Fernando Lopes is a seasoned sustainability and EHS (Environment, Health & Safety) leader with over 25 years of global experience across the automotive and manufacturing sectors. Currently serving as Head of Sustainability and EHS at Johnson Electric in Hong Kong, Fernando has spearheaded transformative initiatives that align corporate strategy with international sustainability frameworks, including the UN Global Compact, GRI, SASB, and the Science Based Targets initiative.

Since joining Johnson Electric in 2021, Fernando has led the company through a remarkable sustainability transformation. Under his leadership, Johnson Electric achieved 100% renewable electricity usage across all global operations by FY25/26 — a milestone reached a full decade ahead of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) schedule. The company earned recognition from EcoVadis, in ranking in the top 1% among their industry, and was most recently awarded Standard & Poor’s highest sustainability ranking among Chinese auto component companies. These achievements reflect Fernando’s strategic vision and commitment to embedding sustainability into every facet of the organization.

Throughout his career — notably during his tenure at Delphi Technologies — Fernando has led multidisciplinary teams across 55 global sites, driving measurable improvements in safety culture, emissions reduction, and sustainability reporting. His leadership resulted in industry-leading benchmarks, including a Lost Workday Rate 27 times lower than the EU average and recognition from CDP, Ecovadis, and other global rating agencies.

Fernando holds a Master of Science in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering and multiple certifications in sustainability and EHS auditing. Fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, he brings a multicultural perspective to his work and is passionate about embedding sustainability into core business operations to create long-term value.

Stefan Premer is Senior Director within Sphera’s Consulting Organization, where he leads the Corporate Sustainability Consulting department. He manages teams focused on ESG and corporate sustainability strategy, advising organizations on evolving sustainability requirements, regulatory developments, and reporting frameworks such as CSRD and IFRS.

Stefan has deep expertise in climate strategy development and corporate carbon accounting, including quantified transition planning and climate risk modelling. He has supported companies in developing and operationalizing sustainability strategies, automating sustainability processes, and implementing large-scale strategic sustainability projects across sectors.

At present, Stefan is an ISO committee member for “Quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals at organizational level,” contributing to the GHG Protocol update, as well as “Greenhouse gas and climate change management and related activities – Mitigation.”

Stefan is based in Zürich, Switzerland, and holds an M.Sc. in Business Administration, specializing in Strategy and Management in International Organizations, from Linköping University in Sweden.

Roland Aistleitner is Manager Sales & Business Development at Miralis GmbH, an Austrian company specializing in sustainable mineral insulation solutions for the construction industry. With extensive experience in international business development, he focuses on market expansion, strategic partnerships, and the implementation of innovative, high-performance insulation materials.

His work focuses on the intersection of technical product requirements and market needs, particularly in the field of sustainable construction. He is involved in in projects across Europe and the Middle East, supporting partners in the application of mineral-based insulation systems.
As a speaker, he shares practical insights on sustainable building technologies, market trends, and the future of mineral-based insulation materials, with a focus on performance, compliance, and environmental impact.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Buildings with best possible insulation materials to consume less energy.
• Buildings with less CO2 consumption during their life cycle.
• Usage of mineral insulation materials

Master’s Degree in Wood Technology and Management from BOKU University Vienna, including an exchange semester in Materials Science and Engineering at Michigan Technological University.

More than 10 years of international sales experience with a leading Austrian wood furniture manufacturer.

Passionate about engineered wood construction and driven by the challenge of developing new markets, building strong partnerships, and advancing sustainable building solutions worldwide.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Dedicated to advancing sustainable development through innovation, education, and responsible resource management.
• Strong advocate for the use of renewable, circular, and low-carbon materials in modern construction and manufacturing.

Kwok Kam Ngai is a Registered Professional Surveyor and geospatial technology specialist at RIEGL Asia Pacific. Through advanced laser scanning solutions, he helps capture critical data across natural landscapes, built environments, and even underwater ecosystems. At ReThink HK, Kwok will explore how high-quality spatial data enables smarter planning, sustainable infrastructure, and more informed decisions for building resilient, future-ready communities.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
• Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Sales Manager for Crawler Cranes at Liebherr Werk Nenzing GmbH with a focus on the East and Southeast Asia market.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Accelerate the adoption of low- and zero-emission construction equipment.
• Improve sustainability without compromising productivity and economic viability.
• Promote long-lasting technology with a lower environmental footprint over the full lifecycle.

Who says bee rescue is only for tough guys with chemical sprays? As one of the few young female founders in Hong Kong’s ecological sector, Jill Kong is redefining urban wildlife management and green education. She founded Beetales to prove that cities and nature can coexist through science, empathy, and strategic corporate partnerships. From squeezing into tight urban corners for live bee relocation to collaborating with major property developers and MNCs on urban biodiversity projects, Jill brings a fresh, dynamic, and commercial-savvy perspective to urban ecology. She specialized in turning feared insects into community favorites and driving impactful B2B sustainability collaborations that create a real buzz.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:
1. To shake up Hong Kong’s pest control culture—making “Live Bee Relocation” the trendy and default first-choice for property managers, instead of chemical extermination.

2. To bridge the gap between grassroots conservation and corporate ESG by co-creating scalable, commercially viable urban biodiversity solutions with corporate partners.

3. To mainstream ecology by integrating interactive biodiversity education into mainstream corporate wellness and CSR programs across Hong Kong.

Endy Chan Pak Hang Co-Founder & Project Lead, Smart Patrol King Limited.

Endy Chan is a PropTech innovator and the Co-Founder of Smart Patrol King Limited, an enterprise security SaaS company dedicated to modernizing facility management and frontline operations. As the Project Lead, Endy specializes in integrating Generative AI and patented IoT technologies to transform traditional, paper-based workflows into smart, data-driven systems.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Widespread Adoption of Paperless Property Management
• AI-Driven Energy Efficiency in High-Density Buildings
• Digital Inclusion and Safety for the Aging Frontline Workforce

Professor Haiwei Luo is a marine microbiologist and evolutionary biologist at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has over a decade of research experience in microbial evolutionary biology and host-microbe interactions, and has published more than 70 research articles in leading journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, Nature Ecology & Evolution, Nature Microbiology, Nature Communications,

The ISME Journal, and Molecular Biology and Evolution. He has developed a patented probiotic that persists in marine invertebrates for the entire monitoring period (8 months) in a natural marine environment after a single application, conferring enhanced thermal tolerance to marine invertebrate during natural thermal events. The same probiotic technology improves growth and immune function in commercially valuable species including oysters and mussels, supporting both food security and sustainable aquaculture. Professor Luo is a co-founder of PersistBio Ltd., a Hong Kong company commercialising persistent probiotic solutions for marine conservation and aquaculture. His work demonstrates how marine microbiology and evolutionary biology can deliver tangible tools for climate resilience, biodiversity protection, and sustainable food production.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

1. Greater awareness and openness to marine probiotics: I hope to see Hong Kong’s conservation and aquaculture sectors become more receptive to innovative, science-based solutions that protect marine life and support sustainable food production.
2. Stronger bridge between research and commercial application: I want to see more university research products translated into real-world solutions through Hong Kong startups, supported by government schemes and industry partnerships, so that scientific breakthroughs reach the people and ecosystems that need them.
3. Recognition of aquaculture as a climate solution: I hope Hong Kong positions sustainable shellfish aquaculture as part of the city’s climate resilience and food security agenda, creating regulatory and financial pathways for innovation that reduces the sector’s environmental footprint while protecting livelihoods.

Provides Ng is an architectural designer and researcher investigating how digital technologies can foster more participatory and inclusive urban environments. Her work sits at the intersection of sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI), and civic engagement, with a focus on empowering diverse communities to shape future cities.

She is a Lecturer at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, and completed her PhD research at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also the founder of the Digital Common(s) Foundation, an initiative that bridges sustainability, AI, and youth engagement by connecting policymakers, architects, students, and community members to collaboratively address climate equity and develop nature-based solutions through interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogue.

Over the past few years, the initiative has engaged more than 180 citizens and professionals, generating over 30 sustainable urban development proposals for its Idea Bank—a numerical database that transforms qualitative urban insights into machine-readable, BIM-compatible formats, turning participatory design into participatory intelligence. Their “nature-as-client” approach has received global recognition, including being named one of 15 Global Finalists at the Falling Walls Science Summit during Berlin Science Week 2025.

In addition to her academic and entrepreneurial work, Provides actively contributes to public policy and professional communities. She advises the Hong Kong government on cultural affairs, serves as a panel member for the Development Bureau and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), holds the position of Treasurer at the Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA), and is an Associate Member of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA).

Her international research experience spans Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia. She is also a founding member of two international research collectives, Current.cam and REAr_, whose AI-driven explorations in cinematic technologies and bio-inspired design have been exhibited internationally, including at the Rijksmuseum Twenthe and the Multimedia Art Museum Moscow.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

1. Education: Rebuilding interdisciplinary and intercultural literacy that reunites sustainability, AI, and the new generation.
2. Action: Driving individual behavioural change into community-led practice that becomes city-wide collective intelligence.
3. Talents: Funding a new generation of eco-entrepreneurs through design thinking and “nature-as-client” that shifts the foundation of our consumerist market.
4. Futurism: Combining real world problems with imaginative wild cards, we speculate how algorithmic logic and nature-based solutions can co-evolve, from Northern Metropolis to Island South.

Prof. To NGAI is a Professor of Chemistry and Assistant Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), as well as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He earned his B.Sc. (1999) and Ph.D. (2003) at CUHK, specializing in polymer interactions, before postdoctoral appointments at BASF (Germany) and the University of Minnesota. Returning to CUHK in 2006, he advanced from Research Assistant Professor to Full Professor in 2017. His research spans colloids, polymers, surface chemistry, and soft matter. Prof. Ngai has published over 270 papers, with more than 12,000 citations and an h-index of 58 (Google Scholar). His achievements include the CSJ Lectureship Award (2020) and the Paul J. Flory Research Prize (2023, Polychar World Forum, Nice). Since March 2026, he has served as Senior Editor of Langmuir (ACS).

Prof. NGAI is the Director and Chief Scientific Advisor of O-Spheres Limited, a start-up he founded in 2022 with support from the Innovation and Technology Commission’s “Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (TSSSU)”. The company aims to commercialise technologies developed at CUHK, offering bespoke eco-solutions to address global environmental challenges through sustainability-driven innovation in materials science. O-Spheres was admitted to the HKSTP Incubation Programme in 2022 to accelerate product development and market entry.

In 2024, Professor Ngai founded BactOPack Limited, a pioneering venture dedicated to unlocking the potential of next-generation bio-based eco-materials for use in packaging and vegan leather. Through cutting-edge eco-technological research, BactOPack is redefining sustainable packaging with scalable, low-carbon materials designed to meet the demands of a greener future.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

1. Empower Sustainable Lifestyles: Promote widespread access to eco-friendly products in Hong Kong, helping individuals and communities make informed, sustainable choices.
2.  Expand Partnerships for Impact: Grow networks to accelerate real-world innovation, delivering wider environmental and societal benefits.

Dr. Zengyue Wang received his bachelor’s degree in 2015 and his doctorate in 2021 from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Automation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research has focused on the development of safe and sustainable energy storage technologies.

In 2020, Dr. Wang founded Luquos Energy Limited in Hong Kong to commercialize safe, low-cost, and environmentally friendly sulfur-based flow battery technology for long-duration energy storage. Under his leadership, the company has successfully developed key materials and core battery components, completed pilot-scale production, and deployed multiple demonstration projects in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Luquos Energy’s sulfur-based flow battery technology aims to provide a safe, scalable, and sustainable solution for large-scale renewable energy integration, industrial energy storage, and microgrid applications. The company is actively expanding its global collaboration network and exploring market opportunities in regions such as Hong Kong, Mainland China and the Middle East, supporting the transition toward a more resilient and low-carbon energy system.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

1. Accelerate the adoption of safe, affordable long-duration energy storage to support renewable energy, data centres and EV charging infrastructure in Hong Kong.
2. Turn more buildings, farms, campuses and industrial sites into green-energy hubs, making sustainability visible and practical for the public.
3. Strengthen Hong Kong’s role as a green technology hub by helping university innovations move faster from research to commercial deployment across Asia.

Ir Queenie Chan is the General Manager – Business Transformation and Enquiry of The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas). She leads the Customer Service Hotline and the Business Transformation team, driving strategic transformation initiatives across Hong Kong Business. With over 20 years of leadership experience spanning customer service, sales and marketing, business analytics, and transformation, she has played a pivotal role in strengthening a data-driven culture and accelerating business and digital transformation. She also spearheads the development and adoption of AI initiatives to enhance operational efficiency, elevate customer experience, and foster innovation across the business.
She is a Chartered Engineer of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering from The University of Hong Kong, as well as a Master of Science in Business Management from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

First, to build smarter and more resilient energy infrastructure, especially using AI for predictive maintenance, risk monitoring and operational optimisation.

Second, to use AI and digital tools to drive energy efficiency, so that we reduce waste and make better use of existing resources.

And third, to strengthen Greater Bay Area collaboration, combining Hong Kong’s strengths in governance, finance and standards with the technology and infrastructure capabilities of other GBA cities.

Vincent Mok leads Hartley McMaster’s Asia-Pacific practice and co-chairs the Energy & Utilities Committee of the Artificial Intelligence Association of Hong Kong. At Hartley McMaster he directs the firm’s decision-science and AI consulting, leading teams that quantify capital allocation, optimization and risk for asset-intensive operators, building on the firm’s 23 years of work in water, energy, aviation and transport. His current focus is the decision layer above operations: how operators turn data into optimized and defensible capital and maintenance portfolios, and whether climate and resilience risk is actually priced into capital plans. He is the creator of SAM-DD, Hartley McMaster’s strategic asset management due diligence methodology for infrastructure investors.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

1. To see ESG and climate risk move from disclosure to decision: quantified, monetized, and embedded in the capital-allocation frameworks of asset-intensive operators and their investors. A risk that appears in a sustainability report but not in the capital plan is not yet being managed, and in 2026 the gap between the two is still wide.
2. To see APAC utilities regulators create the conditions for AI-supported capital decision-making, because the energy transition is above all a capital-allocation challenge. Grid reinforcement, renewables integration, and climate adaptation all compete for constrained capital, and AI-supported decision-making gets measurably more decarbonization and resilience from every dollar invested. Regulatory frameworks that recognize data quality and decision auditability would accelerate that shift; today they lag well behind what the technology makes possible.

Multidisciplinary leader with diverse knowledge, experience and networks that span multiple functions, industries and geographies across EMEA and ASEAN. Leading at the transformation intersection between ESG, sustainability and AI operating as a Co-Chair for Energy & Utilities at the AI Association of Hong Kong. Has a strong focus on operational, project, program management and commercialization. Holds multiple certifications in AI, Digital Leadership, Sustainability, Risk Management, a Masters in Marketing and an MBA. Experience as a Brand and Marketing Leader, Insights Leader, Chief of Staff, Business Manager, Innovation Executive, ESG Leader as well as Mentor for leading international organizations such as Investec, Deloitte, HSBC and Transnet.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• I would like to see the increased adoption of Green AI in terms of applications to better recycling, climate management and biodiversity.
• Greater use of more nature based solutions to solve some of our largest problems.
• The use of AI to really provide rigor to ESG reporting and identifying new sustainable solutions.

More than 20 years of retail experience from various commercial roles at IKEA, ie as Sales manager Poland and Commercial Director for Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Since 2021 leading the food transformation and sustainability functions at the IKEA franchisee in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia.

Michelle Brits represents Bolon in Hong Kong, bringing Swedish design and circular thinking to the region’s built environment.

With a background in retail buying and a deep appreciation for design, she combines commercial insight with a passion for materials that last. She works closely with architects, designers, and developers to specify flooring that performs, looks beautiful, and contributes to green building certifications like BEAM Plus, LEED, and WELL.

Bolon’s floors are made from 68% recycled content and are 100% recyclable – designed for longevity in high-traffic commercial spaces. Michelle is committed to showing that sustainability and great design aren’t trade-offs. They’re the same thing.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• My fantasy goal is for the HK government to legislate sustainability within the construction industry/ built environment.
• I’d love to see more electric commercial vehicles on the roads.
• And a personal goal is to reduce food waste. As a single person, I waste a lot of foods that go off since i can’t eat 10 carrots fast enough

Lisa Jakobsson is Global Sales and Marketing Manager at Circalle, the Swedish design company formerly known as Green Furniture Concept. She works with architects, designers and partners worldwide to create more human, sustainable and long-lasting public spaces.

At ReThink Hong Kong, Lisa will share how Scandinavian design principles can support a more circular built environment. Drawing on experience from airports, transport hubs, retail environments and other high-traffic spaces, she will explore how modularity, repairability, material efficiency and long product lifecycles can reduce environmental impact while improving the experience of a place. Her focus is on turning circular ambitions into practical, commercially viable action.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

The changes I hope to see in Hong Kong are:

• Circularity becoming standard practice
• More projects designed for longevity, repair, reuse and future adaptation, rather than short-term replacement.
• More human-centred public spaces
• Airports, transport hubs, retail environments and other shared spaces that support wellbeing, comfort and a stronger sense of place.
• Stronger collaboration across the value chain
• Closer cooperation between architects, designers, developers, operators and manufacturers to turn sustainability ambitions into practical and commercially viable solutions.

Erica Chan was appointed Group Chief Legal, Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer in December 2023. She is one of the directors and/or the company secretary for a number of DFI Retail Group subsidiaries. In her role, Erica oversees the Legal, Sustainability, Communications and Corporate Affairs, Group Technical, Risk management, Ethics and Compliance and Loss Prevention functions for DFI Group.

With more than 28 years of experience in retail, e-commerce, media, governance, ethics and operational and regulatory compliance in the Asia Pacific region, Erica brings a wealth of knowledge to her role. Prior to joining DFI, she spent 12 years at Walmart, most recently as SVP, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer, Asia, where she oversaw all legal matters in Asia and managed the human resources and administrative functions for the Asia office. She was also a member of Walmart’s Global President’s Diversity and Inclusion Council. Before Walmart, Erica spent 13 years at Star TV Group as the General Counsel for Greater China and General Manager for Hong Kong.

Erica is a Hong Kong-qualified solicitor. She holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Laws from the University of Hong Kong, a Common Professional Examination certificate from the University of Sussex and Bachelor of Social Science in Government and Public Administration degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She also obtained the Certification on Championing Sustainability from the Boardroom from the Stanford University.

Cintia Nunes is the General Manager and Head of Asia of The Mills Fabrica. As the innovation engine to sustainability and impact of Hong Kong conglomerate Nan Fung Group, Cintia leads the team to connect innovators in the techstyle and agrifood tech space with capital, connections, and expertise — to bring sustainability tech innovations from concept to market.

Drawing inspiration from social business principles that prioritize both profitability and purpose, she is committed to facilitating collaboration among stakeholders across the ecosystem to advance positive environmental and social impact at scale.

Before joining The Mills Fabrica, Cintia served as Chief of Strategy and Growth at Hong Kong’s largest network of social enterprises and impact ventures. She also held leadership roles at a multinational FMCG company where she formalized business strategies for over 10 brands.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• More industry level cross-sectors collaborations
• Open dialogues across stakeholder groups on what works/what doesn’t
• Accessibility/transparency to capital across asset classes for impact

Dr Thomas Williams is a scientist‑entrepreneur and CEO of Number 8 Bio, an Australian climate biotechnology company tackling one of the most difficult and important challenges in global food systems: methane emissions from grazing livestock. Grass‑fed beef and dairy represents the largest single source of emissions for many food companies and are among the hardest to abate due to the realities of extensive farming systems.

Under his leadership, Number 8 Bio has raised $20 million in venture capital and built a multidisciplinary team transforming microbiome science into practical solutions for real‑world agriculture. The company’s technology reduces methane emissions while improving animal productivity, enabling farmers to adopt climate solutions that strengthen—not compromise—their economics.

Prior to founding Number 8 Bio, Dr Williams was an internationally recognised leader in synthetic biology at Macquarie University, where he led teams of up to 17 scientists, secured over AU$10 million in funding, and helped establish the Australian Genome Foundry.

Raised in rural New Zealand, his work is driven by a focus on aligning climate impact with the realities of global food production.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Food systems account for roughly one-third of global emissions, and Hong Kong, while highly exposed to climate risks, also has a globally respected culinary culture and influence over regional supply chains. This creates a clear opportunity for the city to lead in sustainable food.
• One priority is strengthening connections between technology providers and supply chains, for example linking climate-focused companies in Australia with retailers and food distributors in Hong Kong. Southeast Asia already imports significant agricultural products from Australia, where innovations such as low-emissions livestock solutions are emerging.
• Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to showcase these more sustainable products to consumers and restaurants, helping drive demand while shaping upstream production practices. By leveraging its role as a regional food hub, Hong Kong can become a leader in aligning culinary excellence with climate-responsible sourcing.

Bernice Yu is the Head of Operations at the HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute, where she leads cross-functional collaborations that bridge academia, industry, and public policy to advance sustainability outcomes. In this role, she works closely with HKU faculties, global scholars, corporate leaders, and government stakeholders to generate research-driven insights on sustainability and enterprise transformation. She also oversees the design and delivery of high-profile forums, roundtables, and public lectures that convene international thought leaders and decision-makers, creating platforms for dialogue and action on critical sustainability challenges.

Prior to HKU, Bernice built more than 20 years of experience in human capital consulting and corporate HR leadership across Asia-Pacific, holding senior roles at Mercer, PCCW & HKT, Equinix, Aon Hewitt, and Deloitte. She has advised boards, C-suite executives, and HR leaders on organizational transformation, talent strategy, leadership development, workforce analytics, HR technology, and change management. Throughout her career, she has led large-scale transformation initiatives, developed leadership and talent ecosystems, implemented enterprise-wide HR platforms, and helped organizations strengthen workforce effectiveness and agility. Her unique combination of consulting expertise, operational leadership, and deep understanding of people and organizational dynamics enables her to drive sustainable organizational performance through thoughtful talent and workforce strategies.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

１.) Decarbonization:
Driving academic research into actionable, science-based corporate decarbonization and transition strategies across the GBA.

2.) Recycling:
Bridging academic research and real-world industry practice to execute circular economy frameworks and zero-waste operation.

3.) Biodiversity:
Translating nature-positive risk frameworks into practical ESG governance and operational standards for sustainable enterprises.

Dr. Weicong Cheng is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ocean Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), working under the supervision of Prof. Jianping Gan, his research focuses on physical oceanography, with emphasis on estuarine and shelf-sea circulation, flow-topography interactions, as well as coastal biogeochemical dynamics across the Pearl River Estuary and China Shelf Seas. Leveraging high-resolution numerical ocean models, his work advances the fundamental understanding of multi-scale ocean processes and their environmental impacts, with peer-reviewed publications in premier journals including Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, Journal of Physical Oceanography, and Water Research. As a core developer of WavyOcean (淘海), an AI-empowered digital twin system for regional earth environments, Dr. Cheng actively bridges cutting-edge ocean science with interactive visualization, making complex oceanographic data accessible and actionable for researcher and public communities.

Ryan Ng is a civil engineer turned entrepreneur with over five years of corporate management experience specialising in pipeline condition assessment. He founded and has been running Hyele for three years, building deep domain expertise in diagnosing and maintaining ageing building pipe networks. Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and is currently pursuing an MBA at HKUST. Drawing on years of frontline industry experience at Hyele, Ryan recognised that the market was ready for a fundamental shift from reactive, invasive inspections to intelligent, predictive asset management. He is passionate about turning hard-won field knowledge into scalable technology solutions for the built environment.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Who we are: Introducing Ecofeatures — now building a next-generation diagnostic platform that transitions high-rise building services from reactive repair to active asset preservation.
• What we do: A plug-and-go dual-mode sensing hardware paired with a cloud SaaS platform that pinpoints micro-leaks (≤ 0.01 l/s) down to exact floor, flat, and unit location — without blueprints, pipe cutting, or wall opening.
• How it works: Physics-guided deep learning trained on synthetic hydraulic models and fine-tuned on-site via transfer learning, enabling rapid deployment in any building regardless of drawing availability or pipe material.
• Where we are going: Our go-to-market roadmap from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to Southeast Asia and the GCC region, targeting property managers, housing authorities, and utility partners.
• Who we are looking for: Ecofeatures is actively seeking strategic partners — including property management firms, building services consultants, and system integrators — for pilot deployments and market expansion. We are also open to conversations with investors who share our vision of transforming building infrastructure maintenance through AI-driven, non-destructive diagnostics.

Jeffrey Xu is a Ph.D. candidate at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He holds a Master’s degree in Systems and Earth Systems from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to his doctoral studies, he worked at Arup Hong Kong as a Digital Twin Architect and AI Algorithm Engineer.

Prof. Zhe Yang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and an Honorary Senior Fellow at The University of Queensland. His research focuses on membrane-based water treatment and resource recovery. As an inventor and technology developer, Dr. Yang has secured four patents in advanced membrane materials and separation processes, with one water filtration technology successfully licensed to Hong Kong industry for commercialization. He has led or contributed to more than ten R&D and technology translation projects funded by Hong Kong, Australia, and Chinese Mainland. His membrane-based lithium recycling technologies have been showcased at regional and international innovation exhibitions. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers with over 10,000 citations and received numerous international awards for innovation and research excellence, including the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions Gold Medal and the James J. Morgan Early Career Award.

Jackson Yip, Founder of EC Innovation Limited, is leading the company to create impact for urban greenery with new-era innovations to deliver high quality and low-cost services, from the perspectives of AI monitoring and analytics, plumbing and irrigation, enhancing visitor experiences, and sustainability.

Jimmy Zhiyi Zhu is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Leyden Power, an energy storage company scaling rapidly across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Since the company’s founding in 2024, Jimmy has led a multidisciplinary engineering team to develop, certify, and industrialize Leyden Power’s battery energy storage systems for the global market, with a focus on resilient designs and extended asset lifetime. His leadership ensures that Leyden Power’s products are manufactured at scale without compromising performance or quality.

Prior to founding Leyden Power, Jimmy held project management and leadership roles at CLP Power, China Mobile, and Huawei. He holds an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.