Unlocking the value of corporate sustainability strategy

Karen HO is the Head of Corporate and Community Sustainability for WWF-Hong Kong. She works with stakeholders across public and private sectors as well as civil society to make Hong Kong a sustainable city; explores collaboration opportunities for community-based environmental protection projects and advancing sustainable development goals (SDGs); advises on strategies and best practices of setting science-based target, measurement, reporting and verification (MRV), environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure, low-carbon transformation, nature-based solutions (NbS) and net-zero circular economy. Under her leadership, the Low Carbon Manufacturing Programme (LCMP) and LOOP PLUS have helped hundreds of companies establish their baseline, take actions and improve climate /ESG performance. An accomplished senior executive, Karen held senior management positions in several Fortune 500 companies prior to joining WWF.

My Sustainability Goals for 2023:

I hope to see the Hong Kong government’s leadership in significant growth of local renewable electricity generation, a vibrant and prosperous private sector contributing positively to people and the planet, and the general public participation in advancing the SDGs.

Karen Ho is the Bloomberg APAC Head of ESG Regulations and Integration Specialist, based in Hong Kong.

She drives Bloomberg’s strategic partnerships with financial institutions as a solutions architect, helping customers to adopt Bloomberg data, news, research, index and technology in their ESG journey. Karen specializes in global ESG regulatory developments and collaborates with internal team to build solutions.

Karen represents Bloomberg to participate in multiple industry working groups to drive ESG adoptions in the financial community. She currently represents Bloomberg to sit in the Centre for Green and Sustainable Finance Working Group, under the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group in Hong Kong, and was part of the SFC’s Climate Change Technical Expert Group in 2020.

Karen has over 11 years of leadership experiences in equity research and data management including ESG and Supply Chain analysis.

My Sustainability Goals for 2023:

Both private and public sector have a clear understanding, formulate strategy and set goals towards on sustainability, and especially, transition to net zero.

As a Director, Climate Change, Asia Pacific at HSBC, Pritya drives and oversees the implementation of the Group’s climate ambition in international markets ex-ASEAN. She works with Head of Sustainability at countries and markets to develop country climate plan, engages in governance of sustainable finance, and supports Senior Management of the Bank and Business teams in external engagement on climate change and sustainability topics, including with clients, regulators, and industry bodies.

Pritya has worked on various roles in HSBC, including client coverage, wholesale portfolio management, and commercial real estate finance in Commercial Banking in Asia Pacific, before specializing in climate change. She has over 15 years of professional experience building team capabilities and implementing new policies and frameworks in the bank. Pritya holds a Magister of Management from Prasetiya Mulya Business School and Bachelor of Science in Biology from University of Indonesia.

Mr. Chris Yoshii is the Global Director of Economics + Planning and heads AECOM’s Economics and Planning practice in Asia. Under Chris’ leadership, AECOM has been able to integrate Economics into its planning and design work across Asia, South Asia and the Middle East for an array of public and private sector clients.

Mr. Yoshii’s expertise includes the provision of specialist advice and strategic direction on economic planning to government, commercial, public entities and private clients. Chris has overseen and spearheaded studies that encompass Transit Oriented Development, Urban Regeneration, New Town & District Planning, and Financial Feasibility of mixed-use urban projects. These projects often entail market analysis, programming, economic impact analysis, and project management.

Over the past 37 years, Mr. Yoshii has worked extensively with a broad range of clients and projects to ensure economic reality as part of an overall development strategy and design.

My Sustainability Goals for 2023:

I would like to see Hong Kong make substantial progress in real implementable planning and financing for the electrification of the commercial fleets (bus, public light bus, light and medium duty vehicles). Commercial vehicles are a major source of carbon emissions as well as air pollution.