Buildings & Facilities Theatre

Fostering Collaboration in the Construction Material Supply Chain

11 Sep (Thur) Day 1 : 16:50 – 17:40

Full Programme
Buildings & Facilities Theatre

The construction industry has relied on traditional materials and processes for decades, but the urgent need for decarbonization demands a complete rethinking of how we build. While developing low-carbon alternatives for steel and concrete is crucial, true transformation requires collaboration across the entire construction value chain. This panel brings cross-sector experts together to explore how their roles and relationships must evolve. From early-stage design decisions to procurement strategies and on-site construction methods, panelists will discuss how they adapt their business models and processes to enable low-carbon construction. The discussion will highlight practical challenges, successful collaborations, and necessary systemic changes to accelerate the industry’s transition.

Learnings

  • How can cross-sector collaboration break down silos to drive low-carbon innovation across the construction value chain?
  • What systemic barriers hinder the adoption of new materials and processes, and how can they be overcome?
  • Why must decarbonisation start at the design phase to unlock scalable, sustainable outcomes?

Speakers

Jenny Zhang

Director of Sustainability

Jenny is the Director of Sustainability for Urban Land Institute APAC. She is the regional lead for ULI’s Greenprint community, a global alliance of leading property developers and investors striving to achieve net zero. Her previous experience includes climate-tech entrepreneur building carbon management software, and financial advisory on cross-border M&A transactions. Jenny graduated from UC Berkeley, is a licensed CPA, and a trainer in social impact assessment and design thinking.

My Sustainability Goals for 2025: 

  1. Connect the property development value chain (from building material all the way to tenants) to collaborate on accelerating the sector’s decarbonizing process.
  2. Connect property investment value chain (from LPs, benchmark/standards, to asset managers) to price-in climate resilience as core value protection metric.

John Haffner

Hang Lung Properties

Deputy Director — Sustainability

John Haffner is Deputy Director – Sustainability, Hang Lung Properties, where he is responsible for formulating the Group-wide sustainability strategy and driving its execution. John is also Co-Chair of the ULI Asia-Pacific Net Zero Council. He has more than two decades of experience in cleantech, infrastructure and sustainability in Asia and North America, and is proficient in Mandarin. John was a World Fellow at Yale University, and has more than 20 publications on various topics including the environment, energy and international affairs.

My Sustainability Goal for 2026:

I hope Hong Kong will take initial steps towards developing and publishing a deep decarbonization model that would allow all stakeholders to compare transparently the abatement potential of various carbon reduction measures (including the technical feasibility and expected costs of such measures).

Speaking at 2026 sessions:

Day 1

Adapting to Global Shifts: Strengthening Systemic Resilience Across Asia

Yoonmee Jeong

OCBC Bank

Head of Sustainability Office, Global Wholesale Banking

Yoonmee is the Head of the Sustainability Office for the Global Wholesale Banking division at OCBC, where she plays a pivotal role in driving the bank’s Net Zero and sustainability strategy for both corporate and institutional clients across all markets globally. Her team leads the coordination of OCBC’s Net Zero commitment, develops practical and credible sustainable banking solutions, and engages clients on managing transition and diverse ESG risks.

Yoonmee joined OCBC in 2019 to spearhead sustainable financing initiatives for corporate clients. Since then, the bank’s sustainable financing engagement has grown significantly. In 2024 alone, OCBC advised over 100 corporates on sustainable financing and was named the #1 bank for ESG loans in Asia ex-Japan. The bank has also developed numerous innovative ESG solutions, including 1.5°C loans, market-first SME green and social loans, and SME sustainability-linked programs.

Before joining OCBC, Yoonmee worked in the Sustainable Finance team at BNP Paribas Global Markets in Hong Kong, where she coordinated the launch of a sustainable finance program for corporate and institutional clients and advised on several inaugural sustainability bond issuances in the region.

With two decades of experience in financial institutions, Yoonmee has developed deep expertise in sustainable finance and business development across diverse markets, including Seoul, Hong Kong, Paris, and Singapore. She holds a CFA charter, an MBA from HEC Paris, and a master’s degree in Sustainability Leadership from the University of Cambridge.

Yoonmee is also a co-lead of the Taxonomy Working Group at the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association, an industry initiative promoting the adoption of credible sustainable financing practices. She recently joined the Singapore Green Building Council as a board member as well.

Shuyi Li

RMI China

Principal, Heavy Industry & Recycling

Shuyi Li is a Principal of RMI China Program, and head of Industry Decarbonization Initiative, where RMI works to accelerate decarbonizing China’s heavy industries, covering steel, cement, petrochemicals & chemicals, and aluminum. She led the development of the China heavy industry sectoral transition roadmap series, as RMI China’s flagship reports and one of the earliest in the field, in close partnership with leading industry associations/institutes and recognized by many. She also heads the work on industrial use case optimization for solutions like green hydrogen, massive recycling, CCUS, etc., and the initiative to establish near-zero industrial hubs where upstream energy/feedstock supply, midstream infrastructure, industrial offtakers, and their downstream users are brought together to help achieve tipping points, while leveraging finance and policy to enable the change. Before joining RMI, Shuyi has years of experience advising governments in industrial energy efficiency and low-carbon development. She also served as an expert fellow and mentor for EDF Climate Corps China Program, and was winner of the William K. Bowes, Jr. Award for Leadership. Currently, Shuyi is a mentor for Global Women’s Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET), and external strategy expert for a global leading company in energy management and automation.

Samanta Pong

Shiu Wing Steel Ltd.

Executive Director

Samanta has been with Shiu Wing for 20 years. Shiu Wing is the leading steel manufacturer and rebar trading company in Hong Kong. The steel industry is highly carbon-intensive and Shiu Wing aims to reduce the upfront carbon of its products through responsible procurement and offering offsite prefabrication processing to its customers. In addition, Shiu Wing commissioned the largest solar energy generation system in Hong Kong in 2022 on the rooftop of its mill in Tuen Mun.

Samanta holds a Master of Engineering degree from University of Oxford. She is currently a member of the Industry Standards and Practices Committee at the Hong Kong Green Building Council, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Circular Economy Advisory Group at the Business Environment Council. In addition, she was a member of the Council of Sustainable Development under the Environment Bureau from 2017 to 2023.

My Sustainability Goals:

To increase awareness of embodied carbon of building materials among stakeholders

Supported by

With thanks to