World Environment Day 2023:

5 June 2023, Hong Kong - Today is World Environment Day and Ronald Lu & Partners (RLP Asia), the award-winning Hong Kong-based pioneer of sustainable architecture, is delighted to announce outstanding carbon reduction progress. After a concerted three-year effort to decarbonise their operations and projects, RLP Asia has reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 2,601,186 tonnes in business operation and designed buildings between 2020-2022.

As a future-focused leader in green building, RLP Asia has been dedicated to developing sustainable, human-centric buildings for decades. In 2019, RLP Asia was the first architecture practice in China to commit to Science Based Targets institute (SBTi) targets measuring operational carbon emissions, and in 2022, RLP Asia became the first architecture practice in China to raise their SBTi commitment from well below 2°C to 1.5°C. To ensure this commitment is met, RLP Asia aims to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 38% by 2028 compared to a 2019 baseline year.

The firm is well on its way to this goal through a number of measures, including cutting electricity consumption and waste production, designing green buildings and extra-low and super-low energy projects, and incorporating carbon emission measurements into their projects.

RLP Asia will work towards this ambitious 38% target through science-based decarbonisation targets covering three areas: Scope 1, direct emissions; Scope 2, emissions from purchased electricity; and Scope 3, other indirect emissions. The firm has expanded their Scope 3 measurements beyond internal operations to reduce emissions further, adding the lifetime emissions of buildings designed by the firm.

As the first architecture practice in Asia to incorporate project designs into their SBTi measurements, several of the firm’s buildings completed between 2019 and 2022 have achieved emissions reductions of, on average, 21% for commercial buildings and 18% for residential buildings. Examples of these projects and their design features are listed below.

NEO

Using automatic artificial lighting control, solar panels and biophilic design, this office and retail development achieved a 37% emissions reduction. Key features include daylight and occupancy sensors, podium gardens and vertical greenery to reduce unwanted heat gain and electricity consumption.

Inland Revenue Centre

The project of Inland Revenue Centre achieved a 30% reduction in carbon emissions within the office area. The towers adopt many energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies, such as the adoption of District Cooling System to reduce electricity consumption; automatic demand control of chilled water circulation system to reduce the energy consumption on pumping power to conserve energy; demand control of fresh air supply with carbon dioxide sensors to minimise the amount of fresh air supply to save energy for heating up or cooling down the supplied air to maintain the desired temperature of the building; the deployment of occupancy / motion sensors to control the supply of air-conditioning and lighting by zones; lift power regeneration to save energy in lift ventilation; photovoltaic system to convert the solar radiation into usable electricity; a rainwater harvesting system for landscape irrigation to conserve water. The power generated by lift operation further decrease power consumption by off-setting part of the energy used by the lifts. ​

Residential developments

Two RLP Asia residential projects, Silversands and Marini, have achieved an average emissions reduction of 25% by using insulated glass, energy efficient lighting and passive and active design improvements that consider the impact of the developments on their environment.

About Ronald Lu & Partners

Ronald Lu & Partners (RLP) is an award-winning architecture practice focused on human-centric, future-ready design. Founded in 1976, RLP is known throughout Asia as being a trailblazer in sustainable architecture. For more than 47 years, its deep roots in China and its international perspective has allowed it to build a global portfolio spanning green architecture, master planning, transit-oriented development, and interior design. Working in partnership with many of the world’s leading developers, government bodies and institutions, RLP brings the values of its clients to life in high-density urban environments to “Design Better Life” for the people and communities that use these spaces.

www.RLP.asia | @RLP.asia | #RLPasia #DesignBetterLife