Atlas and Polar Hong Kong Go Green, Bring Home Silver

Atlas and Polar placed second for waste reduction and low waste contamination in a six-month “Smart Waste Reduction Challenge” conducted by Swire Properties to encourage tenants at its office portfolios in Hong Kong including Citygate, to make strides towards environmental conservation.

“Environmental stewardship is a priority at Atlas Air and Polar,” said Jennifer Veilleux, Director, ESG, Atlas Air. “From the conversion of service vehicles to hybrid models and volunteer projects in our local communities, to engaging with customers on their environmental goals, we are proud of the steps we are taking as a Company to create a more sustainable world. Our award-winning performance in the Smart Waste Reduction Challenge underscores our global commitment to sustainability.”

The six-month challenge aimed to reduce waste and enhance resource recycling among businesses across Swire Properties’ seven office towers in Hong Kong, with the long-term goal of altering behaviors and practices to support a transition to a “circular economy,” where resources are consumed wisely, and products are reused more frequently.

Participating companies were measured in six categories, weighted by the number of employees:

  • Lowest waste
  • Diversion
  • Waste Reduction
  • Waste Contamination
  • Engagement
  • Food waste

Through the collective effort of Atlas Air and Polar colleagues in our Hong Kong office, the Company reduced waste per employee by nearly 13% over the six-month challenge, and had low-to-no waste contamination (meaning inaccurately sorted waste and recyclables) during the same period, placing second in both categories.

Gladys Li, Polar’s Senior Sustainability Specialist, led the initiative. She said, “We took this challenge seriously and launched an employee education campaign to help ensure our success. Our communications highlighted the importance of recycling and reusing products and kept our colleagues up-to-date on the progress our office was making towards our conservation goals. Because the challenge was in line with practices and initiatives already in place in our office as part of Polar’s ‘Less Waste, Better Future” program, adoption of measures to meet the Smart Waste Reduction Challenge goals was second-nature for our colleagues.”

Certificate of Achievement