The Review 2006

The Review 2006 28 The Review 2006 29 E NDOWING the C OMMUNITY As Hong Kong’s oldest university, we have played a prominent and important role in the city’s development. Many of our graduates hold or have held positions of leadership in society. Our 10 faculties also provide cutting-edge research to address the challenges facing a wide range of sectors in the community. But apart from teaching and research, the University has other valuable contributions to make to the community. Our staff, students and alumni have undertaken an enormous range of voluntary activities, in the spirit of helping others. The cultivation of this spirit is an important part of the University’s success because it helps to contribute to the betterment of Hong Kong – our ultimate goal. In 2005-06 therewere numerous exampleswhere theUniversity, its faculties and individual members stepped beyond their prescribed responsibilities to carry out activities that helped to improve our community. The University, its Faculties and individual staff, students and alumni all make important contributions to Hong Kong society beyond research and learning. Through voluntary efforts they have sought to address an enormous breadth of concerns, such as dental care for the elderly, sustainable development, regional security and appreciation of the arts. University Initiatives The University recognises it has a social responsibility to contain its environmental impacts and set a positive example to others. We are the only tertiary institution in Hong Kong, and one of the few in the world, to publish an annual Sustainability Report , which describes our environmental, social and financial impacts andwhere we are implementing improvements. Sustainability has in fact become a guiding principle in our decision-making, as seen in the plans for our new Centennial Campus (details are in the Growing with the Times chapter). In 2005-06 we also took the initiative to ban shark’s fin soup at official functions to protect this species, and purchased a hybrid car for our vehicle fleet. Our efforts to incorporate more environmental features into our newer buildings were recognised at the 2006 Hong Kong Energy Efficiency Awards, where we won two awards.