Recently, i2Cool was awarded the Platinum Level Certification for Green Products by the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council for its "electricity-free refrigeration coating", becoming the first building refrigerant coating product to receive such recognition since the council was established.

Under the impact of global warming, the Earth's ecosystem is under threat, and responding to climate change and reducing carbon emissions has become a top priority globally. In 2018, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report stating that the world needs to halve its carbon emissions from current levels by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and reverse human damage to the climate.

As one of the most densely populated cities globally, the construction industry occupies the largest share of energy consumption in Hong Kong, with electricity consumption for building-related activities accounting for 90% of the total electricity consumption in the city, equivalent to 60% of carbon emissions in Hong Kong. Therefore, promoting zero-carbon through green buildings is an urgent matter.

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) jointly launched the "CIC Green Product Certification Program," which evaluates sustainable building and construction materials or products in Hong Kong, the primary certification program for this purpose. The CIC Green Product Certification currently covers 28 product categories and comprehensively evaluates and certifies the environmental impacts of different building materials and products throughout their lifecycle. Certification grades products and materials based on their environmental impact into five levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Green.

Using certified environmentally friendly building materials can also earn additional points in the "Green Building Assessment," reducing environmental impacts, improving environmental quality, and being more cost-effective and sustainable. 

The following are existing incentive measures to encourage the industry to introduce, manufacture, and adopt more environmentally friendly building materials/products.

● BEAM Plus New Buildings V2.0 – Materials and Waste MW9 – Use of Certified Green Products

Obtaining 1 point requires at least 5% of certified green products from one of the listed categories (external works, building facades and structures, internal non-structural components, and building equipment components).

Obtaining 2 points requires at least 5% of certified green products from two of the listed categories.

Having at least 5% of the certified green products from the Building Council Green Product Certification earns an additional 1 point.

Having at least 25% of the certified green products from the Building Council Green Product Certification earns an additional 2 points.

● BEAM Plus Existing Buildings V2.0 Comprehensive Assessment Plan – Materials and Waste Management (MWA) 2 – Use of Certified Green Products

Obtaining 1 extra point requires at least 5% of sustainable products from any one of the product categories designated in the Building Council Green Product Certification.

Obtaining 2 extra points requires at least 5% of sustainable products from any three of the product categories designated in the Building Council Green Product Certification, each with a minimum of 5%.

(*The percentage calculation can be based on quality, volume, quantity, area, or cash value. All existing or newly purchased projects should be included in the calculation.)

● BEAM Plus Existing Buildings V2.0 Self-Assessment Plan – Materials and Waste Management (MWA) 2 – Procurement Practice

Up to 5 points can be obtained by purchasing environmentally friendly products (including those certified by the Building Council Green Product Certification) during the renovation period.

● Grant for Environmental Protection Projects (GIS) from the Urban Renewal Authority

The Urban Renewal Authority has accepted the Building Council Green Product Certification for the Grant for Environmental Protection Projects (GIS) in the maintenance subsidy for common areas covered by the Building Rehabilitation Comprehensive Assistance Scheme. The maximum amount of the grant is HK$1,500 per property unit, and the maximum limit for each registered owners' corporation is HK$600,000.

BEAM Plus is an authoritative tool designed specifically for Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Green Building Council to provide a neutral assessment of the sustainable development performance of buildings and to evaluate the sustainable performance of buildings. Its main goal is to improve the health and well-being of users, reduce the impact of buildings on the environment (and make a positive contribution to the environment where feasible), and improve the efficiency of buildings and reduce carbon emissions towards low-carbon and net-zero.

A non-electric cooling coating has obtained the Platinum Certification from the Construction Industry Council (CIC).

In this green product certification, the non-electric cooling coating stood out for its excellent performance in super insulation, metal-free environmental protection, and other strict evaluation criteria for energy efficiency, carbon emissions tracking, and hazardous substance testing. It became the first building refrigerant coating product to be rated as a Platinum level since the establishment of the council. This certification fully demonstrates the outstanding performance of the non-electric cooling coating in the field of energy conservation.

 As a technology leader in the field of low-carbon energy conservation, i2Cool has always advocated the direction of green, low-carbon, and harmless. With independently developed new products, new materials, and new technologies, it focuses on providing high-standard environmentally friendly products for the building industry. The non-electric cooling coating not only...