Worldwide Cruise Terminals (WCT), a consortium led by Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has been highly commended for its environmental performance at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in the annual Seatrade Cruise Awards 2017.WCT’s commitment was recognised in the Environmental Initiative Award category for the significant improvement made to its environmental footprint. This includes a substantial reduction in carbon intensity as well as projects to manage food waste and recycling, and to enhance air quality. Based on a calculation that included energy and water supplies as well as waste paper disposal, WCT reduced its CO2 emissions by 2.3% year-on-year to 4,015.7 tons in the 12 months to the end of July 2017. This achievement also came in a period when the Cruise Terminal’s annual passenger numbers increased by 102.2% to 534,446.
WCT was able to reduce its emissions level through a programme that included:
- Proactive re-zoning of lighting in the more than 100,000m2 building to enable controllers to switch off lights in areas with natural light
- Lifts were re-programmed from individual to group control mode• Redundant escalators were switched off outside of activity peaks
- Cooling, and the many layers of pumps and fans to drive it, was re-evaluated
- Chilled water intake was reduced and strictly employed only where and when necessary, without compromising comfort Aside from significant CO2 intensity reduction, WCT earned many local awards for its environmental performance during the evaluation period for encouraging food waste composting, recycling, improving air quality and other initiatives. The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal building has always been an advanced facility, with a provisional platinum rating under the BEAM (Building Environmental Assessment Method) system, use of an efficient district cooling system, and modern energy- saving appliances. However, active management on the part of Worldwide Cruise Terminals has allowed the terminal to achieve the greatest environmental efficiencies and perform to its full potential.
