A group of CityU faculty and students have conducted a study that assesses the carbon footprint of Shek Kip Mei residents, seeking to raise residents’ awareness about what they can do to lead a low-carbon life.

The study strongly supports CityU’s Discovery-enriched Curriculum, encouraging every student to learn and share new knowledge for the benefit of society.

The CityU team presented their findings and data at a workshop on 17 April. The data had been collected through visits to and questionnaires with people in 24 households and 10 shops on the Shek Kip Mei Estate. The findings reveal information about the residents’ practices in the areas of energy consumption, water usage, air quality and waste recycling.

Most Shek Kip Mei Estate residents had already adopted certain low-carbon practices in their daily lives, but they could do more to enhance energy efficiency and minimise expenditure, said Janet Cheung Lai-kwan, a Year 2 student from the Department of Public and Social Administration who had participated in the project.

Some of these practices include turning off electrical appliances rather than leaving them in standby mode and recycling paper regularly. “However, many residents and shop owners seldom recycle plastic or aluminium cans. Education programmes are needed to promote this practice. We also suggest that residents consider using electrical appliances with an energy efficiency label,” Janet said.

The workshop was attended by members of the Shek Kip Mei community and representatives from green groups and the government.

The study was conducted by an interdisciplinary team comprising faculty and students from the Department of Public and Social Administration and the School of Energy and Environment. “We launched this project to show our commitment to ‘walk the sustainability talk’,” said Dr Maria Francesch-Huidobro, Assistant Professor in the Department of Public and Social Administration and the project leader.

The study is part of CityU’s Idea Incubator Scheme, a new initiative that supports the Discovery-enriched Curriculum and encourages students and staff to identify problems in society and solve them by working with the government, business sector or community.