California Air Limited

Ruby Award Winner – HSBC Living Business Awards 2008

About the company:

Set up in 1987, California Air Limited provides indoor air quality (IAQ) and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) products and services for clients such as the airport, child care centres, offices, club houses, games centres, bank buildings, hospitals and university campuses.

Commitment to Corporate Responsibility:

Commitment to environmental protection

‘In 2006 and 2007, we have implemented various effective environmental measures, including use of steam for equipment cleaning which reduces the use of water and detergent, minimising the use of packaging for products, recycling different office materials to reduce waste and assigning staff to perform daily office patrols to ensure the air-conditioning system is set at the right temperature,’ said Joe Ng, Managing Director of California Air. ‘As a result we achieved 56% reduction in paper use, 15% in water consumption and 30% in electricity cost.’

Excellence in employee management

To motivate and acknowledge the staff’s contribution, financial incentives have been offered to employees who achieve their individual sales targets, and each employee is only allowed to work a maximum of eight hours overtime each month to facilitate work-life balance. Marriage leave, flexible working hours and monthly staff activities are also available. To raise occupational health and safety (OHS) awareness among staff, information and videos on OHS are available on the company’s intranet.

Achievements in community development

In terms of community involvement, California Air and St. James’ Settlement have jointly promoted a programme – “Saving resources, recovering your old electrical appliances” – and the company also provides job opportunities for single parents and graduates from employee retraining courses.

Overall management quality and effectiveness

As well as conducting regular meetings and audits on its suppliers to enhance the company’s overall management and business performance, California Air is also looking to develop a risk management policy.