People & Purpose Theatre
Unlocking the Potential of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Day 1 : 16:45 – 17:35
Increasingly business leaders are recognising DEI as an opportunity for talent development, greater variety of perspectives, increased employee engagement and efficiencies, and generating profit. Yet all too often, DEI is considered as another function of the Human Resources department. While inclusive of HR and operations, for DEI to succeed, it needs to be treated as a core business strategy by the executive table, and encompassed within all levels and facets – internal and external – of an organisation.
Learnings
- How is DEI becoming more relevant to businesses in Hong Kong?
- Why is it important for business leaders to champion DEI efforts? How can decision makers drive strategies from their respective spheres of influence?
- How can business leaders leverage on DEI as an advantage for business strategies, bring on opportunities and create an impact in the community?
Post-event actions
- Understand DEI in the Hong Kong context and gain insights on pertinent opportunities of DEI in helping businesses to thrive
Speakers
Moderator
Michael Chan
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager – Asia
Michael Chan
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager – Asia
Michael is the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager at Mayer Brown. With a background in learning and development and cross-disciplinary knowledge in psychology and public health, Michael is currently leading the firm’s diversity, equity & inclusion effort in Asia. Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Michael worked at Community Business, an Asia-based non-profit that advances responsible and inclusive business practices in the region.
Brenda Alegre
Lecturer
Brenda Alegre
Lecturer
Brenda teaches in the Gender Studies program of The University of Hong Kong. She has a BS, MA & PhD in Psychology. She has always been among the most visible queer activist in Hong Kong and the Philippines and has appeared on TV and radio. She has been among the more prominent voices of the community speaking all over the world. Her research work and publications are mostly on exploring the trans identities using interdisciplinary approaches. She was on the Executive board of ILGA Asia (2019 to 2022) and ILGA world (2015 to 2019) and currently the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines. She’s a mentor to Migrant Workers groups in Hong Kong. She delivered a statement in 2018 at the United Nations on Transgender Advocacy week and won the Hong Kong LGBTQ plus Public Champion and among the Finalists for AmCham Women of Influence 2023.
My Sustainability Goals for 2023:
Hoping Hong Kong would be a more inclusive, diverse and equitable society for all.
Hoping for greater representations for migrants and LGBTQI people.
Hoping for increased opportunities for minorities .
Utkarsh Mittal
Global Agile Transformation Leader – DEI and Well-Being
Utkarsh Mittal
Global Agile Transformation Leader – DEI and Well-Being
Utkarsh Mittal is the Global DEI and Wellbeing Transformation Leader at Schneider Electric. His role is to bring cohesion and standardization to DEI & WB processes and practices, explore opportunities to further digital transformation, and manage external partnerships with organizations on the topic.
In his previous roles, Utkarsh led the cultural and digital transformation of the global recognition program at Schneider Electric.
Utkarsh has a double Master’s in Business Management and Change Management from EDHEC Business School, France and Maastricht University, Netherlands. He holds a Bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering.
Surali Siriwardene
Chief of Staff & Head of Strategy
Surali Siriwardene
Chief of Staff & Head of Strategy
Surali (Su) is responsible for defining and driving the execution of the HSBC Wealth and Personal Banking strategy in Hong Kong, enabling key strategic initiatives including owning the Sustainability and Inclusion agenda across the business. With over 16 years of experience with HSBC, Su has held a number of senior market, region and global roles in Retail Banking, Private Banking & Wealth, Commercial Banking, Operations & Risk Management.
My Sustainability Goals for 2023:
Enabling our customers and staff to discover their own ESG priorities and support HSBC to be a banking partner that enables our customers and staff members to achieve their sustainability and inclusion ambitions.
Supported by
The British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
The Chamber is one of Hong Kong’s biggest and most active independent international business organisations representing a broad span of British, Hong Kong and international companies doing business in, with, or through Hong Kong.
The Chamber encourages diversity in its membership and activities and has a 1,000 members from the biggest multinationals through to a broad range of medium and smaller companies and start-ups. The Chamber’s aim is to help our members grow their business, and promote and represent their business interests by providing representation and advocacy; networking and brand exposure; as well as information and insight.
With thanks to
HSBC
Headline Sponsor for the Sustainable Finance & Supply Chains Theatre
Programme Sponsor for Rethinking Retail
(Day 2 of the BEC Circular Transition Theatre)
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited is the founding member of the HSBC Group. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 64 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of $2,990bn at 31 March 2023, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations.
Our purpose – Opening up a world of opportunity – explains why we exist. We’re here to use our unique expertise, capabilities, breadth and perspectives to open up new kinds of opportunity for our customers. We’re bringing together the people, ideas and capital that nurture progress and growth, helping to create a better world – for our customers, our people, our investors, our communities and the planet we all share.
Our sustainability goals for 2023:
“We’re focused on helping to deliver a net zero global economy. It’s a pillar of our strategy as a business.”
We aim to achieve net zero in our operations and supply chain by 2030 and in our financing portfolio by 2050. Between now and then, we’re working with our clients to help them reduce their emissions and scale up low-carbon solutions, as we work to reduce our own. This will be a change over time, as businesses and economies progressively move away from high-carbon activities. In addition, we’re providing finance to accelerate climate change solutions and building global partnerships to help channel investment swiftly towards sustainable projects.
As we transform our own operations and supply chain to net zero by 2030 or sooner, we’re asking our suppliers to do the same. We will align our financed emissions – the emissions produced by the customers and projects we finance – to net zero by 2050 or sooner.
We’re setting 2030 targets for emissions reduction in different sectors, focusing on the heaviest emitters first. Our targets include a commitment to phase down our fossil fuel financing in line with what’s needed to achieve net zero by 2050. In the meantime, we continue to support energy clients that take an active role in the energy transition, helping to finance and invest in the technologies and infrastructure needed to succeed. We engage closely with our clients on their transition plans, which helps us to track our own progress towards net zero by 2050.
Solutions Showcase:
- Green Finance & Investments
UN SDG goals that we align with:
- SDG 13 Climate Action
Legal Name: The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited