Rethinking Sustainability Actions for SMEs

Dennis is a seasoned professional with a unique blend of technical expertise and financial acumen. With close to 20 years of experience, he has navigated the realms of consultancy, start-up entrepreneurship, and banking. With his diverse background, Dennis bridges the worlds of technical expertise and financial innovation driving sustainability and climate transition initiatives. Currently serving as a Senior Vice President at DBS Bank, Dennis is part of the Sustainability team covering the North Asia region (including Hong Kong & China) within the Institutional Banking Group (IBG).In his role, Dennis leads three key areas including sustainable finance, ESG advisory and ESG and climate risk management.

Prior to joining DBS, Dennis co-founded IRESC, a technical service and risk consulting firm, where he led sustainability, EHS and risk analysis studies for energy and petrochemical projects globally.

Jerwine Bonafe Que is a Hong Kong-based entrepreneur, Managing Director and the co-founder of The Blomstre, a sustainable lifestyle brand dedicated to eco-conscious home fragrances. The Blomstre practices sustainable approach by offering candle refills to extend product life, using natural soy wax, and sourcing recyclable and biodegradable materials for packaging. Every product is small batches, crafted with ethically sourced, non-toxic ingredients, ensuring minimal environmental impact without compromising on quality.

Beyond her work at The Blomstre, Jerwine is a committed for social impact. She mentors emerging entrepreneurs through the Foundation for Shared Impact and empowers young minds as an Entrepreneurship Instructor at Empower Thru. Her humble efforts focus on supporting children’s charities and NGOs, particularly in the Philippines, aligning her business’s sustainability mission with community-driven change.

My Sustainability Goals for 2025:

1. Scale the “REFILL CULTURE”, advocate for city-wide refill programs.
2. Sustainability Credits Program, to encourage and reward people for being eco-conscious.
3. Subsidised sustainable SMEs, hope the Government offer grants to eco-businesses and their approved plans.

Pia is a seasoned social impact strategist with 25+ years of experience in cross-sector partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and impact measurement. Her career began in leadership roles at Weber Shandwick Shanghai and Synovate (Ipsos) APAC before shifting her focus to scaling social impact in Hong Kong in 2006.

Driven by a commitment to systemic change, Pia has spearheaded initiatives in literacy and education during her 12-year tenure as Executive Director of Bring Me A Book Hong Kong. As Co-Founder of Voice for Social Good, Pia is also a huge advocate of operational funding for nonprofits to strengthen sector resilience and deliver on impact – as their viral “Bake a Difference” campaign demonstrates.

Earlier this year, through Purpose Impact Action, Pia led Hong Kong’s first ever impact measurement research. This groundbreaking initiative addressed critical gaps in nonprofit effectiveness while responding to the growing imperative for SMEs to demonstrate their social impact and sustainability commitments to remain competitive.

By transforming complex data into actionable insights, Pia empowers organizations to demonstrate and scale their social value with clarity and confidence.

Pia holds a BA (Hons) from University College London and a Business Sustainability Management Certificate from the University of Cambridge (2022).

My Sustainability Goals for 2025:

My 2025 sustainability goals are focused on advancing social impact measurement in Hong Kong through two strategic priorities:

1. Shifting mindsets: Through advocating a long-term approach to sustainability by encouraging funders and investors to commit to multi-year grants or investments. This enables mission-driven organizations to generate robust, evidence-based outcomes over time. In parallel, nonprofits and social enterprises must confidently champion their impact measurement needs to secure the necessary resources and visibility.
2. Pooling Resources and Expertise: Drive sector-wide collaboration by developing localized, shared impact measurement frameworks. Aligning on common outcomes and key indicators will enhance data comparability, reduce duplication, and streamline impact reporting — ultimately strengthening the ecosystem’s ability to demonstrate collective progress.