Eco Building Fund

The Fund aims to subsidise residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings and composite buildings and their nearby ancillary facilities by carrying out retrofitting projects for improving energy efficiency in communal areas.

The energy efficiency improvement retrofitting projects may include any of the following building services installations designated for communal use in the building:

lighting
air-conditioning
lift and escalator
electrical (e.g. water pump and etc)

In addition to the above retrofitting projects, the following projects will also be supported by the Fund:

Retro-commissioning
Implementation of smart / IT technologies

“Retro-commissioning” is a cost-effective systematic process to periodically check an existing performance of building services installations. The process identifies operational improvements that can effectively save energy, for instance adjustment to the setting or control of the air-conditioning system.

One of the examples is installing a system to monitor and control the operation of building services installations.

Residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial buildings, or composite buildings located within CLP's supply area and their nearby ancillary facilities are eligible to apply for the Fund.

Buildings located outside CLP’s supply area
Buildings directly owned and operated by the Government (e.g. Government offices)

Residents' organisations (e.g. Mutual Aid Committee)
Owners’ Corporations registered under the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344)
Owners' organisations (e.g. Owners' Committee)

For the commercial buildings, industrial buildings or composite buildings without Owners’ Corporation or other owners’ organisations as specified above, the building owner may also apply for the Fund.

Under special circumstances, the Applicant can be non-building owner, e.g. property management company, provided that written consent from the building owner(s) or proof of authorisation to handle the building related matters can be provided. The Applicant may provide an electricity account registered from relevant communal areas of the building for funding disbursement through billing credit, subject to approval by CLP / Vetting Committee.

a) For the buildings with multi-ownership but organisation, an owner of the building can apply for the Fund on behalf of all the building owners. The applicant must provide the following documents:

Documents proving that he / she is the owner of the building; and
Authorisation document obtained from all the owners of the building.

b) For the commercial, industrial buildings, or composite buildings with single ownership, the owner may apply for the Fund.

c) A property management company or a Qualified Service Provider can submit application on behalf of any of the above, with their authorisation.

Priority will be given to buildings fulfilling the following criteria:

Buildings with multi-ownership;
To implement projects with higher energy saving cost effectiveness;
Aged;
Good history of previous applications;
Conducted an energy audit or similar assessment / applied for “Comprehensive Scheme or Energy Use Aspect of Selective Scheme” under BEAM Plus Scheme;
New technology demo project or showcase project which will allow public visits;
New installations equipped with systems / technologies which can contribute significant additional energy saving, e.g. Variable Speed Drive (VSD), inverter, or equivalent technologies;
In addition to item 7 above, systems / technologies bundled with voltage dip ride-through or auto restart function.

Yes, multiple applications from the same Applicant Organisation / Applicant are allowable. Applications shall cover different types of project or different parts of the buildings.

The amount of funding for retrofitting projects will be around 10% to 50% of the actual project expenditure, depending on the type of building, the type of installation and project duration. Project expenditure shall restrict to the cost of energy efficiency installations and, if Qualified Service Provider is appointed, its service charge.

The amount of funding for retro-commissioning and implementation of smart technologies will depend on the amount of the energy saving and project duration. The more energy the project will saved and the soonest the project will be completed, the more funding will be granted.

The whole Project must be completed no later than 24 months from the date of receiving Approval in Principle or Final Funding Approval whichever is earlier. If the whole Project could be completed within 9 months or 18 months, higher amount of funding can be granted. Please refer to Table 2.4 of the Guide to Application – CLP Eco Building Fund for details.

For the retrofitting project with expenditure of HK$100,000 or below (excluding the cost of engaging Qualified Service Provider), full subsidy will be provided to the cost of engaging Qualified Service Provider for the project, subject to a ceiling of HK$10,000 and approval from CLP/the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee.

Under this funding scheme, no funding will be granted to cover the recurrent maintenance and operation costs of building services installations funded.

If the project has been subsidized by other funding, applicant organisation / applicant can still apply for the Fund. But the amount of other funding will be deducted from the grant offered by the Fund.

Yes with full justifications. Such requests will be considered by CLP / the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee.

The applicant organisation / applicant should include the insurance policy expenditure in the project’s estimate. The funding should cover reasonable insurance premiums. CLP and the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee shall bear no financial or other responsibilities for any expenditure arising from the projects (including any claims for compensation); nor will any funding be provided under the funding scheme to cover such expenditure.

For funding disbursement (Works and Qualified Service Provider (QSP) if engaged where applicable), the following documents must be submitted for assessment –

Copy of records of meeting confirming acceptance of tender by the applicant organisation / applicant.
Copy of signed contracts between applicant organisation / applicant and the selected contractors.
Copy of invoices and receipts.
Applicant should check if the person-in-charge (PIC) has been changed and relevant information has been submitted.
Applicant should check if QSP (if engaged) has been changed and the relevant information has been submitted, including –
- Information stated in the application form;
- Professional qualification documents. [Note i]
Clear site work completion photos.
According to the Guide to Application, the following information must be submitted for assessment –
- A completion report must be submitted to CLP after completion of the project and before applying for final disbursement of fund; (Clause 5.5)

CLP may request applicant organisation / applicant to submit other relevant information if necessary.

Note:

i. QSP’s professional qualifications shall satisfy the requirements as per clause 2.10.1 of the Guide to Application.

Funding will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis; that is to say, the recipient organisation / recipient must settle the payment on its own before seeking reimbursement from the CLP Eco Building Fund. The recipient organisation / recipient may propose a disbursement plan of the subsidy for CLP’s consideration. A maximum of two instalments will be allowed in addition to the final 10% payout.

Subsidy will be disbursed on a reimbursement basis; that is to say, the recipient organisation / recipient must settle payment of the project on its own before seeking reimbursement of the subsidy from the CLP Eco Building Fund.

The applicant organisation / applicant should fill in the proposed disbursement plan in the application form for consideration by CLP/ the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee. Funds will be released according to the plan approved by CLP/ the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee.

When applying for reimbursement, the recipient organisation / recipient should present required supporting documents and, if correct and clear documents are submitted, we will process the payout within 45 working days.

The applicant organisation / applicant may optionally engage a Qualified Service Provider to help submit the application and the Qualified Service Provider must be a Registered Energy Assessor stipulated under the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance (Cap. 610).

The Qualified Service Provider is responsible to set out in detail the full scope of the Project, including justification of its cost-effectiveness; monitoring of the procurement of capital items, goods and services; supervision of the Project; submission of the Project’s monthly progress update to CLP; and certification of the completion reports.

If an in-house Registered Energy Assessor is available, the Applicant Organisation / Applicant may engage the Registered Energy Assessor as a Qualified Service Provider.

Please note that no matter an Qualified Service Provider is engaged or not, the Applicant Organisation / Applicant shall ensure the new installations comply with the relevant energy efficiency standards stipulated in the Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance.

The "Qualified Service Provider" must declare his / her relationship with the project contractor in the application form for consideration by CLP / CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee.

If the property management company has already employed a "Qualified Service Provider" who has provided relevant service to the project applying for funding, it is unlikely that the same service will be subsidised by the Fund.

As engagement of more than one “Qualified Service Provider” will increase the project cost, applicant organisation / applicant is required to state the reason with supportive documents, full justifications should be given to CLP / the Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee for consideration.

Approval from CLP / the Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee is required for switching “Qualified Service Provider” if the project is in progress.

It is the responsibility of the project contractors to purchase relevant insurances for the project and their employees based on the project nature. The applicant organisation / applicant should ensure that the project contractor can present those relevant insurance documents as document proof.

There is no requirement of minimum number of tenders for engaging "Qualified Service Provider" by the applicant organisation / applicant.

Either "Qualified Service Provider" or the applicant organisation / applicant can select project contractors to carry out the works by conducting tendering exercise. But whoever conducts the tender exercise, the requirement of minimum number of tenders must be met.
If the aggregate value of the procurement is more than HK$5,000 but less than HK$10,000, tenders should be invited from at least two prospective suppliers; if the aggregate value of the procurement is equal to or more than HK$10,000 but less than HK$200,000, tenders should be invited from at least three prospective suppliers; and if the aggregate value of the procurement is equal or more than HK$200,000, tenders should be invited from at least five prospective suppliers. [Note i]

Either consultant by consultancy service or the applicant organisation / applicant can select project contractors to carry out the works by conducting tender exercise. But whoever conducts the tender exercise, the requirement of minimum number of tenders must be met.

Notes:

i. Only 12 months Defect Liability Period (DLP) services would be accepted by the Fund. If the tender (total sum) has included DLP services after 12 months, the applicant shall request the contractor to provide the costs for the extra services. The extra maintenance cost would not be subsidised by the Fund.

ii. Other than tendering bids, quotations received from the prospective suppliers will also be considered, provided that written evidence (e.g. email, fax) showing that the quotations were invited at the same time can be provided.

Any request for the change in funding must be approved by CLP/ the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee with full justification. To avoid any unnecessary delay in the project, the applicant organisation / applicant should specify an adequate validity period in the tender document.

Applicant organisations / applicants should make the best effort to fulfil this requirement. To avoid this situation, applicant organisations / applicants are advised to invite tender from more suppliers than the required number, and to send invitation letters to prospective suppliers in addition to posting newspapers for tender invitation. For example, when the applicant organisations / applicants are proceeding with the tendering procedures for the lift or escalator retrofit works, they may make reference to the Registered Lift and Escalator Contractors list published in the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department's website (http://www.emsd.gov.hk/emsd/eng/pps/le_pub_mpr.shtml) to select sufficient and appropriate suppliers for tender invitation. If the suppliers decide not to submit tender proposal, applicant organisations / applicants should obtain decline letters from the suppliers and provide to CLP as a proof, but subject to final approval by CLP or the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee.

If the Applicant Organisation / Applicant wishes to select other bidder, who is not among the bidders in the submitted list, re-tendering and application re-submission are required. It is treated as a new application.

Please note that during the application assessment, the amount of funding would be assessed based on the lowest bid of the energy saving parts irrespective of the bidder ultimately selected.

In that case, the recipient organisation / recipient should provide full justifications to CLP/ the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee for consideration.

The aim of the Fund is to subsidise building owners in a open, fair and accountable manner. Applicant organisation / applicant shall not include any brands or models in the related documents.

Since the Fund is only granted to energy saving items, applicant organisation / applicant must provide the cost breakdown of the items. CLP / the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee has to assess the nature of each item to see if the items fulfil the objective of the Fund, and has the final judgement on the funding approval to each item.

Note:

The prospective suppliers shall list out the unit costs and the number of units of each item with respect to the energy saving parts in their submitted bid for reference by CLP / the Vetting Committee in approving funding. If the submitted bid(s) does not list out the unit costs and number of units of each item with respect to the energy saving parts, it will be considered as invalid. If applicant organization / applicant selects the invalid bid(s), funding will not be granted.

Under the circumstances that all required documents have been submitted by applicant organisation / applicant, applicant organisation / applicant will normally be notified of the result one to three months after submission of their application. However the actual date is depending on the balance of the CLP Eco Building Fund.

Yes, subject to approval of CLP / the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee and the funding may also be adjusted in the light of the revision.

Normally, change in the composition of the recipient organisation will not affect the funding. But if the change results in a new person-in-charge for the project or affect the project schedule, approval from CLP / the CLP Eco Building Fund Vetting Committee is required for the funding to continue.

Multiple applications from the same Applicant Organisation / Applicant are allowable. Different applications shall cover different types of project or different parts of the buildings.

However, a previously declined application may be resubmitted only if it has been revised substantially or if the applicant organisation / applicant has been able to produce new evidence to address the comments made by CLP / the Vetting Committee in its earlier review. For a resubmitted application, the applicant organisation / applicant must set out clearly the differences between the resubmitted application and the original one. The revised application will be treated as a new application, and will be subject to the same assessment procedures as set out in the "Guide to Application".

All applications will be processed by CLP.

For the applications with funding amount less than HK$500,000, the applications shall be vetted by CLP.

For the applications with funding amount equal to or more than HK$500,000, the applications shall be vetted by the Vetting Committee comprising various stakeholders from across the community who are committed to promoting energy efficiency.

Income derived from the project during the project period, including sales of output, fee generated from activities and interest income generated from cash in hand for the project, should be ploughed back into the project account.

Frequently Answered Questions

1. What is the scope of CLP Eco Building Fund (the Fund)?

2. What is retro-commissioning?

3. Can you give examples of implementation of Smart / IT technologies in buildings to increase energy efficiency?

4. Which types of buildings are eligible to apply for the Fund?

5. Which types of buildings are not eligible to apply for the Fund?

6. What kinds of applicant organisation are eligible to apply for the Fund?

7. What kinds of applicant are eligible to apply for the Fund if organisation is not available?

8. Which types of applications will be given priority to the fund?

9. For the same building, can the applicant organisation / applicant submit more than one application?

10. How much funding will each application obtain?

11. Can the maintenance cost of the subsidized equipment be covered in the funding?

12. If a project has already been subsidized by other funding, can the applicant apply for the Fund?

13. If the grant approved is less than the amount applied for, can one request for an increase?

14. Will the Fund cover the insurance expenditure on the project? In case of any incidents or claims for compensation, will the Fund cover those expenditure?

15. What document or information should be provided when applying fund disbursement?

16. How will the funding be disbursed?

17. Upon the approval of application, can part of the fund be disbursed immediately to the applicant organisation?

18. What is the reimbursement schedule? How long will it take to process reimbursement?

19. Is it necessary to engage a professional for submission of application?

20. Is there any regulation on the relationship between the project contractor and the "Qualified Service Provider"?

21. Will the funding cover the service cost of a "Qualified Service Provider" who is employed by the property management company?

22. If there is more than one "Qualified Service Provider", can the project be funded? Can the "Qualified Service Provider" be changed during project implementation?

23. What insurance policy should the applicant organisation / applicant take out for the project?

24. How could the procurement procedures of the project fulfill the funding application requirement?

a) What is the minimum number of tenders when engaging a "Qualified Service Provider"?

b) Can the "Qualified Service Provider" appoint a project contractor for carrying out the works by tender exercise? If yes, should the tender exercise meet the minimum number requirement of tenders?

c) If the project commences by a consultant from consultancy service, should the tender exercise be conducted by the consultant for appointing a project contractor for carrying out the works? If yes, should the tender exercise meet the minimum number requirement of tenders?

26. It is required that there should be a minimum number of tenders submitted in respect of procurement. What happens if the number of tenders received are below the minimum number requirement?

27. According to the Guide to Application, the recipient organisation / recipient has to select the supplier among the bidders of the Project. What should the recipient organisation do if it intends not to select the these suppliers?

28. If the recipient organisation / recipient does not select the lowest bid and would like to top up the difference between the selected bid and the lowest bid. Will this arrangement be accepted?

29. Can the tender include any brands or models of the equipment?

30. Is it necessary to include the breakdown of the items in the estimated budget?

31. How long will it normally take to process an application?

32. Can the project scope be revised after the application has been submitted?

33. Can the project scope be revised after approval of an application?

34. If the term of the recipient organisation expires after approval of funding, will the subsequent election and change in composition of the organisation affect the funding?

35. Can the applicant organisation / applicant submit more than one application for the same building?

36. Who will approve the application?

37. According to the Guide to Application, project should be non-profit-making. What is a non-profit-making project?