Landscaped CityUHK campus garden with a pavilion and pond
Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production

UN Sustainable Development Goal 12

Responsible consumption and production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

How campus waste is handled

The 5R approach to waste management, 2024/25

In order of preference — Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Restore, Recycle. The order is the point: waste dealt with higher up the list never has to be handled further down. Recycling matters, but it is the last resort rather than the aim.

The 5Rs

  1. 1 Rethink Prevents waste up frontSingle-use plastics cut
  2. 2 Reduce Prevents waste up frontConstruction waste · MiC
  3. 3 Reuse Recovers what is generatedDonation
  4. 4 Restore Food waste to fish feedYard waste to mulch
  5. 5 Recycle The rest to recyclersRecyclables

What’s in the recyclables

Campus recyclables by stream, 2024–25.

149t total
  • Waste paper 63.3 t
  • Food waste 49.6 t
  • Fluorescent tubes & lamps 10.8 t
  • Glass bottles 10.5 t
  • Others 14.8 t
Total recyclables
149 t
Recovery rate
11%

Research2021–2025

  • 799

    Publications

  • 2.55

    Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI)

  • 638

    Publications with International Collaborations

Teaching & Learning

CityUHK researchers at work Research portfolio Explore CityUHK’s SDG Research Portfolio Discover individual researcher profiles, specific publications and citation data mapped directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Explore the portfolio

Ongoing Initiatives

  • The Smart Recycling Promotion Vehicle on campus

    Smart Recycling

    Among the first UGC-funded universities to work with the Environmental Protection Department on Smart Recycling Systems, with smart recycling bins on campus and at the Student Residence; staff and students earn points via the GREEN$ app.

    Related goals
    • SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
    • SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
  • Purple food-waste bins beside general-waste bins at the Student Residence

    Zero Food Waste campaign

    The first of its kind among local tertiary institutions. Other activities include Food Waste Recycling Trolleys, a "Less Rice, One Dollar Less" campaign, Food Waste Ring Toss and Food Waste Bracelet Upcycling.

    Related goals
    • SDG 2: Zero hunger
    • SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

Community Engagement

  • Reusable lunchboxes in a campus lending locker

    Lunchbox Lending Programme

    A key initiative of the Jockey Club Sustainable Campus Consumer Programme — eight UGC-funded universities collaborating to promote SDG 12 — driving reusable-tableware adoption across campus communities.

    Related goals
    • SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
    • SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals
  • Students at a Green Living @ CityUHK workshop

    Green Living @ CityUHK

    A year of "Heading to a Carbon Neutral Campus" with diverse activities: Recycle Day, Organic Farming & Food Tasting, Old Clothing Upcycling, Herbal Food Soak Bags, DIY workshops and Educational Game Booth.

    Related goals
    • SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
    • SDG 13: Climate action
  • A campus smart recycling station

    Expert talk: Sustainability Thinking on Waste Management

    An SEE Expert Talk for secondary schools in which Prof. Liang Dong uses Hong Kong’s recyclable-collecting elderly as a case study to explore the economic, social and environmental trade-offs of the circular economy.

    Related goals
    • SDG 4: Quality education
    • SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities
    • SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
  • Food waste being processed in a campus food-waste recycler

    Expert talk: Turning Food Waste to Energy

    An SEE Expert Talk for secondary schools in which Prof. Patrick K. H. Lee explains how Hong Kong’s ~3,500 tonnes of daily food waste can be converted into energy through biological processes.

    Related goals
    • SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy
    • SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production
    • SDG 13: Climate action

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