This Environmental Report presents the environmental policy and performance of the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) Secretariat in 2006.

The IPCC is an independent body whose Members are appointed by the Chief Executive. Its main function is to monitor and review the investigations of public complaints against the Police conducted by the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) of the Hong Kong Police Force.

The IPCC is supported by a full-time Secretariat, headed by the Secretary, IPCC with 21 general grades staff and a Senior Government Counsel serving as legal adviser to the IPCC. The major function of the Secretariat is to examine all the complaint investigation reports submitted by CAPO in detail to ensure that each and every case is investigated in a thorough and impartial manner before passing them on to IPCC Members for endorsement.

Under the supervision of the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary, three teams, each comprising one Senior Assistant Secretary and one Assistant Secretary, are responsible exclusively for vetting complaint investigations. The fourth team, Planning and Support, comprising one Senior Assistant Secretary and 13 executive, clerical and secretarial staff, is responsible for general administration, research, and other support services. A number of non-civil service contract staff, including a Senior Public Relations Officer, an Assistant Information Technology Officer, and a Special Duty Team have been employed to deal with publicity and information technology matters and matters arising from the Personal Data Leakage Incident.

The IPCC Secretariat supports the Government's efforts to improve the environment and is committed to promoting environmental protection by:

• complying with the relevant environmental protection ordinances;
• promoting the efficient use of resources;
• minimizing the production of waste and environmental pollutants;
• improving the environmental conditions of the Secretariat of the IPCC; and
• reviewing regularly the environmental protection measures so that continued improvements can be made.

The activities of the IPCC Secretariat are mainly office-based. In discharging its functions, the Secretariat has adopted the following environmental protection measures:

	(a) Economy in the Use of Paper use photocopiers that support double-sided printing; use plain paper fax machines; use the blank side of used paper for drafting, printing and photocopying; print on both sides of paper; use electronic mails instead of paper memos and faxes for dissemination of information as far as practicable and taking into account security considerations; avoid printing of electronic mails unless a paper record on file is absolutely necessary; adopt electronic templates of memo to avoid pre-printed copies; minimize copies of flimsies and reference copies for meetings; avoid using fax leader pages; avoid sending the original copy of documents that have been sent by fax; despatch unclassified documents to bureaux/departments without using envelopes; send electronic seasonal greeting cards; minimize photocopies by circulating circulars and other documents to officers instead of providing them with personal copies; produce CD-ROM annual reports to replace paper copies; and upload reports and papers onto the IPCC's Homepage for public access through the Internet to reduce printed copies.
	(b) Energy Conservation switch off lights and equipment when the office is not in use; conduct routine checks during lunch hour and after office hours to ensure that any unnecessary lights and equipment are switched off; switch off unnecessary lighting in perimeter area lit by sufficient daylight; affix ‘Save Energy' stickers to lighting switches to remind staff to switch lights off when not in use; use energy-saving light bulbs; procure LCD monitors instead of CRT monitors when replacement of monitors is required; and economize on the use of air-conditioning and adjust the room temperature of the office to 25.5°C as far as practicable.
	(c) Waste Minimization re-use envelopes and loose-minute jackets; collect used papers for drafting and printing purposes; and use refillable ball pens.
	(d) Green Procurement procure environmentally friendly products such as recycled paper, refillable ball pens, non-chlorinated correction fluid and environmental thinner; procure energy-saving photocopiers and plain paper fax machines; and include clauses in service contracts that require contractors to use environmentally-friendly or recycled products.
	(e) Healthy Workplace enforce no-smoking in the office; display potted plants in offices; arrange regular cleaning of carpets; clean air ducts regularly with a view to maintaining good air ventilation; install tap water filter in pantry; and keep the office clean and tidy.
	(f) Other Measures re-circulate at regular intervals environmental protection guidelines to the staff of the Secretariat; provide green boxes for collection of waste paper and arrange with recyclers to collect waste paper periodically for recycling; and collect used printer toner cartridges for recycling.

The performance of the IPCC Secretariat in implementing the above green measures has been satisfactory. The paper consumption of the Secretariat since 2002 is indicated in Figure 1 below. A total of 1,000 reams of paper were consumed in 2006-07, a reduction of 28% in paper consumption against the base year 2002-03. The electricity consumption of the Secretariat is indicated in Figure 2 below. Wider use of information technology facilities accounts for the increase in electricity consumption since 2002. Higher staff count, as a result of additional staff deployed to the Secretariat/employed to deal with publicity and information technology matters and matters arising from the Personal Data Leakage Incident in 2006, and higher average working hours per week also contributed to the higher electricity consumption in 2006-07.

The IPCC Secretariat will continue to implement the environmental protection measures listed above. Our objectives for 2007 are:

• to implement measures and look for means that will help in saving energy, such as installing energy saving timer switches at “shared” information technology/office equipment;
• to promote indoor air quality of the Secretariat by joining the Indoor Air Quality Certification Scheme for Offices and Public Places;
• to encourage wider use of recycled paper with a view to switching totally to recycled paper; and
• to continue to promote staff awareness and educate them on the importance of environmental protection, particularly to adhere strictly to our housekeeping rules and practices in energy conservation.

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