
Harmony Manor – Promoting Green Living to Social Service Users
"Do not fail to commit an act of kindness just because it is small in scale."
Apart from doing daily good, this Chinese proverb is also relevant to
environmental protection and energy saving.
In recent years, many social enterprises and non-profit organisations have
adopted and implemented the energy-saving measures suggested by the CLP
GREENPLUS programme. Other than reducing operating costs, these
organisations are keen to spread the idea to their fellow Hongkongers, whose
collective efforts will surely have a positive impact to the entire society.
Improvements in energy efficiency not only benefit the environment but also
financial budgets. Therefore, many social enterprises and non-profit
organisations have become more than eager to implement energy-saving measures.
While trying to set a good example to promote environmental awareness, they
would like to ensure that their resources are well-utilised so that their
service users, as well as the entire society, are benefited.

Exploring new ways to save energy, make good use of electricity for better
environment
To provide a comfortable and safe environment for their service users, the
Neighborhood Advice-Action Council Harmony Manor in Shatin has been switching to
energy-efficient electrical equipment gradually since 2009 according to CLP's
recommendations. Environmental awareness of their employees, service users and
family members has been lifted while resources are being put to good
use.
Harmony Manor currently provides one-stop integrated training and
accommodation services to 200 mentally-challenged persons. Other than T5
energy-efficient fluorescent tubes, the rehabilitation centre also adopted time
switches for outdoor lighting systems and electrical cooking equipment at their
restaurant for enhancing energy efficiency and safety. With CLP's technical
support and Wai Yin Association's sponsorship, Harmony Manor installed an
electricity-generating unit that consists of 2 solar panels and a set of 120
small windmills on the top storey. It supplies power for the lighting system
outside the family holiday apartment, which is located on the same floor.
In the opinion of Ms. Marian Ngai, Service Coordinator of the
Neighbour Advice-Action Council, energy saving and emission reduction would
doubtlessly bring cost efficiency. "However, our ultimate wish is to motivate
the stakeholders to put environmental protection into practice through relevant
measures and activities, so as to build an integrated community for both the
disabled and the non-disabled," she said. Ngai added that a step power generator
provided by CLP will be installed at Harmony Manor, so that members of the
rehabilitation centre can experience how to generate power with simple motor
actions. In September, Harmony Manor organised the Green Carnival and Initiation
Ceremony of Renewable Energy System to promote energy saving and emission
reduction within the community.