It is with great honour that I witness the launch of the HKIS Awards 2024, a transformation from our  Best Development and Conservation Award introduced three years ago when I was the President of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors. Leveraging on the success of the former, the inaugural HKIS Awards now include the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) elements that are crucial to today’s world. As nature reveals to us the severity of climate change through global boiling and other phenomenon, it is imminent that we engage in sustainable development to ensure a better future for all.

With the theme ‘Surveying for a Sustainable Future’, the HKIS Awards recognise surveyors’ enduring efforts and significant roles in creating a sustainable future for the Earth we call home. Aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals 2015 set by the United Nations, as well as the HKSAR government’s aim to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050, the Awards celebrate outstanding achievements of surveyors in development projects that meet high standards of sustainability and that contribute to green and eco-friendly environment.

I hereby give a big thank you to our jurors, past presidents, and committee members for making the Awards a success. Our past presidents, comprising the First Screening Committee, will conduct first-stage screening to shortlist prospective entries. Our jurors in the Jury Panel will select winning entries from among the finalists.

We are thrilled to have respected, high-ranking leaders from the HKSAR government, the industry, the academia, and the technology professions in our midst to be our jurors. Convened by HKIS Past President Sr Lau Chun-kong, our prominent jurors are here to ensure superb level of professionalism and credibility of the Awards.

On top of having the best people, we also need a top-notch mechanism for the Awards to achieve success. The HKIS Awards 2024, with judging criteria formulated by the Organising Committee, have two newly added emphases to enhance sustainable development. The first one is Sustainability Values, Processes, and Impact, which encompasses innovative sustainable practices, energy-saving strategies, government policies and procedures, as well as their environmental, social and economic impact. The other focus is Innovation and Technology, which stresses feasibility, adoption of technologies, cost-effectiveness, comfort and well-being. These two new benchmarks are meant to encourage all companies, listed and non-listed, to make efforts and creatively dedicate resources to ESG reports and improve their Environmental, Social and Governance performance. 

As an institute with global relevance, the HKIS has further enriched the Awards to include projects across the globe. While we continue to award projects within HKSAR, this time we have a new award category for projects outside Hong Kong. It is evident that the HKIS Awards 2024 are truly for all members of the Institute, local and non-local.

Neither should it be overlooked that this is the first time in the Institute’s history when we have the Awards named after HKIS. As an institute and industry-wide recognition for surveyors, the HKIS Awards aim to recognise surveyors’ exceptional achievements to development projects, achievements that are equally important when compared with those of other building-related professionals.

In line with surveyors’ professional contributions to various phases within project development cycles, the Awards have categories that correspond with the phases. They are: Planning, Pre-construction, Construction, Sales and Leasing, and Post-occupation. Open to all development projects ranging from Residential, Commercial, Government, Institution or Community (GIC) to Industrial projects, the Awards welcome projects related to both new and existing buildings.

Last but not least, let me reiterate the irreplaceable roles of surveyors in sustainable building practices. With the inaugural HKIS Awards, we materialise our vision to provide solutions to the global issue. We encourage and appreciate professional surveyors’ participation in the Awards to raise public awareness of sustainability, promote the profession among members of the public and the younger generation. Together, we will bring the Awards, the surveying industry, and sustainability initiatives to new heights. For the sustainable future of Hong Kong and the world, let us contribute as one profession.