Net Zero & Nature Positive Theatre (Keynote)

The Shifting Landscape of ESG Reporting: Navigating Risk and Performance Outcomes

Day 2 : 16:35 – 17:25

As the demand on companies to make greater efforts towards sustainability and decarbonisation increase, more organisations are making sustainability commitments and looking to showcase their ESG credentials. ESG reporting has become a mandatory requirement for companies to disclose their sustainability commitments and seen by many as a way to hold companies accountable to these commitments. However, given varying voluntary ESG reporting standards, firms have often struggled with understanding ESG frameworks and demonstrating sustainable ESG integration.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has been tasked to consolidate ESG reporting standards in Hong Kong and issue a finalised set of ESG reporting standards which will be mandatory for all HKEX listed companies. Aimed at steering corporate focus decisively towards sustainability and long-term value, ISSB and HKEX have proposed tougher climate and sustainability disclosures beginning from January 2024. Discussing the new disclosure rules and sharing successfully enacted models for sustainable business growth, this panel aims to introduce the new HKEX ESG reporting guidelines and share successfully enacted models for reporting.

Learnings

  • 2022 has made clear the many limitations of voluntary ESG reporting as a mechanism to guide companies towards more sustainable practices, with news reports of greenwashing and incorrect or incomplete disclosure. There is also a growing disconnect between the commitments reported by companies, what has been practically achieved, and what can be achieved in extended time horizons (2050).
  • These limitations are highlighted by recent research which found that of the companies that have made commitments to net zero, 93% of them are set to fail on achieving these commitments. Reporting frameworks need to be consolidated and finalised and data collection for ESG streamlined. New ideas for sustainable transformation of listed firms and a renewed business case for sustainability are needed.

Post-Event Actions

  • Rethink how your company can integrate ESG, streamline ESG data collection and step-up ESG reporting to meet more demanding sustainability-disclosure requirements.
  • Rethink your company’s approach to ESG, renew and refresh efforts to achieve actual business transformation based on sustainability-related opportunities.

 

Speakers

Jamie Allen

Secretary General

Jamie Allen is the founding Secretary General of the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA), an independent membership association carrying out original research, advocacy and education on corporate governance in Asia since 1999. A published author, he has more than 30 years of experience writing about Asian business, finance, and economics. Prior to founding ACGA, he was a consultant providing customised research to multinational companies. From 1992 to 1995, he was editor of Business Asia for the Economist Intelligence Unit and a contributor to The Economist magazine from 1994 to 1996. He is one of the main authors of Awakening Governance: The evolution of corporate governance in China and CG Watch 2020 – Future promise, two reports published by ACGA in July 2018 and May 2021 respectively.

Jamie is the local convenor for the Sustainability and Climate Action Task Force (SCATF) formed in February 2022 by the Financial Reporting Council of Hong Kong. His past public service roles include being a member of the Public Shareholders’ Group, formed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), sitting on the Listing Committee of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, and serving on the Operations Oversight Committee of the Financial Reporting Council of Hong Kong.

In 2017, he received an International Corporate Governance Network Lifetime Achievement Award and a Regional CG Recognition Award from the Minority Shareholders Watch Group of Malaysia.

He is a graduate of the Australian National University, Canberra, where he received a BA (Hons) in political science and Chinese language. He studied Mandarin Chinese in Taiwan from 1983 to 1984

Mark Harper

Swire Pacific

Group Head of Sustainability

Mr Mark Harper has worked for around 20 years in the field of corporate sustainability. As Group Head of Sustainability at Swire, Mr Harper is responsible for managing the Group Sustainable Development Office, and leading on the design, execution and performance monitoring of the global corporate sustainability strategy for the Swire Group. As well as, acting as the lead change agent in driving improved sustainability performance and best practices, with a view to further embedding sustainability into overall business strategy for Swire.

Prior to taking up the Group Head of Sustainability role, Mr Harper had worked at John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd. for over seven years, where he was responsible for managing the Group’s ESG disclosures as well as advising operating companies on their own ESG submissions. In addition to his work on ESG ratings, Mr Harper was also responsible for advising the Group on policy and strategy development, particularly in the areas of climate resilience, biodiversity and sustainable waste management. He also sits on the Board of Business Environment Council, the Executive Committee of the Drink Without Waste working group and is Chair of the ESG Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

Mr Harper has extensive experience of ESG disclosure standards such as GRI and the Hong Kong Exchange ESG Reporting Guide, as well as conducting sector focused benchmarking studies, corporate environmental management, as well as organising hands-on corporate citizenship and CSR training programmes.

Before joining John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd., Mr Harper worked in a number of senior management roles at high profile NGOs including the Earthwatch Institute, Fauna & Flora International, China Water Risk, and Business Environment Council, where he was responsible for managing the organisations advisory services on ESG reporting and corporate sustainability strategy development.

My Sustainability Goals for 2024

  • Rollout of the Group’s Net Zero Carbon emissions and zero to landfill commitments.
  • Finalising the Group’s climate risk assessment process and analysis.

Kelly Lee

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX)

Senior Vice President, Listing

Ms Kelly Lee joined HKEX in 2013. She works within the Policy and Secretariat Services Unit of the Listing Division, and has been involved in HKEX’s major listing policy and ESG initiatives in recent years. Ms. Lee is currently a member of the Sustainability Committee and the Sustainability Advisory Panel of the Financial Reporting Standards Committee of the HKICPA. Prior to joining HKEX, Ms Lee was a senior associate practicing corporate and securities law in Hong Kong.

Hendrik Rosenthal

CLP Holdings Limited

Director – Group Sustainability

Hendrik is responsible for the Group’s sustainability-related strategy, reporting and communications. He supports the senior management in sustainability and climate change-related risk management and advises on sustainability matters of the Group’s power business in the Asia-Pacific region.

With more than 20 years of experience in sustainability and environmental management across the public, private and NGO sectors, Hendrik previously led research and consulting projects in Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Hendrik currently sits on a number of committees on sustainability-related matters, including as Director of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), Steering Committee member of the Climate Governance Institute Hong Kong Chapter, and an advisory panel member for the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA), amongst others.

 

Ee Sin Tan

EY

Partner, Assurance

Ee Sin has more than 15 years of experience and currently leads both the Climate Change and Sustainability Services and Financial Accounting Advisory Services teams in Hong Kong.

He assists clients with navigating the risks and opportunities arising from sustainability issues. He supports clients with formulation of sustainability strategies and data management processes to meet regulatory requirements and address expectations of different stakeholders and help companies to align business models to sustainability development goals. He also provides advisory services to clients on building an efficient and effective finance function that addresses needs of stakeholders and evolving financial and compliance requirements including integrated reporting.

Ee Sin is a practising CPA of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountant (HKICPA) and member of Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA). He also serves as a member of HKICPA’s Sustainability Committee.

Supported by

With thanks to