which has proven to be very effective in improving departmental management and practice and raising the environmental awareness of staff.
A Government spokesman said the Green Manager Scheme had been working well since it was introduced in January this year to promote green house-keeping within the civil service, and the next step was to take the scheme forward to cover environmental audit and management system.
For this purpose, a consultation document highlighting the lessons learned and benefits gained from the pilot audits has been issued to Green Managers for comment and suggestion on how the process can be applied to their respective branches and departments.
To assist the Green Managers in considering the document, a briefing session was held recently to discuss the experiences and findings of the pilot audits.
At the briefing, the participants were told that better environmental audits and management would lead to better control of environmental issues, more cost-saving and higher efficiency and better public relations.
This could be achieved by identifying and prioritising key environment issues affecting the work place, and helping on-site staff to develop and implement measures to minimise pollution and to reduce and recycle waste and to conserve energy.
They were also told that many companies in the private sector are actively involved in introducing environmental management initiatives and the Government has to set a good green example to the community.
End/Monday, December 26, 1994