Jointly organised by Carbon Care Asia and CarbonCare InnoLab, the corporate seminar “ESG Reporting: First-year Lessons & the Way Forward” and the CarbonCare® Label 2017 launch ceremony was held on 6 July, 2017 at the Happy Valley Racecourse Voting Members Box under the venue sponsorship of The Hong Kong Jockey Club. Nearly 100 senior management representatives from various business sectors and organisations attended this event.

Held one year after the HKEX implemented its tightened requirements and during which many listed companies issued their first ESG report in compliance, the Seminar aimed to provide a multi-perspective review on ESG reporting and suggest the way forward. CCA and CCIL are delighted to have invited expert speakers at the forefront of ESG evaluation and analysis to share their views and observations on various key issues, ranging from credit rating, investor interest, areas of civil concern to report quality and possible areas of ESG performance enhancement.

Speaking on “ESG Reporting Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities for HK Listed Companies”, Ms Chloe Mok, Director of Sustainability Services at CCA, gave an in-depth review based on her rich experience in ESG advisory on the most challenging aspects and the deficits that many listed companies might have encountered during their ESG reporting process. Mr Johnnie Yung, Former Director & Head of Asia Ex-Japan Beta Strategies Portfolio Manager at BlackRock, spoke from the angle of a portfolio manager in his presentation entitled “How Fund Managers evaluate ESG issues in Investment Decisions?” He pointed out that ESG asset has been growing fast in the US and Europe in recent years and ESG factors are being closely scrutinized by fund managers.

Addressing the Seminar on “The Growing Significance of ESG issues in Corporate Rating”, Mr Ivan Chung, Associate Managing Director & Head of Greater China Credit Research & Analysis, Moody’s Investors Service, told the audience how ESG performance is being incorporated into credit ratings and research these days. Ms Kalina Tsang, Head of Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan Programme, Oxfam Hong Kong, presented the civil society’s focus of concern in her address entitled “Evaluating and Monitoring ESG Reports : a Civil Society Perspective”. Oxfam HK has always been advocating for higher reporting standards to be imposed by the HKEX on ESG reporting and urging for greater ESG / CSR performances and commitments by listed companies. Oxfam’s Hang Seng Index ESG Survey is an annual rating exercise on fifty HSI constituents in this respect.

Alongside this Seminar, CarbonCare® Label 2017 was officially launched by Ir CM Lee, Chairman of CarbonCare InnoLab, in conjunction with Ir Albert Lai, CEO of CCA. The 2017 CarbonCare® Label series, with “ESG Disclosure x Sustainability Performance” as its theme, is designed to reflect the tightened requirements of the HK Stock Exchange in ESG reporting, and to prepare entities to embrace the emerging opportunities on their journey to sustainability. Organisations from all sectors including listed companies, SMEs, public bodies and NGOs are welcome to submit their applications for the CarbonCare® LabelCarbonCare® Action Label and the CarbonCare® ESG Label before 31 Oct, 2017.

For more details on CarbonCare® Label 2017, please visit:
http://www.carboncareasia.com/eng/Carbon_Solutions/CarbonCare_Label_2017.php

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Photo captions:

  1. A group picture with our expert speakers: (from right) Mr John Sayer, CCA Director; Ir CM Lee, Chairman of CarbonCare InnoLab; Ms Rosanna Wong, CCA Director; Mr Ivan Chung, Associate Managing Director & Head of Greater China Credit Research & Analysis, Moody’s Investors Service; Mr Chong Chan Yau, CCA Chairman; Ms Kalina Tsang, Head of Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan Programme, Oxfam Hong Kong; Mr Johnnie Yung, former Director & Head of Asia Ex-Japan Beta Strategies Portfolio Manager at BlackRock; Ir Albert Lai, CEO of CCA and Ms Chloe Mok, Director of Sustainability Services, CCA.
  2. A small gathering with our venue sponsor before the event began: (form right) Ms Shirlee Algire, Executive Manager, Sustainability, The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Mr John Sayer, Mr Chong Chan Yau, Mr Ivan Chung, Mr Johnnie Yung and Ir CM Lee.
  3. CCA Chairman Mr Chong Chan Yau gave an opening remark and welcomed all guests.
  4. CarbonCare® Label 2017 was officially launched alongside the Seminar by Ir CM Lee, Chairman of CarbonCare InnoLab, in conjunction with Ir Albert Lai, CEO of CCA. The theme for this year’s CarbonCare® Label is “ESG Disclosure x Sustainability Performance”
  5. Ms Chloe Mok, Director of Sustainability Services, CCA, gave an in-depth review based on her rich experience in ESG advisory on the most challenging aspects and the deficits that many listed companies might have encountered during their ESG reporting process.
  6. Mr Johnnie Yung, Former Director & Head of Asia Ex-Japan Beta Strategies Portfolio Manager at BlackRock, pointed out that ESG factors are being closely scrutinized by fund managers nowadays.
  7. Ms Kalina Tsang, Head of Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan Programme, Oxfam Hong Kong, targeted areas of civil concern in regard to ESG performance of listed companies.
  8. Mr Ivan Chung, Associate Managing Director & Head of Greater China Credit Research & Analysis, Moody’s Investors Service, told the audience how ESG performance is being incorporated into credit ratings and research these days.
  9. The panel discussion was moderated by Ir Albert Lai, CEO of CCA.
  10. At the Q&A session, participants were keen to ask future development trends of ESG reporting.
  11. Nearly 100 senior management representatives from various business sectors and organisations attended this event.
  12. CCA Director Mr John Sayer gave an introduction to “Climate Smart Business Strategy Simulation”, an interactive game workshop specially developed by CCA to help raise climate competence of the business sectors in Hong Kong.
  13. An information booth was set up to help participants understand the application procedures for CarbonCare® Label 2017 and CCA’s various products and services.