(23 November 2018, Hong Kong) Business Environment Council Limited 商界環保協會有限公司 (“BEC”) held its flagship event, the EnviroSeries Conference today at The Mira Hong Kong. Entitled “The Making of a Low Carbon Hong Kong: Business Leadership and Best Practices”, the Conference showcased business commitment to decarbonisation through strategies, innovation, technologies, investment, integrated solutions, partnership and sectoral target-setting, and attracted over 170 participants, including policy makers, industry experts, business leaders and academics.
“The Paris Agreement, which came into force in November 2016, applies to the HKSAR as well. The HKSAR Government is expected to formulate the long-term decarbonisation strategy up to 2050 by the end of 2019 or early 2020. To this end, the Government has invited the Council for Sustainable Development to conduct a public engagement exercise in 2018-19 to tap and gauge the views of the community, including the business sector with respect to cleaner energy supply, energy savings, greener transport and waste reduction etc. The Government will continue to coordinate efforts in implementing the climate change work plan under the Steering Committee on Climate Change chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration.” Guest of Honour Mr Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment said in his keynote speech.
“It is encouraging to hear from the speakers that there were sharper focus and greater effort on climate mitigation and adaptation at the national and city levels in the last few years, especially after the Paris Agreement. For Hong Kong, we are in a unique position to tap into the expertise and support provided by international and regional programmes and initiatives, as well as to ride on the drive from China, especially in the Greater Bay Area, in climate actions and strategies. The business community in Hong Kong is ready and willing to contribute what it takes to make Hong Kong a low carbon city. This is not going to be straight-forward, but this is absolutely the right thing to do from the business perspective, as knowing your climate-related risks is a ticket to business sustainability.” Mr Richard Lancaster, Chairman of Business Environment Council, said in his closing remarks.
At the Conference, speakers and panels explored the recent developments, progress, and the next steps in Hong Kong’s transformation towards a low carbon city – feeding into Hong Kong’s long-term decarbonisation strategy. It is hoped that business champions’ leadership and action will inspire their peers and the wider community to step up to the challenge of reducing carbon. Among the speakers and guests at the Conference were (in order of appearance):
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Guest of Honour and Keynote Speaker: Mr Wong Kam-sing, GBS, JP, Secretary for the Environment, HKSAR Government
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Mr Shailesh Sreedharan, Director of Global Operations, World Resources Institute
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Dr Zhang Jian-yu, Vice President, Environmental Defense Fund
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Dr Thomas Tang, Sustainability Consultant
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Mr Sebastian-Hartmut Schenk, Digital Champion Asia Pacific, Head of BASF Management Consulting Asia Pacific
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Mr Jonathan Drew, Managing Director in Infrastructure, Real Estate Group, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd
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Mr Keith Cheng, Head of Hong Kong Digitalization Hub, MindSphere Application Center – City, Siemens Ltd
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Mr T. K. Chiang, Managing Director, CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd
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Dr Nadira Lamrad, Assistant Director – Sustainability & ESG Advisory, BEC
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Ms Suzin Ahn, Associate Director, CDP Hong Kong
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Mr Yuming Hui, Greater China Director, The Climate Group
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Dr Calvin Kwan, General Manager, Sustainability, Link Asset Management Ltd
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Dr Jeanne Ng, Director – CLP Research Institute, CLP Holdings Limited
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Mr Mike Kilburn, Assistant General Manager, Sustainability, Airport Authority Hong Kong
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Mr Guilaume Schoebel, Senior Vice President – Sustainability Strategy, Schneider Electric
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Ms Amie Shuttleworth, Global Director of Sustainability, Cundall
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Dr Raymond Yau, General Manager, Technical Services & Sustainable Development, Swire Properties Ltd
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Mr Andy Yeung, Director and Head of Technical Services & Sustainability, Hongkong Land Ltd
Staged twice a year, EnviroSeries Conference is BEC’s flagship event that aims to provide a cross-sector forum for stakeholders to discuss and address key issues related to Hong Kong’s environmental sustainability, and serves as a key initiative of BEC in terms of thought-leadership on important topical issues.
For more information about BEC EnviroSeries Conference, please visit HERE.