Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Citizenship
The Land Registry attaches great importance to social responsibility and strives to uphold a high standard of corporate citizenship. Our commitment is demonstrated through our activities in six main areas:
Supporting Social Services
The Land Registry Volunteer Team has been joining hands with some ten other Government departments to run a “Crossover Volunteer Project” programme since 2005. In 2011/12, the Volunteer Team organised 25 volunteer activities for the elderly and youngsters. We also encouraged our staff to contribute their own time to organise and participate in volunteer activities and community programmes.
In recognition of our continuing efforts in serving the community, the Hong Kong Council of Social Service awarded the “Five Years Plus Caring Organisation” logo to the Land Registry in February 2012.
Encouraging Donations
We support donation drives of charities by encouraging staff to donate or participate in their events. In 2011/12, we continued to encourage staff to participate and make contributions in a variety of activities organised by the Community Chest, including Dress Casual Day, Love Teeth Day and Skip Lunch Day. We also participated in other fund-raising activities, including raising funds for building bridges in remote areas in Mainland China through participating in the Wu Zhi Xing Charity Walk, supporting the community's conservation drive through taking part in the Ngong Ping Charity Walk and raising funds for the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee and Sports Association for the Physically Disabled through participating in the Standard Chartered Marathon since 2002.Promoting Equal Opportunities
The Land Registry is committed to eliminating discrimination (including sex, disability, family status and race) in employment and promoting equal opportunities for all staff.
In 2011/12, we continued to provide placement opportunities for people in need through participating in the Social Welfare Department's Sunnyway Programme and the Labour Department's Youth Pre-employment Training — Workplace Attachment Programme. We also provided job opportunities for the socially disadvantaged groups through hiring of social enterprises in providing cleaning service for our offices and catering service for our departmental function during Christmas. In addition, we continued to organise a Job Shadow Day for secondary school students in collaboration with the Junior Achievement Hong Kong.
Caring for Employees
As a caring employer, the Land Registry attaches great importance to maintaining a healthy workforce. In 2011/12, we organised a total of 23 seminars for staff on relevant subjects, including first aid, prevention of upper and lower limbs disorder, health tips on the use of computer monitors, stress management, handling of workplace violence and prevention of back injuries. We also provided counseling services through external specialists to assist staff confronting work-related or personal issues. Besides, we continued to enhance awareness among staff of the importance in maintaining work-life balance and a healthy life style through the department's publications, seminars and outings organised by the Staff Recreation Club for staff and their families.Given the benefits of breastfeeding for infants, we support female staff to continue breastfeeding after returning to work from maternity leave by allowing them to take lactation breaks for expression of breast milk during working hours and providing facilitation arrangements in the offices.
Being Green and Environmentally Friendly
The Land Registry is committed to ensuring that its business and daily operations are conducted in an environmentally responsible manner. To fulfil this commitment, we have taken the following actions:- formulated an environmental policy and set out key areas for actions;
- promulgated green housekeeping guidelines for observance by staff;
- conducted regular environmental audit and surprise checks to various offices to keep up the momentum in environmental protection;
- continued our drive in 4-Rs (i.e. reduce, reuse, recycle and replace) and efficient use of energy and resources;
- explored the scope of green procurement through increasing the number of purchase items that should contain environmental friendly features and requiring office cleaning contractor to adopt a number of green practices, including reduction of water and energy consumption in their operation as far as practicable; and
- promoted green awareness among staff by putting across messages on waste reduction and recycling, energy conservation and anti-pollution through department's staff magazine.
The Controlling Officer's Environmental Report 2011 with detailed environmental performance is available on the Land Registry's website.
Providing a Safe Workplace
The Land Registry continues to make every endeavour to provide a safe and comfortable work environment for staff.A departmental Safety Management Committee has been in place since 1997 to formulate and implement policy on occupational safety and health. We have promulgated comprehensive guidelines and procedures for ensuring occupational safety and provided our staff with ergonomic office furniture and equipment to ensure occupational health. We have also participated in the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Certification Scheme organised by the Environmental Protection Department since 2003. Regular inspections are conducted to ensure the workplace is free from safety hazards.