Privacy Policy Statement

Privacy Policy

Statement of Policy

The Environmental Protection Department (hereafter “this Department") respects personal data privacy and is committed to fully implementing and complying with the data protection principles and all relevant provisions under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (“PDPO”).

Statement of Practice

Kinds of Personal Data Held

Four broad categories of personal data are held in this Department for different purposes:

1. Environmental Programme Related Personal Data – Personal data collected during implementation or promotion of our environmental policies and programmes such as surveys, studies, promotion activities, consultations, community education programmes, provision of facility services, etc.

2. Enforcement Related Personal Data – Personal data collected in connection with our licensing/permit controls, inspections, environmental complaint investigations, prosecutions, etc.

3. Employment Related Personal Data – Personal information collected in connection with recruitment and employment of the staff of this Department.

4. Other Records – Personal data collected during various administrative and general business operations, general enquiries, complaints, access for information, etc.

Main Purpose of keeping Personal Data

1. Environmental Programme Related Personal Data are kept to facilitate the implementation and promotion of our environmental policies and programmes and to enable communication with our stakeholders.

2. Enforcement Related Personal Data are kept for environmental pollution controls, enforcement of the various environmental ordinances and legislations under EPD’s regime.

3. Employment Related Personal Data are kept for human resource management purposes, such as appointment, appraisal, posting, training, etc.

4. Other Records are kept for various purposes which vary according to the nature of the record, such as administration of various office functions and activities, handling of public enquiries, etc.

Collection of Personal Data Online

• This Department will record visits to this website without collecting any personal identifiable information of users. Such general statistical information are collected for the compilation of statistical reports and the diagnosis of problems with or concerning computer systems to help improving this website. We do not use and have no intention to use the information to personally identify anyone.
• For different purposes and at different times, users may be invited to provide personal data to this Department through this website on a voluntary basis. The data will be collected and handled in accordance with our general personal data practice in following the Data Protection Principles above. The data will be secured by the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology with our website during network transmissions with access restricted to authorized personnel only.
• When browsing this website, users may have cookies temporarily stored in their computer. The purpose of cookies is to facilitate navigation only. We will not collect any personal data under this circumstance. Users have a choice not to accept the cookies by configurating their internet browser settings, but in this case, full functionality of the website may not be properly provided.
• Search service on this website is provided by an independent contractor of the Government. The independent contractor does not collect personal identifiable information while serving search results through our website. The independent contractor will share the anonymous data it collects through the search service for compiling traffic analysis on this website. This Department will not match the data obtained from any such search activity with any personal data possibly held by us.

Data Access or Correction Request

Data access or correction request to this Department may be made by completing the Data Access Request Form and addressing to the following.

For employment-related data held by the department :

Assistant Secretary (Personnel)
Environmental Protection Department,
Suite 1201, Guardian House,
32 Oi Kwan Road,
Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

For other personal data held by the department:

Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Knowledge Management)
Environmental Protection Department,
Rm 2215, 22/F., Tower 2, Grand Central Plaza,
138 Shatin Rural Committee Road,
Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong.

Enquiries