Over the past week, livelihood issues have become an especially hot topic of discussion, sparked by the announcement that both the city's power companies plan to increase their electricity tariffs next year. While periodic increases are inevitable, the sharp proposed hikes of as much as 6-9 per cent this time have aroused much concern from legislators and members of the public.
No matter whether you are rich or poor, employed or retired, living in a private residence or a public housing estate, almost everyone relies on electricity to some extent. Even if your own domestic bills go up by only a few dollars a month, the increases will also affect many retail and service businesses, so they in turn will want to pass their higher costs on to customers. Coming at a time of many uncertainties about what will happen to the economy in 2012, it's understandable that people feel very worried about these increases and have been campaigning for the planned increases to be lowered. CLP Power made its response this morning by proposing to lower the rate of increase to 7.4 per cent. Legislators will discuss this issue in the Legislative Council meeting today and it will be interesting to see how situation develops in the near future.
Ultimately, though, for the sake of not only our wallets but also the long-term sustainability interests of our planet, I think we all have to look at ways of reducing energy usage and in particular, our dependence on fossil fuels. In line with our long-standing values and commitment to being a good corporate citizen, we at the Club try to lead by example.
As part of a comprehensive environmental policy that we introduced in 2009, we have implemented a wide range of energy saving, recycling, green procurement and green cleaning measures. These range from the use of more efficient air-con systems in our buildings to the removal of shark's fin from our banquet menus and the conversion of our water trucks, tractors, machinery and standby generators at the racecourses to run on biodiesel. Our aim is to embed the concept of sustainability into our corporate culture and all the Club's major processes.
One initiative that especially stands out in my mind is a recycling project for waste glass. As you can imagine, our racecourses and clubhouses get through quite a lot of glass bottles and containers every week. Last year we collected some 50 tonnes of them, and sent them to a charity organisation for processing into eco-bricks that can be used for decorative walls and pavements. So this is a solution that benefits everyone - it saves space in landfills, it converts the waste glass into another useful product, and it provides jobs and training opportunities in the recycling industry for the underprivileged.
We also endeavour to promote awareness of green living to our customers and the general public. I'm sure many of you will have noticed that we've introduced 100% recyclable betting slips in all our betting outlets, and switched to biodegradable food containers and environment-friendly food packaging in our dining outlets. All these concerted efforts resulted in a 5.2% reduction in the Club's carbon emissions in 2010/11.
We have also extended our green projects to the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course, as we introduced the entire fleet of 200 solar power-run golf carts, as well as four solar-hybrid catamarans for ferry services between the golf course and Sai Kung. The solar power-run golf carts has significantly reduced electricity consumption and doubled the life of batteries of all golf carts, while the solar-hybrid catamarans helped to save up to 50 per cent of fuel consumption, as well as reducing carbon emission and marine pollution.
More than anything, however, the key to sustainability is making behavio
ural changes in our everyday lives. So as one of the city's major employers, we've also put a lot of efforts into mobilising our 27,000-strong workforce to think and act "green". We've just completed the second year of a Green Action programme comprising a variety of activities to get staff and their families personally involved in green projects, a highlight of which week was a Green Carnival we held at Happy Valley Racecourse last Thursday. We also designated that day as a “car-less day” on which Club staff were encouraged to adopt more environment-friendly modes of transport.
Although we cannot enjoy the traditional White Christmas in sub-tropical Hong Kong, I hope you will all try to have a Green Christmas. In both of our racecourses, we have the greenery in the vicinity – including both Penfold Park at Sha Tin and Happy Valley Recreation Ground inside Happy Valley Racecourse, which are the lungs of our city. They offer some pleasant environment for our citizens to use, visit or even doing exercises.
Tonight at Happy Valley Racecourse we will bring horse racing and the festive season together with a special themed X’mas Comes to the Valley night meeting. We have arranged live music performances in the Beer Garden area, and you can pose for Polaroid snaps with our Santa Claus and Santa Girls. So please come along with your friends to enjoy the special Christmas atmosphere at Happy Valley Racecourse tonight.
For the eight races on the card, the Happy Valley Trophy - a Class 1 race over 1200m - has attracted a very strong field. What make it even more challenging is that some of the good horses in the race have never raced or even trialled in Happy Valley. The pace should be good to fast which should give some of the horses coming from the back of the field a better chance on the C Course, which tend to favour horses on the pace. There are at least five horses who will usually take the lead or sit just off the pace, with Horse Galore, Blaze King and At Moment In Time leading.
Both Blaze King and At Moment In Time has issues seeing out the 1200m distance, but Horse Galore with his determination is a place chance for me. Let Me Fight should be well positioned on the rail and in the front of the field and is on turf form the best horses in the race. He has not run in Happy Valley before and therefore he is a win and place chance with a question mark. My favourite is Tai Sing Yeh who has shown to come back to form in his last two runs in Sha Tin. Being now in Richard Gibson’s stable, and a course and distance specialist with 6 wins, he is at risk of being forced wide from Gate 9, but Gerald Mosse should find a position for him in midfield to come home with a strong run. Final Answer will be coming from the back of the field and is working well. He and Amigo, who will has his debut in the Valley but will enjoy the fast pace, are the runners with outside chance in this race.
In the Sing Woo Handicap, it’s a very competitive Class 3 event with an extended rating band from 85 to 60, which allows some Class 2 horses to run in this race. The distance of 1650m makes it a very open race, with quite a number of race runners having chances to win. The expected pace is slow which, especially on the C Course, should help horses in the front of the field, including Arion Of Chiu Ton who can set a slow pace in the front. This Richard Gibson-trained runner has a nice chance to win or be placed in this race. Lunar Reflections should be able to take the box seat and has a good chance to make a run in the top three.
The light-weighted Very Well is working well and is an improving horse with nice winning or place chance in this race. So does Mr Bond as both of them will have to make a chase from the midfield or at the back, which make their tasks being a little more difficult. My Home Town is drawn perfectly in Gate 1 and expected to be positioned on the pace. This will favour his chance to get into top three or even get a back-to-back victory in this distance.
I hope you enjoy all our exciting races tonight and wish you all a great time with your families and friends over the holiday. Merry Christmas!
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