1. 《LIFE+》Magazine
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  3. Summer 2024 Issue
  4. Small changes for big green leaps
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    18 July 2024

    “While plastic bags nowadays are widely seen as ecologically unfriendly, do you know that they were initially created as sustainable products meant to be reused?” asks Patrick Lam, affectionately called Patrick Sir. Raising thought-provoking questions is a communication strategy often employed by him in hosting TV programmes and school talks, as he believes it encourages audiences to dig more deeply in search of answers. “A Swedish engineer invented plastic bags in 1959 with the intention of offering a reusable alternative to brittle paper bags,” explains Patrick Sir, before raising another intriguing question, “Have you ever heard of ‘the resurrection of batteries’? Just rubbing a dead battery may extend its life!”

    Patrick Sir
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    These questions are part of the video series that Patrick Sir and his team have produced for Chinachem Group’s REACT campaign, with an aim to raise public awareness about waste reduction and promote green actions. Managing every stage of the production process from conceptualisation, research, scriptwriting and filming to post-production, the team presents ten trivia about environmental issues in a light-hearted manner, accompanied by facts and figures. “Human beings are driven by emotions. The key to convincing them to modify their behaviours is to evoke their emotions and foster engagement. Stern lectures don’t always work,” he explains.

    “Human beings are driven by emotions. The key to convincing them to modify their behaviours is to evoke their emotions and foster engagement. Stern lectures don’t always work,” he explains.

     

    Calling for a change in our daily routines is the objective of REACT, which stands for Rethink, Exchange, Awareness, Cultivation, and Token. The acronym is also a pun that aptly plays on the meaning of “WE ACT”. Alongside the video series, the campaign features a carnival, beach and hiking trail clean-ups, educational tours to recycling facilities, exhibitions and talks, all designed to encourage the community to go greener.

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    When it comes to saving the planet, no action is too small. All we have to do is to make a step forward, be it big or small. “There are numerous ways to protect the environment,” Patrick Sir suggests. “Attempting to do them all at once could be overwhelming, making it even harder to develop them into regular habits. I’d suggest starting with one of the trivia I shared. Once you get used to it, you’ll be interested in picking up another one.” 

    Describing himself as a germophobe, he is also taking a gradual approach to changing his behaviour. “I’m accustomed to wiping everything with paper tissues, usually using two at a time,” he admits. However, after learning from the video series that Hong Kong people consume an average of 65.1 million tissues each day, which amounts to almost nine per person, he vowed to make a change.  

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    “This is a wake-up call for me as a parent. No matter how trivial a behaviour may seem, we parents can always lead by example.”

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    Patrick Sir’s change in habits has also had a positive impact on his family, with his preschool-aged son starting to use fewer paper tissues. 

     

     

    Watch the REACT video series produced by Patrick Sir
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