Opening Welcome: Our Net-Zero, Climate-Resilient Future: Aligning Public-Private Ambition & Action

Chris has 25 years of experience working on large-scale business events. Originally from the UK, Chris has lived and worked in Hong Kong since 2015. Chris moved to Hong Kong to establish a North Asia office for a London-based trade expo organiser and launch a series of digital transformation events. The challenges of living sustainably and a developing concern around the exponential threats of the global climate emergency compelled Chris to “rethink” his own personal contribution to Hong Kong and how he could best make a positive impact on a city he now proudly calls home.

Chris conceived, designed and launched the ReThink HK event during the first part of 2019 – undeterred by the challenges faced by live events at that time, due to civil unrest, the new event concept for uniting the full business and sustainability ecosystem, championing positive action and shared responsibility received excellent support. The inaugural 2020 event was, unsurprisingly, delayed due to COVID but finally ran, in-person, at the K11 Quarry Bay with 500 attendees, with all delegate fees donated to local charities.

Chris’ experience in hosting content-led expo-style healthcare events in the UK, where partnerships and collaboration were crucial to scale and success, provided the foundation for Chris to widen the supporting network of organisations and sponsors for ReThink HK. The event was moved to the HKCEC for the 2021 edition and evolved into one of the region’s leading events for climate action and the business of sustainability, with over 9,500 attendees in 2025. Chris is proud to have maintained the event’s impact pledge, with all delegate fees contributing to impact projects with local Hong Kong charities.

Working alongside the Business Environment Council, Consulates and trade promotion offices, Chambers of Commerce, specialist industry associations, NGOs and action groups, the collective ambition for ReThink HK is to accelerate change in Hong Kong, and beyond – the event returns for its seventh edition this September at the HKCEC, will host over 10,000 attendees and aims to be at least carbon neutral.

Proceeds from delegate fees are now redirected to the Rethink Foundation, a not-for-profit focused on helping registered NGOs collaborate, build capacity and operate more sustainably.

Chris received a Bachelor’s degree in International Business and Italian from the University of Plymouth (UK). Chris is a current member of the British Chamber of Commerce’s ESG Committee, and sat on the Executive Committee and the Sustainability sub-committee of the Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association between 2022 and 2026.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Greater action from businesses to contribute towards a more sustainable HK
• Encourage other event organisers to commit to sustainable solutions
• Demonstrate that businesses can be operated profitably and with purpose

Catherine is a nonprofit leader with a communications and events background spanning over 15 years. As Executive Director of the local charity, HandsOn Hong Kong, she has a passion for creating impactful programs, empowering teams to reach their potential and moving people to take action. Since joining HandsOn in 2016, she has empowered thousands of the city’s employees, families and students on the power of volunteering to address our social needs. Catherine led teams and ran flagship events at both OgilvyOne and The Economist Group before joining HandsOn and holds a B.A. (Honours) in Communications from the University of Technology in Sydney.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

I hope to see Hongkongers commit to making sustainable choices–and changes–in their daily lives. There’s no starting point too small!