Jointly organised by Carbon Care Asia (CCA) and Tricor Consulting Ltd (TCL), the corporate seminar focusing on “ESG Reporting: First-year Lessons & Critical Success Factors” was held on 8 Sept, 2017. Response to this seminar has been so over-whelming that up to 300 management representatives from various business sectors and organisations attended this event in the morning and afternoon sessions.

The year 2017 is a landmark for most listed companies in Hong Kong as they begin to issue their first ESG reports in compliance with the tightened requirements of Hong Kong Stock Exchange. New disclosure requirement for environmental KPIs will also be set for next year’s ESG reports. CCA has been conducting a series of research with the responsible executives of first-time reporters. This research aims to find out what are the critical success factors and their implications to future ESG reports.

Addressing the above questions, Ir Albert Lai, based on CCA’s rich experience in ESG reporting advisory, gave an in-depth review on the challenges and deficits that many listed companies might have encountered during their ESG reporting process and pointed out the critical success factors, which may include top management mandate and staff buy-in. This was echoed by Mr Allen Yeung, Special Advisor to the board of Tricor Consulting Limited. In his opening remark, Mr Yeung shared his observations and experience over the years on the positive impact of corporate social responsibility – when companies do good, they do well.

Expert speakers were also invited to share their views from both civil society and investor perspectives. Speaking on “ESG reporting and Corporate Environmental Responsibility: a Civil Society Perspective”, Prof Vivian Taam Wong, Chairperson of Friends of the Earth Hong Kong, pointed out that the civil society is concerned about the disclosure of ESG performance by listed companies. Mr Johnnie Yung, Former Director & Head of Asia Ex-Japan Beta Strategies Portfolio Manager at BlackRock, showed with hard data in his presentation “Past and Future Trends of ESG issues in the Investment Community” that ESG investing has become more and more important in the process of investment valuation carried out by investors and fund managers nowadays.

Alongside this seminar, a new index on employee sustainability jointly developed by CCA and TCL was launched. The aim of the Employee Sustainability Index, as introduced by TCL Managing Director Mr Roy Fung, is to help companies better plan and implement staff development policies. Ms Chloe Mok, Director of Sustainability Services at CCA, continued to explain the background of this index and its importance as a tool for driving company growth. She also called upon company representatives attending the seminar to participate in the survey.

During panel discussion and the Q&A session, participants were keen to learn about ways to tackle various issues surrounding ESG reporting, ranging from practical compliance matters to stakeholder engagement and strategic policy planning. Company executives responsible for ESG reporting will benefit from these exchanges and insights in the planning and execution of upcoming reports.

For more details on CCA’s ESG Reporting service, please visit:
http://www.carboncareasia.com/eng/ESG/Our_Services.php

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Photo captions:

1. The organisers took a group picture with the expert speakers: (from right) Ms Chloe Mok, Director of Sustainability Services, CCA; Ir Albert Lai, CEO of CCA; Mr Chong Chan Yau, CCA Chairman; Ms Rosanna Wong, CCA Director; Mr Allen Yeung, Special Advisor to the board of Tricor Consulting Limited; Mr Roy Fung, Managing Director of Tricor Consulting Ltd; Prof Vivian Taam Wong, Chairperson, Friends of the Earth Hong Kong; Mr Johnnie Yung, former Director & Head of Asia Ex-Japan Beta Strategies Portfolio Manager at BlackRock and CCA Director Mr Water Cheung.
2. The response to this seminar has been so overwhelming that two sessions were held on the same day to accommodate nearly 300 guests from various business sectors and organisations.
3. In his opening remark, Mr Allen Yeung, Special Advisor to the board of Tricor Consulting Limited, shared his observations and experience in corporate social responsibility.
4. Based on CCA’s rich experience in ESG advisory, Ir Albert Lai, CEO, gave an in-depth review on the challenges and deficits that many listed companies might have encountered during their ESG reporting process and pointed out the critical success factors.
5. Prof Vivian Taam Wong, Chairperson, Friends of the Earth Hong Kong, pointed out that the civil society is concerned about the disclosure of ESG performance by listed companies.
6. Mr Johnnie Young, Former Director & Head of Asia Ex-Japan Beta Strategies Portfolio Manager at BlackRock, pointed out that ESG investing has become more and more important in the process of investment valuation.
7. Mr Roy Fung, Managing Director of Tricor Consulting Lts, introduced the Employee Sustainability Index jointly developed by CCA and Tricor Consulting Ltd, which aims to help companies plan and implement staff development policies.
8. Ms Chloe Mok, CCA Director of Sustainability Services, explained the background of the Employee Sustainability Index and its importance as a tool for driving company growth. She also called upon company representatives attending the seminar to participate in the survey.
9. The panel discussion and Q& A session was moderated by Mr Roy Fung, Managing Director of Tricor Consulting Ltd.
10. At the Q&A session, participants were keen to ask practical questions regarding ESG reporting.
11. Company representatives were also concerned about how to secure ESG policy support from the top management and acquire more resources.
12. To thank our guest speakers, Ir Albert Lai, CEO of CCA, presented a certificate of carbon offset from the Guazhou Solar Power Project to Prof Vivian Taam Wong as a souvenir.
13. To thank our guest speakers, Ir Albert Lai, CEO of CCA, presented a certificate of carbon offset from the Guazhou Solar Power Project to Mr Johnnie Yung as a souvenir.
14. An information booth was set up to help participants understand the application procedures for CarbonCare^® Label 2017 and CCA’s various products and services.