BEC Climate & Nature Theatre

Shifting Compliance Baselines: Climate and Nature Action in Hong Kong

10 Sep (Thur) Day 1 : 14:00 – 14:50

The disclosure landscape for climate and nature-related risks is shifting rapidly in Hong Kong and globally. With HKEX’s enhanced ESG reporting requirements taking effect, the international rollout of ISSB standards (IFRS S1 and S2), and the emergence of the TNFD framework, companies face an increasingly complex web of compliance obligations. This panel brings together regulators, standard-setters, and advisory experts to help businesses understand what is now required, what is coming next, and how to build internal governance structures that satisfy both mandatory reporting standards and growing investor expectations. The discussion will address practical challenges in data collection, metrics, and assurance readiness, while exploring how robust disclosure can move beyond a box-ticking exercise to become a strategic tool for managing climate and nature-related risks and opportunities.

Session Learnings:

  • Understand the current and upcoming regulatory requirements for climate and nature-related disclosure in Hong Kong, including HKEX’s enhanced ESG reporting rules and their alignment with ISSB standards (IFRS S1 and S2).
  • Learn how the TNFD framework complements existing climate disclosure standards and what practical steps businesses should take now to prepare for nature-related reporting.
  • Gain insights on the data collection, metrics, and assurance readiness challenges that companies face in meeting evolving compliance baselines, and hear how leading firms are addressing them.
  • Explore how institutional investors and lenders are using disclosure data to inform capital allocation, engagement, and risk pricing, and what this means for the quality bar companies must meet.
  • Understand the governance structures and internal capabilities required to embed climate and nature reporting into board-level decision-making and enterprise risk management.

Post-Event Actions: 

  • Conduct a gap analysis of your organisation’s current climate and nature-related disclosures against HKEX, ISSB, and TNFD requirements, identifying priority areas for improvement.
  • Establish or strengthen internal governance structures for overseeing climate and nature risk disclosure and assurance.
  • Develop a phased roadmap for adopting TNFD-aligned nature-related disclosures alongside existing climate reporting obligations.
  • Engage auditors and external advisors to assess assurance readiness ahead of mandatory sustainability disclosure assurance timelines.
  • Review investor relations and stakeholder communications strategies to ensure disclosure outputs are meeting the expectations of capital providers.

Speakers

Nana Li

Impax Asset Management

Head of Sustainability & Stewardship, Asia-Pacific, Director

Nana Li leads Impax’s sustainability research, stewardship strategy and policy advocacy across the Asia-Pacific region. She is responsible for overseeing sustainability analysis and engagement priorities, coordinating dialogue with investee companies and regulators, managing external sustainability- and stewardship-related inquiries, and contributing to the ongoing development of Impax’s proprietary sustainability frameworks and methodologies.

Prior to joining Impax in 2022, Nana served as Research and Project Director at the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA). During her tenure, she authored and co-authored multiple flagship research reports on corporate governance in Asia and regularly presented to regulators and market participants, including the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges and the Shenzhen Asset Management Association. Since 2018, Nana has chaired ACGA’s China Working Group, a role she continues to hold, and she remains a Specialist Consultant to ACGA following her transition to Impax.

Nana is a frequent speaker at international conferences and industry forums organised by financial institutions, multilateral organisations and market bodies, and she is regularly invited to contribute to discussions on corporate governance, stewardship and sustainability. She has been interviewed by leading international media outlets and serves as a guest speaker at universities in Asia, Europe and North America. In 2024, Nana co-authored Unlocking Corporate Success by the Power of Diversity, the first book to examine gender diversity in Japan from an investor perspective. She is also the author of Navigating Sustainability in Asia: A Practical Guide for Corporate Leaders and Investors, which provides an applied and region-specific perspective on sustainability, governance and stewardship across Asia-Pacific. In 2025, Nana was awarded the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) Excellence in Stewardship Award (the first Asian recipient), recognising her leadership and contributions to stewardship and policy advocacy in Asia.

Nana serves on the Stakeholder Advisory Council of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants. She is also a member of the Global Policy Committee of the ICGN, the Global Policy Reference Group of the Principles for Responsible Investment, the Advisory Group of the Global Capacity Building Coalition, the ESG Committee of Women in Finance Asia and the Caixin China ESG30 Forum. In addition, she participates in global standard-setting and capacity-building initiatives as a member of the IFRS Sustainability Reference Group and the Global Capacity Building Coalition Advisory Group. Nana is also an instructor with the Association of Stewardship Professionals.

Nana holds an MBA (Honors) from the University of Chicago, a Master of Finance from the University of Hong Kong (Dean’s List), and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales (Distinction). She is a CFA charterholder and has completed the HKICPA Qualification Programme.

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