Dear all,

University Charter of Social Responsibility

I am pleased to inform you that the Council on the recommendation of its Social Responsibility Committee has established a University Charter of Social Responsibility. The Charter affirms the University’s commitment to care for the larger interests of the society by embracing responsibility in the operation of the University. The Charter covers Ethics, Students, Employees, Community, Environment, Health and Safety and serves as an institutional framework and guide for members of the University to follow. 

We are proud to be the first university in Hong Kong and one of the first in the world to have established such a Charter. We believe the Charter can help inculcate a strong sense of social responsibility among members of the University community to society, to care for both the people and the planet – the 2 Ps; to take note of the environmental and social concerns in the University’s development and operation to help address these issues in a responsible manner. The engagement of students, who are our future community leaders, in these endeavours is important. The Charter is attached and is also available at the website of the Council (https://www.cityu.edu.hk/cuc/c/). 

Since the establishment of the Council’s Social Responsibility Committee last year, the University management, students, staff, alumni and Council members have been working together on a number of initiatives, events and activities to heighten awareness of social responsibility issues in the University community. I participated in the following activities which were well supported by staff, students, alumni, Council members and friends of the University:

• CityU Banquet October 2010: reduction from 8 to 6 courses
• CityU Social Responsibility Day held on 12 February 2011 in Ma Wan
• Launch of a new campaign  “Reduction of Food Waste At Source” “珍惜食物, 減少廚餘, 由城大做起” on campus on 25 March 2011
• Signing of a Pledge on Cutting Food Waste with ten other local tertiary institutions on 25 March 2011

More programmes and activities will follow. As a fellow member of the University community, I encourage you to embrace the spirit of the Charter and practise social responsibility in our daily campus life. With concerted effort, I believe we could contribute to the harmonious and sustainable development of our society and set an example for others in Hong Kong.

C Y Leung

Chairman of the Council

City University of Hong Kong

6 May 2011