Evaluation on the incentives for participating in green building assessment schemes for existing residential buildings in Hong Kong

Abstract

Buildings, using most of the electricity generated, are accountable for their negative impact on the environment. Green buildings are called for their benefit to the environment, economy and society. A variety of green building assessment schemes have evolved over the past 30 decades. These assessment schemes are, however, mostly used to guide the life cycle of new developments. In Hong Kong, only 4 out of 43,000 existing residential buildings are registered under the green building assessment scheme ‘BEAM Plus’. There exists a potential to improve the environmental performances of the vast number of existing buildings in Hong Kong. This study aims to identify effective incentives to encourage existing residential building owners to participate in these assessment tools. Online questionnaires and street interviews were conducted from 3 March 2017 to 21 May 2017. From the 195 responses, it was found that the majority of building owners or occupiers are positive to the green retrofit of conventional residential buildings. However, financial implications and the lack of education about green buildings pose a strong barrier to potential green retrofits. Environmental education background was identified as having significant impact on the willingness to pay (WTP) for green retrofits. A significantly large proportion of environmentally educated respondents are willing to pay over HKD 5,000 for the retrofit. Having known that financial implications and education are the two major barriers, it was suggested to the government that a three-stage approach should be adopted. The first stage should involve provision of education and positive financial. The second stage is the introduction of mandatory disclosure scheme. When society and policies are mature enough, the third stage of putting forward regulations can proceed to increase the proportion of green buildings in Hong Kong.