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HONG KONG – Held on June 14th, 2016 at Community Business’ Community Investment Forum – Enhancing Your Brand Beyond Compliance: ESG Reporting, we were presented with alerts and opportunities on the development of heavy industries.
As a summary of the event, we would like to share with readers a quick introduction to the topic and why we should keep an eye on it. Speakers included Ellie Pang (VP, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing), Tony Wong (Founder, Alaya Consulting), Kit-Fong Law (Sustainability Development Manger, MTR Corporation), Rando Yuen (Senior ESG Manager, Sa Sa International Holdings), and Sylvia Chiu (QEP Client Portfolio Manager, Schroders).
Sustainability is broadly known as the sweet spot between “People, Planet & Profit”. In a business context, it means a company’s long-term performance, with some responsible acts expected to alleviate some of the world’s problems such as poverty, climate change, and water sanitation. In particular, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting is a business practice where companies disclose its performance of the three aspects in KPIs, often in a sustainability or environmental report.
In Hong Kong, HKEx as the regulator has announced a new policy for listed companies in December 2015, requiring them to ‘comply or explain’ their ESG performance. But what exactly does this mean to industries?
In the forum, representatives from a wide range of perspectives (regulator, company, consultant, investor) have all agreed that ESG reporting is much more than a cost-taking practice and compliance. It can actually drive value to a company from different angles.
MTR has pioneered reporting for 15 years where ESG reporting is a stakeholder engagement tool. During the communication process, staff and customers are called to re-understand and get involved in MTR’s contribution to society and the environment. Suppliers and constructors will also learn more on MTR’s sourcing priorities such as safety, quality management, and environmental impact. In this sense, it is essentially undergoing a supply chain partnership consolidation and risk analysis. More details for MTR’s report
Sa Sa, another award-winner, facilitates its “from pink to green” rebranding with a cross-sector collaboration project nurturing green leaders too. – Glocal Greenovation Challenge. (Chi. press release)
Schroders has put corporate sustainability on the investment agenda as the global market continues to fluctuate. With a set of ESG metrics, it has been observed that a portfolio composed of ‘high-sustainability’ companies significantly outperforms by 47%. They have also shown better operational performance and cost reduction.
In another article, we have outlined the renewable industry’s positive market situation especially in China. As clean energy such as wind, hydro, and solar power, is rapidly growing in developing countries, it reflects that investors and big players are already working on their long-term performance. Sustainability creates room for new strategy, operation, and investment.
Panelists discuss sustainability and its implications on Hong Kong’s heavy industry.
We are Steel Available, an online supplier relationship management and sourcing platform connecting suppliers and buyers from the heavy industry. We are developing the first ecosystem in the heavy industry. It allows clients to efficiently manage and automate their supply chains using web-based tools and services. Our goal is to reduce the hidden risk in value chains. We do it by providing the information that matters, from compliance to quality assurance, creating value for all stakeholders.
To get more information you can download our brochure.
Written by
Andy Chan
Business Development
Steel Available