Newsletter
April 2013
A Visionary Chairman and a Passionate Family Man
:
The Inspiration Behind a
Greener Hong Kong
Ir Conrad Wong, JP, Chairman of the Hong Kong Green Building
Council, reveals how his family has been the greatest influence in his
life and continues to drive his passion for green building.
Duty Calls - My Little Girl Who Started It All
“Inspiration is everywhere,” explains Conrad. “The motivation to create green
buildings and enable a sustainable lifestyle first came from my eldest daughter,
Astor, who was about five at the time.”
As a father of three, Conrad has always loved to share stories from his work with
his children.
“My daughter came home crying one day after school and told me that the Earth was
dying because mankind is cutting down all the trees to build houses,” Conrad recalls. “She
was horrified because she already knew at that age I was a building contractor. To her,
daddy was murdering the rainforest! I was killing the Earth! I was amazed how it sometimes
takes our children to remind us of the damage that we are causing the environment every
day, and how it is our responsibility to do something about it. To stop my daughter’s tears,
I promised her that one day I will stop using timber to construct buildings. Even as I said the
words, I was aware of a key rule of parenting: keep your promises to your children. Since
that moment, my company has been investing heavily in precasting and system formwork
construction. Indeed, in some public housing projects, we have managed to eliminate
over 90% of the timber required. Not only that, my other daughter, Ariel, the vivacious one,
demanded that I give them regular reports on our progress! I sincerely believe I can get an
A* in my report card because my son, Alan, really sees me as a hero in the green building
field. It is always such a rewarding feeling when your child is looking up to you. All three
of my children were thrilled when they found out I had taken up the chairmanship of the
HKGBC. ‘Daddy is going to do something to save the environment!’”
The two-way communication between Conrad and his kids brought about new
perspectives for them all, both in terms of work and life. Among these is the idea that
striving for a greener future benefits everyone and, most importantly, helps ensure
a better world for generations to come.
Hong Kong Green Building Council
香港綠色建築議會
http
://
www.hkgbc.org.hk
Ir Conrad T C Wong, JP, Chairman of HKGBC
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