(Hong Kong, 11 July 2024) The "ESG One Mid-Term MeetUp” Enhancing the Power of Enterprises for A Sustainable Green Hong Kong organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) was held today at the HKPC Building, bringing together over 100 government officials, business leaders, industry associations, and representatives from SMEs, who attended enthusiastically. During the event, “ESG One” announced its brand-new membership benefits and recognised over 20 SMEs that performed exceptionally well in their ESG self-assessments. Afterwards, experts from the tourism, hotel, technology, and ESG industries shared their valuable insights in the "Experts’ Chitchat" session, discussing from multiple perspectives on how ESG and technological innovation can play a crucial role in driving the tourism and hospitality industries forward.

“ESG One" was launched by HKPC earlier this year, it has garnered support of 170 industry associations and attracted over 500 companies joining as members in just half a year. Dr Lawrence CHEUNG, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC, emphasised the importance of ESG for enterprises, "With the rapid economic growth and surging urban population, 'sustainable development' has been brought under attention in recent years. The model of green development is a key driving force for the new productive forces, which can lead enterprises towards a more prosperous and sustainable future. As one of the core enablers of nurturing the new productive forces in Hong Kong, HKPC has always been committed to supporting enterprises in Hong Kong to create value and improve productivity and sustainability. Going forward, HKPC’s 'ESG One-Stop' programme will continue to walk alongside SMEs, providing support on their ESG journey, and build a greener and more sustainable Hong Kong together."

One of the benefits provided by "ESG One" is the opportunity for members to undergo a free "ESG Online Self-Assessment" and obtain the Scorecard to understand their company's performance and improvement direction in terms of ESG. Ms Karen FUNG, Chief Marketing Officer of HKPC, shared the mid-term highlights of "ESG One" and announced the Scorecard findings at the event. Since its launch in January 2024, companies from 17 industries have participated in our ESG online self-assessment, reflecting their active commitment to ESG practices.

The most active industries were Manufacturing; Import-export, wholesale and retail trade; Professional, scientific and support services; and Information and communication. Best performance categories amongst the 8 categories included business ethics and whistleblowing, resource and circularity, leadership and stakeholder engagement, and customer protection and product responsibility. In terms of business ethics and whistleblowing, 85% of the participated SMEs have established anti-corruption and anti-bribery policies, 60% has set up mechanism to protect whistleblowers. For resource and circularity, 70% have set resource efficiency goals, but only 38% have signed environmental charters. 75% of companies consider climate change risks, but less than a half have calculated carbon emissions. About two-thirds consider sustainability in supplier selection and tracking, but only slightly more than a half have mechanisms to identify, evaluate and mitigate supply chain risks.

The event also recognised over 20 SMEs, encouraging other enterprises to accelerate their ESG development and gain additional advantages for their business growth. To further promote the development of ESG in enterprises, Ms Elsie GUNG, Deputy General Manager, Personal Banking and Wealth Management from Bank of China (Hong Kong), the Accelerator member of "ESG One", announced new member benefits, including exclusive banking services offers for "ESG One" members.

In the two "Experts’ Chitchat" sessions, a group of industry experts in tourism, hospitality, and technology discussed the use of ESG and technological innovation to drive the development of the tourism industry from various perspectives. The first session, "ESG Check-in for a Sustainable Future of Hospitality and Ecotourism" featured guest speakers including Matthew MAK, Event Sustainability Consultant at Earth Production, Nixon Cheung, Head of Commercial and Brand at Hong Kong Tramways, Frankie HAU, Director of Risk and Sustainability at Hong Kong Ocean Park, and Melanie KWOK, Assistant General Manager (Sustainability) and the Head of Sustainability at Sino Group. They explored how the hotel and ecotourism industry can address the increasingly high expectations of stakeholders for a greener and more responsible value chain driven by ESG. The second session, "When Technology Meets Travel: Advancing a Greener and Smarter Tourism with TravelTech” brought together Eve CHAN, Head of Corporate Development at Aspire, Wai Lun HONG, Founder of Caribou Travel, Frederick YIP, Executive Director of Goldjoy Holidays and Brian Lee, Co-Founder of HyperAir. They exchanged views on how digitalisation and innovation can optimise the visitor experience and reduce ecological footprints. The sessions were moderated by Phoebe KWOK, Head of Partnership APAC at AllStarsWomen DAO, and the attendees gained valuable insights.

HKPC sincerely hopes that more enterprises will join "ESG One" to facilitate knowledge exchange and benefit from collaboration. By enhancing their ESG efforts, enterprises can build competitive advantages and thrive in their development. To learn more about "ESG One", please visit the website: https://esg-one.hkpc.org/.

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Photo Captions:

Dr Lawrence CHEUNG, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC (5th from left in the front row), Ms Karen FUNG, Chief Marketing Officer of HKPC (5th from right in the front row), and representatives from various supporting organisations jointly support the HKPC’s “ESG One Mid-Term MeetUp” Enhancing the Power of Enterprises for A Sustainable Green Hong Kong”.

Dr Lawrence CHEUNG, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC (7th from left in the front row), Ms Karen FUNG, Chief Marketing Officer of HKPC (6th from right in the front row), and representatives of the commended SMEs.

Ms Elsie GUNG, Deputy General Manager, Personal Banking and Wealth Management from Bank of China (Hong Kong), the Accelerator member of "ESG One", announced new member benefits, including exclusive banking services offers for "ESG One" members.

The first session of "Experts’ Chitchat", "ESG Check-in for a Sustainable Future of Hospitality and Ecotourism", featured (order from left to right) guest speakers including Matthew MAK, Event Sustainability Consultant at Earth Production, Nixon Cheung, Head of Commercial and Brand at Hong Kong Tramways, Frankie HAU, Director of Risk and Sustainability at Hong Kong Ocean Park, and Melanie KWOK, Assistant General Manager (Sustainability) and the Head of Sustainability at Sino Group, and the guest moderator, Phoebe Kwok, Head of Partnership APAC at AllStarsWomen DAO. They explored how the hotel and ecotourism industry can address the increasingly high expectations of stakeholders for a greener and more responsible value chain driven by ESG.

The second session of "Experts’ Chitchat", "When Technology Meets Travel: Advancing a Greener and Smarter Tourism with TravelTech”, featured (order from left to right) Eve CHAN, Head of Corporate Development at Aspire, Wai Lun HONG, Founder of Caribou Travel, Frederick YIP, Executive Director of Goldjoy Holidays and Brian Lee, Co-Founder of HyperAir, and the guest moderator, Phoebe Kwok, Head of Partnership APAC at AllStarsWomen DAO. They exchanged views on how digitalisation and innovation can optimise the visitor experience and reduce ecological footprints.