While the Government has expanded the local recycling network, achieving a truly circular economy requires deep integration between policy, private innovation, and community participation. This session explores how government policies, innovations and technologies such as AI-driven tools from the public sector and public perception can be further enhanced to optimize collection efficiency.

Beyond collection, the panel will examine the commercial viability of existing facilities, such as the recent additions of paper and vehicle batteries facilities, and identify the regulatory frameworks needed to sustain the momentum in resource recovery. By bridging the gap between government mandates and private sector operational expertise, there a clear opportunity to transform waste management from a service into a robust resource recovery industry. Our experts will discuss how cross-sector partnerships can unlock new value chains, ensuring Hong Kong’s sustainability goals are both technologically advanced and economically resilient.

Session Learnings:

• Understand how government policies and private sector operations can align to create a seamless, city-wide collection infrastructure.
• Learn how to resource recovery can be a sustaining commercial industry
• Gain insights into the upcoming legislative frameworks to support long-term success of recycling facilities.
• Identify opportunities for government, business and the public can co-develop innovative solutions for Hong Kong’s unique urban waste challenges.

Post-Event Actions:

• Insights into establishing a framework for all parties involved.
• Tools for communicating the economic and environmental rewards of advanced resource recovery to internal boards and external community partners.
• Actions that can be taken to collaboratively move the resource recovery movement forward in the short term.

Hong Kong is entering a transformative era where waste management evolves from a municipal necessity into a high-value growth sector. By leveraging the city’s unique “Super-Connector” status, this session explores the immense commercial opportunities emerging at the intersection of national-level plans, local government policy, and the unique yet pivotal role Hong Kong plays in the Greater Bay Area.

Our panel, comprising government officials and multi-industry business leaders, will examine successful waste management models from neighboring GBA cities to identify transferable innovations in policy and technology. By fostering knowledge exchange and collaboration, the discussion will focus on how businesses can capitalize on regional synergies to drive large-scale impacts in resource recovery. We will explore how Hong Kong can bypass long-standing hurdles, aligning our local expertise with those of the GBA and beyond to build a world-class sustainability hub.

Session Learnings:

• Identify specific, successful waste management and circular economy models from GBA cities that can be adapted to Hong Kong’s high-density urban environment.
• Gain insights into how Hong Kong’s regulatory framework is evolving to better harmonize with regional standards, facilitating smoother cross-border collaboration.
• Understand how leveraging Hong Kong’s “Super-Connector” status can help businesses attract green investment by serving as a gateway to GBA sustainability projects.
• Discover established platforms and informal channels for ongoing knowledge exchange between Hong Kong industry leaders and their regional counterparts.

Post-Event Actions:

• Facilitate organizations to identify opportunities presented to Hong Kong’s waste management and resource recovery industry.
• Familiarize with the waste management best practices currently being conducted in the GBA and beyond for the benefits in Hong Kong.
• Sustainability and resource recovery opportunities are everywhere, look into our neighbouring regions for innovations and inspirations.

Hong Kong government has created the legal framework necessary to roll out ‘producer responsibility schemes’ to cover the collection and recycling used packaging and products at the end of life. The first to roll out is beverage packaging including plastic bottles and drink cartons. What can we learn from the high recycling rates for paper and metal in Hong Kong? How did we achieve this? Can we successfully expand existing networks to collect other materials? What can we learn from other economies? Who pays? 

Session Learnings:

• Which recycling models succeed in dense Asian communities? How do they differ from European models? 

• How do Asian cities leverage their extensive networks of cleaners in collecting recyclables? 

• How to facilitate separation and sorting along the route from consumer to processors? 

• How to adapt and grow recycling systems to include ever more items, including different types of plastics? 

Post-Event Actions: 

• Ways in which property managers can support residents and cleaners with recycling  

• Policy makers to recognize and support cleaners with their recycling work 

• Producers and recyclers to work closely with property managers and cleaners 

With increasing awareness on the reduction of Scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions, and business demands for decarbonised products, procurement plays a vital role in contributing to carbon reduction through embedding carbon reduction goals into sourcing and procurement decisions. This panel explores strategies for embedding carbon-reduction criteria into supplier selection, contracts, KPIs, and cost models. Speakers will share their experience in measuring and reducing carbon emissions across multi-tier networks, balancing carbon reduction targets with cost and delivery performance, and engaging suppliers to build low-carbon supply chains.

Session Learnings:

• How to incorporate carbon reduction targets into supplier evaluation, contracts, and scorecards without eroding competitiveness
• Approaches to measure and manage Scope 3 emissions in complex supply networks
• Strategies to balance carbon reduction goals with traditional procurement priorities such as cost, quality, and lead time
• Engaging and supporting multi-tier suppliers in decarbonization efforts
• Experience sharing on practical applications.

When discussing sustainable supply chains, the focus is often on environmental issues (such as Scope 3 emissions reductions and plastic reduction initiatives within the supply chain). However, environmental issues are invariably linked to human activity; human activity impacts the environment, and the state of the environment, in turn, affects people. In this session, the sustainable supply chain perspective focuses on social issues, exploring how supply chain activities affect workers, communities and consumers. This is what is often referred to as ‘social sustainability’, and it is a crucial component of the three bottom lines that is closely intertwined with economic and environmental considerations.

Session Learnings:

• Sustainable supply chains are not solely about environmental issues; social issues cannot be overlooked.
• Which social issues require attention
• The potential risks and opportunities that social issues within the supply chain present to businesses and investors
• Business practices in addressing social issues from the perspective of sustainable supply chains

Post-Event Actions:

• Re-establish the equal importance of social and environmental issues within the context of sustainable supply chains within the organisation
• Examine potential social issues from the perspective of sustainable supply chains within the organisation, as well as their significance and associated risks
• How to integrate social and environmental issues as a unified whole into the strategies and practices of sustainable supply chain management

Traditionally, the relationship between buyers and suppliers has tended to focus on price, cost, product quality, manufacturing processes and service.  As sustainability and ESG considerations are increasingly integrated into the supply chain (i.e. procurement and supplier relationships), procurement organisations must meet the sustainability expectations of their customers and various stakeholders. Beyond their own efforts, they must rely on the cooperation of suppliers to achieve overall sustainability objectives. However, supplier companies—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—often lack the necessary resources, experience and skills, and may have a limited awareness of sustainability, frequently viewing it as an additional, burdensome requirement imposed by clients. This session will explore how, from a sustainability perspective, procurement organisations can assist and empower suppliers to go beyond merely meeting basic requirements, enabling them to achieve self-improvement, growth, and even business expansion, whilst fostering positive, long-term procurement-supplier relationships.

Session Learnings:

•  The gradual integration of sustainability into procurement and supply chain relationships, and the dilemmas and challenges faced by both procurement and supplier organisations
• The blind spots and pain points encountered by supplier organisations—particularly small and medium-sized enterprises—in addressing purchasers’ sustainability requirements
• Exploring different methods and approaches to drive supplier progress and business growth from a sustainability perspective

Post-Event Actions:

• Re-evaluate the role of sustainability factors in procurement considerations
• Explore and implement various approaches to enhance suppliers’ awareness and capabilities regarding sustainability
• A clash of perspectives and a shift in mindset: creating long-term value versus cost considerations