Sustainability Assessment

We promulgated a new sustainability assessment (SA) system within the Government in December 2001. Under the system, all Bureaux and Departments are required to : -

carry out sustainability assessments of new strategic initiatives or major programmes which may bring about noticeable or persistent implications on the economic, environmental and social conditions of Hong Kong; and
with effect from April 2002, include in their submissions to the Executive Council (ExCo) and/or the Chief Secretary's Committee (now the Policy Committee) the sustainability assessment findings or results of their proposals.

The SDD provides technical assistance and support to Bureaux and Departments to facilitate their proper application of the sustainability assessment system. It also helps the ExCo and the Policy Committee to interpret the assessment findings as set out in Bureaux' and Departments' submissions.

The sustainability assessment should be conducted at the early planning stage of a proposal. It should help scope out cross-sectoral issues and sensitive areas that require special attention or joint departmental examination at an early stage. It should also facilitate the relevant Bureaux or Departments to resolve the issues through a concerted effort.

The SDD has arranged special briefings and, with the assistance of the Civil Service Training and Development Institute (CSTDI), organized a series of training courses to equip Bureaux and Departments with the knowledge and skills to conduct the required sustainability assessments.

We have also provided a computer tool, namely the Computer-Aided Sustainability Evaluation Tool (CASET), developed by Planning Department's Consultants, to Bureaux and Departments to help them conduct sustainability assessments of their proposals in a structured manner. The guiding principles, indicators and a social checklist used for the sustainability assessments can be downloaded here:

With effect from December 2003, the responsible bureaux and departments are advised to set out the main sustainability assessment findings of their major proposals in the relevant public consultation documents to help facilitate better informed public discussion and building of community consensus. They may also incorporate the requirement for sustainability assessment into their planning or feasibility studies of major proposals, as appropriate, to ensure sustainability assessment findings are taken into account during the planning or formulation process.

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