Hong Kong takes new step to promote ESG agenda to reluctant and wary small business owners
- The city’s Trade Development Council is working with Dun & Bradsheet to help SMEs attain ESG credentials to compete in global market
- Council to offer free consultation, fee waiver for small business owners, hoping to change perception of ESG as a drag on operating cost
Hong Kong’s trade promotion agency is stepping up efforts to support the city’s business owners, helping enhance their environment, social and governance (ESG) credentials and raise their competitive edge in the global market.
The Trade Development Council will add ESG consultations into its Transformation Sandbox programme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which also offers branding and digitalisation advisory services.
The council expects to hold more than 100 business consultations related to ESG at no cost to business owners, hoping to change their mindset about the “sustainability” factor in their operations. The offer will be extended to some 500 SMEs in various sectors including construction, transport, catering and services.
“For a lot of SMEs, during the pandemic period or even now, it is not easy,” Patrick Lau, the council’s deputy executive director, said. “They do not want an extra pressure of higher cost. But if they do not participate, more customers might be lost.”
Dun & Bradstreet, a US-based information provider, will participate in the programme by helping assess and certify companies’ ESG credentials. It will waive a HK$25,000 (US$3,184) fee for the first 50 SMEs who apply and qualify during the promotion. Others could enjoy a HK$1,700 discount before July.
Lau said the city’s SMEs showed less passion for ESG consulting during the Covid-19 pandemic. The biggest challenge, he added, “is to recognise that ESG is not just a compliance model, but a business opportunity”, he added.