IAIA CEO Gary Baker recently sat down with Clara U and Danny Mok, representatives of the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, recipient of the 2025 Corporate Initiative Award for developing the Hong Kong Environmental Database (HKED) -- a pioneering platform that leverages data-driven, smart technology to transform EIA practices.
Watch the video now (and find the full transcript below).
Gary Baker, IAIA CEO: Hello, again. We are here to have a conversation with another one of our award winners this year. This one is a very interesting one, and certainly as we look towards Bologna and our annual conference, this is a highly relevant award. This is the Corporate Initiative Award, and this year it's been awarded to the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department for their development of a very innovative environmental database [HKED], which we're going to talk a little bit more about with Clara and Danny, who were very heavily involved in developing this system. Congratulations to you on the award. It's really nice to see a recognition of technology -- where that's going and integrating with impact assessment. It's very much the subject of what the annual conference is. So, let's kick it off. Can you explain a little bit about the origins of the project? How did you end up with this project?
Clara U, Hong Kong EPD: Maybe a little bit to introduce myself. My name is Clara. I'm currently working for the Hong Kong Government Environmental Protection Department. I’ll start with that. My duty is I have to implement the environmental law we call the EIA Ordinance in Hong Kong, which governs all the projects and their environmental performance. We passed this ordinance back in 1997 -- that was quite a long time ago. So starting in probably 2021, the Hong Kong government decided to streamline some of the ordinances. We're not talking about expediting the project, but rather implementing the project in a more effective manner. So we started looking at the EIA Ordinance -- whether there are ways to streamline, as well as to enhance professional integrity. It started in 2021 with us revising and streamlining the process. We really wanted to complete the EIA in a shorter time. How do you engage the legislature as well as other concerned parties -- the green groups -- to buy into streamlining the EIA process? Public engagement is also a very important element. We made it clear to everyone that we were not going to jeopardize the period for public consultation. So how can we shorten the time? It started with that. It was a golden opportunity, because at that time the Hong Kong government was encouraging sharing common data among all government departments -- like planning department data, land department data, as well as cultural heritage and environment data. We made use of this golden opportunity. We had lots of EIAs being done and lots of data there. So we decided to digitize it and make it into a nice platform, so we could share the data with all the stakeholders, as well as the project proponents. It definitely works to streamline, at least for the screening and scoping side. We started with that -- probably 50 or 60 layers of data, containing ecological baseline data, air quality baseline data, stuff like this. We put it into the platform, and with a little bit of brainpower from Danny and other contractors and consultants, we actually made a very interesting tool to help a wide range of stakeholders understand the EIA process, as well as streamlining the process. It took us basically nine months to build out the platform.
Gary: In terms of going forward -- any proposals that have to do EIAs, do they have to use this database now? Is it obligatory or optional? How does that work?
Clara: Now it’s not a statutory requirement, because the purpose of having this platform is that we really want to tell people that the data is all available. We kind of offer an incentive to ask them to use it in order to streamline the whole EIA process. This is the whole purpose of that. That’s why it’s not mandatory. But it’s more or less we’re using this tool to engage legislators to support us in streamlining the whole process. And it works.
Gary: Some of the key benefits -- I’ve looked a little bit at the system -- and this baseline data establishment is a really interesting premise. Is that kept up-to-date? Air quality, water quality -- how does that process work?
Danny Mok, Hong Kong EPD: Yes, actually it’s one of the key challenges in developing the database, because as we all know, environmental information changes constantly, and we need to update the habitat map to reflect ecological changes. Also we need to revise the pollution inventory frequently to represent the latest baseline condition for computer modeling. To ensure timely updates, we’ve implemented various API connections -- application programming interfaces -- with the data owners, as far as possible. So if there are any updates in the data owner system, they will be synchronized to our HKED automatically. Of course, there are some other datasets that require manual updates. For example, the boundaries of some country parks -- the authority does not have a system to update that data layer. But the good thing is, these data layers don’t require very frequent updates -- maybe once every two years or so. We have established a protocol to review and update these datasets at least once a year.
Gary: It's a very interesting process. There are a lot of jurisdictions around the world looking at simplification, boosting efficiency, cutting timelines. I’m very interested in what that process is. And obviously you’ve got some advantages in Hong Kong, given that it’s a defined area -- a contained space. But how does that work as you get up to Shenzhen and Guangdong, where you get cross-border issues, whether that’s pollution or traffic or whatever it is? Is there ultimately a way of linking into systems that might develop there?
Clara: That’s a good question. We have been working very closely with our neighbor offices -- what we call the Greater Bay Area in China. I have been promoting this platform to them as well. Actually, I got another award from a company in mainland China because all the stakeholders found it very useful. That’s why I’m engaging all the stakeholders as well as the government officials from Shenzhen and promoting that if they are willing to share their data, we can use this platform to share. I’m looking at it in a very positive way for future cooperation with Shenzhen to make the neighboring areas' data more open, including for cross-boundary issues. Of course, I do understand they might have issues with data confidentiality, and that will take effort to work out in mainland China.
Gary: I was also interested in the documents you have on the system. You have some estimates as to time savings and how much more quickly the EIAs can move. But there’s also a fascinating reference to how AI and modeling developments may be introduced into the system. Do you want to talk a bit more about that -- where you see the potential for the future of EIAs in this world?
Danny: Personally, I believe AI will undoubtedly be transforming the EIA practice in the coming few years. But personally I see AI as a decision-supporting tool rather than a replacement for human expertise. The EIA process relies on many professional judgments -- whether in evaluating the ecological significance or balancing stakeholder interests. What AI offers is a very powerful capacity to enhance our daily work and repetitive tasks. For example, helping us to process vast amounts of datasets, maybe helping us to monitor the biodiversity through image or sound recognition, or even generating hundreds of mitigation design alternatives in minutes. But ultimately, we need human specialists to make the final decision -- to determine which solution is the best in terms of sustainability. I believe the future of EIA lies in this synergy, where AI handles heavy data processing and repetitive tasks, while human experts focus on higher-value analysis and innovative solutions.
Gary: I think that’s very well said.
Clara: I just want to add one point. Before the interview, I was talking to Danny. I want to share one good opportunity using AI is how to handle public comments during the public consultation period. I was thinking, because our EIA report is so scientifically-based and not a lot of people understand what is in it, what if we could develop, using DeepSeek or another model, a way to upload a whole EIA report -- this way the public can use it and just press a button to generate a PowerPoint so that they can easily understand what the project is about. I did try it, to answer some public inquiries by referencing the EIA report, and it worked perfectly. AI helped me identify where in the EIA report it address the public concern. It saved a lot of time, and then I could use that time to do better public engagement.
Gary: I think that’s a very fair comment. That communication aspect is absolutely vital, that we have public accountability for what we’re doing as professionals. The other thing I look forward to is this auditing, if you will -- how do we look back at some of the assumptions that we made on projects, in say two- or five-years’ time, and look at how accurate that was. I think sometimes we haven’t been as rigorous in terms of looking at the assumptions and maybe improving our decision-making that way, as well. I’m sure that AI or data management advances can help with that.
Clara: That’s a good idea—definitely.
Gary: Well, look -- that is a brilliant introduction. I’m sure there will be many more questions and interest in this. I know you’re going to be in Bologna, and the system is available for people to look at. There are a lot of positive developments here that people should be looking at, in whichever jurisdiction. So Danny and Clara, thank you very much for your time today, and congratulations again on the award.
