Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards 2023: Celebrating Excellence in ESG Disclosure

HONG KONG, Nov. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited is pleased to announce the winners of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards ("HERA" or "the Award"). Over the past six years, HERA has successfully attracted nearly 200 enterprises from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and this year has also seen participation from companies in Russia and Singapore, making it one of the most recognized ESG awards in Hong Kong. Since its establishment, HERA has always recognised enterprises with outstanding performance in ESG Reports, encouraging companies to follow the best practices of corporate ESG disclosure.

Tony Wong, founder of HERA, stated: "If Hong Kong is to become the green finance center of Asia, it must maintain a leading level in ESG disclosures. Over the years, HERA has actively promoted the participation of companies from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, and this year we have participation from Russia and Singapore. Attracting companies from other markets is a recognition of HERA's credibility. We hope to attract more companies from around the world that excel in ESG disclosure to learn from each other and make HERA a benchmark platform for excellent ESG disclosure levels in the Asia region."

With the Hong Kong Stock Exchange releasing a consultation paper on climate-related disclosures in April this year, the disclosure requirements for companies are set to rise, including for Scope 3 carbon emissions and the impact of climate change on companies' financial performance. The requirements for ESG reports are far higher than they were six years ago.

"Over the past two years, more and more companies have started to reap the benefits of improved ESG disclosures, including broadening financing channels, enhancing competitive advantages, and strengthening brand stickiness. From the list of HERA award-winning companies, several have achieved outstanding results for consecutive years. The reason for this is that these companies are willing to invest more resources in ESG, including implementing various projects to improve ESG performance and increasing the transparency of ESG performance. This is precisely in line with our original intention of holding HERA to promote mutual improvement among companies in ESG disclosures," Tony added.

The global ESG market is still evolving, including disclosure standards, audit standards, industry professional qualifications, etc. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) released two disclosure standards at the end of June this year, including the general disclosure requirement known as S1, and the climate-related disclosure requirement S2. HERA will continue to cooperate with industry stakeholders to keep up with the times.

Tony concluded: "In addition to continuing our cooperation with the Dutch real estate ESG rating agency GRESB from last year, this year we have also added a new partnership with Avelia to promote its Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The new ESG disclosure requirements to be implemented in 2024 will require companies to disclose their Scope 3 emissions, which cover all carbon emissions from upstream and downstream activities in the value chain, such as logistics transportation and business travel by employees. Companies can reduce their Scope 3 carbon emissions by purchasing sustainable aviation fuel. Through this partnership, we hope to promote SAF to more companies with high demand for air transport, as an appropriate carbon reduction tool to effectively achieve their zero-carbon goals."

The winners (see appendix) are selected by an independent panel of judges, comprising of experts from different backgrounds, including business, non-governmental organisations and academia. It was an honour to have the following judges to supervise HERA's corporate performance evaluation process: Dr. Yarime Masaru, Associate Professor, Division of Public Policy, HKUST, Ms. Lisa Marie Djeng, HERA honoured panel judge, Mr. Mike Wong, CEO, the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies, Mr. Joseph Chan, Head of Communications, and Engagement Section, Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development Office (SRSDO), the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), and Mr. Felix Lam, Head of Sustainability, Green Council.

HERA has a total of ten award categories this year, including Best ESG Report, Best Sustainability Report for Non-listed Company, Best GRI Report, Excellence in ESG Governance, Excellence in Environmental Positive Impact, Excellence in Social Positive Impact, Newcomer Award, Carbon Neutral Award, Outstanding ESG Improvement Award, and Excellence in Real Estate for both Standing Investments Benchmark and Development Benchmark.

About HERA
The Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards recognise companies for excellence in ESG disclosures, which helps them build trust among their stakeholders. The Awards welcome applications from companies in Hong Kong, Macau and Mainland China that are dedicated to following outstanding practices in sustainability reporting. HERA is organised by Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited, a registered non-profit organisation. For more details, please visit our official website at https://hkesgawards.com/.

About Alaya Consulting
Alaya Consulting is an ESG consultancy focused upon ESG advisory, carbon emissions solutions, disclosure, data verification, ratings upgrade, and GRI Certified Training.  We are the ESG partner of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (HERA) and the first ESG Advisory in Asia to receive approval from SBTi regarding our carbon reduction target.

APPENDIX

Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards 2023 Winners