On 13 January 2020, Carbon Care Asia organised a seminar to share insight into the HKEX’s consultation conclusions of the proposed amendments to the ESG Reporting Guide. Two pre-seminar briefings were held to raise participants’ awareness of the potential of GRESB assessment in enhancing corporate sustainability performance and the implications of Asia’s first sustainability bond index launched by CCA to bond issuers. The seminar attracted much interest among corporate representatives.

Ir Albert Lai, CCA CEO, kicked off the seminar by briefing the audiences on the current sustainability trends. The first briefing session was led by Dr Lindsay Mai, CCA Sustainability Consultant, who presented the findings and sectorial implications of a joint study of the improvement dynamics and potentials of Asia’s real estate sector. This study was conducted by CCA and GRESB using data provided by the latter’s investor-oriented assessments in 2018 and 2019.

In the second pre-seminar briefing session, Ms Xing Lan, CCA Associate Director (Sustainable Finance), highlighted the increasing awareness of ESG issues among institutional investors as one of the major trends in green finance. She also explained the screening methodology of the Solactive CarbonCare Asia Sustainability Bond Index co-developed by CCA and the German index provider Solactive AG.

The seminar formally began with Ms Chloe Mok, CCA Director of Sustainability Strategy, who drew participants’ attention to the importance of corporate social responsibility using case studies and provided an overview of the seminar.

CCA Principal Sustainability Consultant Ms Bonnie Yip and Sustainability Consultant Ms Yiki Cheng were speakers at the seminar. They categorised the key amendments adopted to seven key leaps in ESG practices. To help participants better respond to and fulfil the new requirements, solutions in terms of ESG governance, board-level engagement and governance structure were elaborated with case studies. Specific guidance were also offered on how to improve climate and environmental disclosure and hence reporting quality.

The seminar ended with a panel discussion where the audience were given the opportunity to raise questions and exchange ideas with speakers. This had been a fruitful event for CCA and over 70 corporate representatives.

Photo captions:

1. The seminar was kicked off by Ir Albert Lai, CCA CEO, who briefed the audience on the current sustainability trends.
2. The seminar, attended by over 70 corporate representatives, reflected the increasing level of interest in and awareness of ESG issues among companies.
3. Before the seminar began, CCA Director of Sustainability Strategy Ms Chloe Mok drew participants’ attention to the importance of social responsibility using case studies and provided an overview of the seminar.
4. During the first pre-seminar briefing, CCA Sustainability Consultant Dr Lindsay Mai presented the findings and implications of a joint study conducted by CCA and GRESB on Asia’s real estate sector.
5. During the second pre-seminar briefing, Ms Xing Lan, CCA Associate Director (Sustainable Finance), highlighted the increasing awareness of ESG issues among institutional investors as one of the major trends in green finance.
6. At the panel discussion, Ms Bonnie Yip, CCA Principal Consultant, answered questions from the floor regarding the updated reporting time frame and TCFD recommendations.
7. To help participants better respond to and fulfil the new requirements, Ms Yiki Cheng, CCA Sustainability Consultant, offered specific guidance on climate and environmental disclosure.