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Hong Kong businesses’ ESG planning must look at long term, go beyond regulatory requirements, says CPA Australia
- Recently released standards for climate disclosures are only the beginning of reporting demands, says ESG chairman with accounting body
- Survey shows 88 per cent of Hong Kong professionals are aware of new standards, but cost and lack of talent inhibit adoption of ESG practices
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Businesses need to make plans to go above and beyond regulatory requirements when it comes to embedding environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their strategies, according to accounting body CPA Australia.
The call for long-term planning comes after the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) launched two new sets of climate and sustainability-related disclosure standards on June 26. The standards aim to set a global baseline and meet rising demand for consistent understanding of how such factors affect companies’ prospects.
Bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) has also proposed, in a consultation paper in mid-April, that the ISSB standards form the framework for mandated climate-related disclosures in listed firms’ ESG reports.
While the new climate reporting requirements for Hong Kong companies are set to commence next year, before the information needs to be published in 2025, businesses need to be ready for even more reporting duties, said Cyrus Cheung, CPA Australia’s divisional deputy president and chairman of the ESG committee in Greater China.
“Climate [related disclosures] is the starting point, but [firms] also need to be aware of future developments as well,” said Cheung, adding that the ISSB is carrying out international consultations to gather feedback about what it should focus on next.
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