ESG for SMEs Forum 2022
ESG for SMEs Forum 2022
Federation of Hong Kong Industries (“FHKI”) organised the first-ever “ESG for SMEs Forum 2022” on 16 September 2022 and released its first Environment, Social and Governance (“ESG”) survey that targeted industrial sector. The Forum, conducted in hybrid mode, gathered political and business elites to exchange on the implications of global decarbonisation goals, regulatory approaches and ESG business trends, with an aim to deepen small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)’ understanding of opportunities and challenges brought by ESG and equip themselves in global competition. The Forum was the first flagship event since FHKI’s ESG Committee was established and it was concluded with resounding success, attracting over 400 onsite and online registrations.
Mr Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, attended the Forum as the Guest-of-honour and delivered a keynote speech in which he stressed that ESG has become an important indicator to evaluate business performance and the Government has been committed to propelling the development of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong by different routes.
FHKI Chairman Dr Sunny Chai addressed in his keynote speech that FHKI vows to make ESG progression as a long-term goal and adopt a multipronged approach through capacity building, knowledge exchange, talent cultivation and fostering businesses’ cooperation, to enhance ESG capability for industrial sector.
Ms Katherine Ng, Head of Policy and Secretariat Services of the Listing Division, Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Ltd (“HKEX”) also gave a keynote speech at the Forum. She emphasised that HKEX has played its role as a change agent in global markets promoting ESG awareness.
Mr Jude Chow, FHKI Deputy Chairman, announced the results of ESG survey at the Forum. The survey revealed that more than 80% of SMEs have adopted or plan to adopt ESG enhancement initiatives. The majority of the respondents see decarbonisation goals set by the Mainland (72.4%) and Hong Kong (65.4%) will bring positive impact to their businesses in coming three to five years.
In addition to the announcement of ESG survey results, the Forum consisted of three themed sessions. The first session “Plenary – Global ESG Outlook: How should SMEs assess impact to their businesses”, covered global ESG priorities and themes. The panellists discussed how SMEs can leverage Hong Kong's strengths to enhance competitiveness with regards to varying carbon markets and ESG standards across different countries.
The second session “E Track – Pioneering Green Manufacturing and Circular Economy in SMEs” focused on the collaboration between the Government and business community to work together to propel ESG and sustainability in different advanced economies including Hong Kong and Singapore.
The third session “S+G Track – Integrating Social Responsibility and Good Governance into SME’s Business Model” explored the good practices and challenges of manufacturing SMEs in implementing ESG. The speakers highlighted how SMEs can make use of data and green finance to manage their ESG investments.
Thanks to the supports from speakers, the first-ever ESG Forum of FHKI was a great success. The list of speakers is as follows.
1. Plenary – Global ESG Outlook: How should SMEs assess impact to their businesses
Dr Hon Stephen Wong, Legislative Council (Election Committee)
Ms Anita Mo, Chief Executive Officer, Hang Seng Indexes Company Ltd
Prof Ba Shu-song, Chief China Economist, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd
Mr Derek Yuen, Partner, Business Reporting and Sustainability, KPMG
2. E Track – Pioneering Green Manufacturing and Circular Economy in SMEs
Dr Kenneth Leung, Assistant Director (Air Policy), Environmental Protection Department
Ms Melissa Tan, Chairwoman, Waste Management & Recycling Association of Singapore
Dr Ryohei Mori, Chief Executive Officer, Green Science Alliance Company Ltd
Dr Daniel Yip, Chairperson, Advisory Committee on Recycling Fund
3. S+G Track – Integrating Social Responsibility and Good Governance into SME’s Business Model
Mr Herbert Chia, JP, Venture Partner, Sequoia Capital China Fund
Mr Paul Tai, Regional Director, Mainetti (HK) Ltd
Mr King Lai, Group Executive Director & CFO, Leo Paper Group (Hong Kong) Ltd
Mr Aero Wong, Assistant General Manager, Commercial Banking Department, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Ltd
