Green Policy

Vision

To develop in our students good habits for environmental protection and the recognition of the sustainable development of our society and mankind and to work with our students for a clean, affluent and just society. By sustainable development, we mean a development that will not sacrifice our own future and our future generations' welfare at the expense of the environment. It does not mean protecting the environment for its own sake, to the extent of stopping all development.

Objectives

The objectives of our environmental education is to

  • help our students to attain the basic values for the sustainable development of the world
  • provide opportunities for students to acquire the knowledge and skills for sustainable development
  • provide opportunities for students to practice environmental protection
  • provide opportunities for teachers and students to promote environmental protection among themselves and the general public.

Policy

Sing Yin adopts a whole school, interdisciplinary approach to realize its aim for environmental education.

Implementation Plan

To coordinate our efforts, the Environmental Education Committee whose members are teachers, is responsible to plan, coordinate, organize and evaluate our efforts in environmental education.

All subject departments are eager to help. The Geography, Biology, Economic and EPA, Chemistry and Moral Education Departments teach topics relevant to environmental education. Other departments could help when they have the chance to cover environmental education. For example, language departments could set essay topics on pollution problems, accounting teachers could teach about working out the cost of protection measures, PE teachers could ask students to clean up football pitches after matches, etc.

Similarly, all ECA clubs could help. The environmental prefects and monitors, the environmental club and the gardening club regularly organise activities to promote environmental education.

Environmental Protection Measures

Sing Yin also adopts many measures to practice environmental protection. They are listed below. Staff and students are encouraged to suggest more measures.

  1. Restricted Use / Reuse
    • We have guidelines for the use of air conditioning in classrooms and hall to save energy.
    • We restrict the use of heaters in classrooms.
    • Our environmental monitors enforce the switching off of lights, fans, LCD monitors when they are not in use.
    • We use double side printing.
    • We restrict the sending out of large amount of printed materials to other schools and organisations.
    • We have measures to reuse used paper for drafts and rough work.
    • We encourage using less paper towels to dry hands.
    • We limit the use of photocopying as far as practicable.
    • We have an intranet for internal communication to reduce the use of paper.
  2. Recycle
    • We help recycle toners.
    • We have recycle waste bins for paper, alumninium cans and plastic bottles.
    • We sell broken or out-dated equipment.
    • We donate out-dated information technology equipment such as computers.
    • We help students to donate used clothes.
    • We recycle used barbecue forks.
  3. Using Environmental Friendly Products and Practices
    • We install LED lights, T5 lamps, solar light poles, solar and wind dual light poles and solar-powered floor lamp.
    • We use electronic ballasts in T5 lamps.
    • We use faucets that automatically shut off after use.
    • We use water-chilling plants for air conditioning.
    • We buy electrical appliances with energy star ratings as far as possible.
    • We clean the air conditioners regularly to save energy and to provide cleaner air.
    • We use rechargeable batteries.
    • We use air conditioning only when the heat index is higher than 25.5 degree Celsius or when the humidity is above 95%.
    • We do not offer shark fins soup in our banquets.
    • Our oversea study tours are carbon negative ones.
    • We use automatic drip irrigation to water some plants.
    • We use certified recycled wood.
    • We use faucets that automatically shut off after use.
    • We clean the air conditioners regularly to save energy and to provide cleaner air.
    • No plastic straws are provided.
    • We do not provide disposable cutlery.
  4. Educate
    • We have an environmental corner to delive environmental information to our students.
    • We have built a coral aquarium to raise the awareness on ecosystem, to beautify the campus and to improve mental health.
    • We have a lot of pants to help clean the air and beautify the campus.
    • Students of the gardening club have a chance to practice organic planting.
    • Students of the Community Service Club clean beaches and plant tress regularly.
    • The environmental prefects, monitors and environmental club help implement our environmental policy, keep the campus clean and educate fellow students.

Performance Indicators

We will take part in the "Green School Award" and other similar competitions from time to time to see how well we are doing. We won the "Green School Award" twice and many other awards including the Greenest School On Earth Award, revealing that we have done quite well in environmental education.

The low expenditure in electricity water consumption are also good indicators of our effort.

Environmental Prefect and Monitor

Since 2007, we have an Environmental Prefect Team and Environmental Monitors. For each junior class, there is one appointed Environmental Monitor. For senior classes, there is a team of about 60 students who volunteer to serve as Environmental Prefects. There may be one or more such prefects in each senior class.

The duties of the environmental prefects and monitors are to ensure the implementation of our environmental policies related to students, and to help keep the campus clean.