HKUST Received Two Green Building Awards for Sustainability Efforts

In the prestigious Green Building Award 2025, HKUST was recognized in two categories: Green Building Leadership (Government, Institutions & NGOs) – Finalist and New Buildings (Completed Projects – Residential) – Merit Award for its Jockey Club i-Village student halls. 

The biennial awards, co-organized by the Hong Kong Green Building Council (HKGBC) and the Professional Green Building Council (PGBC), received 122 nominations this year. The ceremony took place on 13 November 2025.

Leadership in Institutional Sustainability 

HKUST was honoured in the Green Building Leadership category for embedding sustainability into its corporate policy and goal, demonstrating industry leadership, communication and advocacy, as well as innovation and partnership. 

Key milestones include: 

• First university in Hong Kong to launch a comprehensive Net-Zero Action Plan 2045 

• Net-Zero Building Standards that surpasses highest BEAM Plus standards 

• The upcoming Martin Ka Shing Lee Innovation Building (opening 2025) will achieve <500 kg CO₂e/m² embodied carbon – 30% below HKGBC’s baseline. Felled trees have also been upcycled into campus timber resources adopted for souvenirs and interiors.  

• Hong Kong’s largest institutional solar farm (2.5 MW, generating >2.7 million kWh annually) 

• Largest EV charging network among local institutions (105 medium and six high-speed chargers) 

• Integrating building innovations like liquid immersion cooling, biodiesel generators, and blockchain-based carbon tracking for concrete at the upcoming High Performance Computing Facility 5 

Strategic Industry Partnerships  

Through research and undergraduate final-year projects and Memoranda of Understanding, HKUST has collaborated with industry in the following ways: 

• Swire Properties on embodied carbon assessment and Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, as well as decarbonization building pilots 

• Gammon Construction Limited on carbon reduction on construction sites and blockchain-based carbon information management systems 

• French building sector companies on low-carbon building retrofit pilot projects 

Jockey Club i-Village: A Model for Sustainable Student Living 

The Jockey Club i-Village, providing 1,551 bed spaces across four residence halls, was recognised for its outstanding environmental quality, resources, sustainability and contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

Standout green features: 

• 47% site coverage in greenery including jogging trails and outdoor seating 

• Traditional solar panels and hybrid solar panels are used to generate electricity and to pre-heating water 

• High-efficiency passive building designs such as shading fins and additional insulated furring wall were incorporated to reduce solar heat gain / CO₂ emissions 

• DfMA (Design for Manufacture and Assembly) and prefabricated elements (facades panels and staircases) were implemented to reduce material waste and construction carbon 

The Green Building Award celebrates projects and organizations that drive the transformation toward a low-carbon, resilient built environment. HKUST’s achievements set new benchmarks for institutions worldwide.