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Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)

Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG)
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
A Chinese worker sorts through a tidal wave of plastic at a waste management company in 2015. Photo: AFP
Environment

How mainland China’s waste import ban impacted how we recycle plastic today

China upended the global waste recycling industry in 2018 when it banned such imports. Four years later, it appears to have successfully reduced export volume but has shifted waste to other Asian countries.

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Science

Plans revived for dam on Poyang Lake, cutting it off from Yangtze in dry season

Green finance

Explainer | Here’s how your investment in Hong Kong’s green bond fights climate change

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Business of climate change

China has a carbon storage tool from decades of tree-planting frenzy

As the world struggles to avert climate change, vegetation may help deliver the decarbonisation needed, and China arguably has a head start thanks to a tree-planting initiative with its roots in flood control.

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Almost two decades and billions of trees later, China’s tree planting efforts are literally visible from space. Illustration: SCMP Graphics
ESG investing

China tops US in climate funds as ESG investing gains traction

The rapid growth of China’s climate funds market can be attributed to the heightened focus on climate change and other environmental issues, Morningstar said.

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Business of climate change

Hong Kong has much ground to cover before becoming carbon trading hub

Hong Kong’s regulators and would-be market makers of a credible regional carbon market have their work cut out for them, a cross-agency steering group said.

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Environment

Editorial | Urgency needed in fight against plastic

Disposable masks, self-testing kits and the demand for takeaway meals arising from the pandemic have made the pollution problem more acute.

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Takeaway food order is a popular choice amidst the fifth wave of coronavirus outbreak. Pictured in Wan Chai. Photo: Nora Tam
Business of climate change

Asia-Pacific CEOs, boardrooms lack urgency on climate-change risks: report

A pitiful 8 per cent of Asia-Pacific companies have established their plans toward a net-zero emission target, showing much apathy in corporate boardrooms on climate-change risks.

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Electric & new energy vehicles

Hong Kong needs more EV charging facilities to keep up with rising use

Hong Kong needs to catch up on electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities to meet demand, as EV use could more than double to 10 per cent by 2025, according to Cornerstone Technologies.

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Business of climate change

Chinese manufacturers lack plan on carbon emissions without firm targets

Only 43 per cent of industrial companies in China have taken action to tackle greenhouse gas emissions even though 73 per cent believe Beijing’s carbon neutral goal will impact business, survey says.

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An aerial view of a coal-fired power plant in Hanchuan, Hubei province, on October 13, 2021. Photo: Getty Images
Good Schools Guide

How Hong Kong’s young are leading the fight against the climate crisis

Across the world young people are leading the fight to enact change at the grass-roots level, with the Canadian International School Hong Kong hosting the second annual SGD summit

Speakers and staff involved with CDNIS’ Global Goals Council event. Photo: CDNIS
Banking & finance

Sustainability start-up hires Pinduoduo exec to lead Singapore expansion

Sustainability data provider MioTech has hired the former finance head at Pinduoduo to help grow its operations in Singapore in anticipation of rising demand for its services.

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Business of climate change

Hong Kong property firms assess risks as extreme weather looms on horizon

Hong Kong property companies are assessing their exposure to climate change impact, devising plans and adopting measures to bolster their resilience and capacity to adapt, especially to extreme flood and storm risks.

Environment

Will a global plastics treaty help Asia clean up pollution and waste?

Asia contributes 80 per cent of global ocean plastic. With the treaty, governments need to tackle pollution through the entire plastics supply chain, from production to disposal.

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Tourists and locals voluntarily clean the beaches in the Tarutao National Park in Thailand. Photo: Getty Images
Business of climate change

Asian companies lag behind US, Europe in climate impact disclosures

In contrast, the delinquencies in New York, London and Frankfurt were between 4.5 and 17.6 per cent of listed companies, according to ESG Book.

Land being cleared for an oil palm plantation in southern Malaysia’s Johor state on February 26, 2019. Photo: Reuters
Climate change

Global assets worth up to US$12.7 trillion exposed to climate risks, report says

While billions of people and ecosystems least able to cope are being hit hardest by climate change, trillions of dollars worth of assets will be exposed to risks from storms and rising sea levels by 2100, scientists said.

Business of climate change

World risks falling behind on climate goals amid natural gas pipeline binge

The world risks failing to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions ambitions by mid-century, if natural gas pipeline projects long enough to go around the world four times are not stopped, according to an environmental advocacy.

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Business of climate change

Chinese cement makers face ‘carbon capture technology challenges’

An undeveloped market for the collected gas means corporate efforts remain at a pilot stage, says president of Calgary-based Delta CleanTech.

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The cement sector is responsible for 15 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in China, the world’s largest emitter. Photo: Shutterstock Images
Business of climate change

Tech key to decarbonisation of Chinese steel mills, BHP executive says

China’s steel industry will go through a multistage technology-driven decarbonisation journey, according to a senior executive at Australian mining giant BHP, which is helping the sector make this transition.

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Environment

Saving sparrows and black kites one nest at a time: the bird men of Delhi

Between them, India’s record-breaking ‘Nest Man’ Rakesh Khatri and the brothers behind Wildlife Rescue – featured in a Sundance documentary – have saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of birds.

Coronavirus pandemic

Why walls of empty styrofoam boxes are piling up across Hong Kong neighbourhoods

Containers used by drivers to bring fresh food into city, but mainland wholesale markets no longer willing to take them back due to infection fears.

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Styrofoam boxes piled up near Chun Yeung Street Market in North Point. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Environment

Pollution causing more deaths than Covid-19, ‘immediate action needed’

UN environmental report talks of at least 9 million premature deaths a year from pollution; recommends ban on ‘forever’ substances, cleaning up polluted sites, relocating affected communities.

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Children play in plastic waste collected for recycling in Makassar, Indonesia. The torrent of man-made chemical and plastic waste worldwide has massively exceeded limits safe for humanity or the planet. Photo: AFP
Business of climate change

New China energy efficiency targets to drive heavy industry consolidation: analysts

Beijing’s announcement of five-year energy consumption reduction targets for 17 energy-intensive industries will spur industry consolidation, analysts said.

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Business of climate change

China ends funding for belt and road coal plants in line with Xi’s pledge

China stopped funding coal projects in belt and road nations last year, but support for oil and gas ventures surged, according to a Fudan University report.

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Business of climate change

Covestro turns to green hydrogen to make products more sustainable

Covestro’s Shanghai plant is likely to be German firm’s first plant globally to use green hydrogen, putting it on track to reach its decarbonisation goal.

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The logo of plastics company Covestro is illuminated in front of its corporate headquarters in Leverkusen, Germany. Photo: DPA
Green finance

Eye on Asia | How blockchain technology can help solve Asia’s need for green finance

A new blockchain-based infrastructure can transform green finance in Asia and restore confidence in it amid complaints over greenwashing and poor transparency.

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A worker walks near solar panels, which are one of the sustainable energy options that help olive farmers, in Mosul, Iraq on January 26. Asia is in dire need of green finance to fund its sustainable infrastructure projects. Photo: Reuters
Philanthropy

Opinion | Why Hong Kong should be Asia’s philanthropy hub

The city has a long history of private investment in welfare and a culture that promotes individual social responsibility. Coupled with its existing role as a global centre of business and commerce, Hong Kong is well positioned to lead Asia in addressing social needs.

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Women and gender

Hong Kong firms under pressure to improve gender diversity in boardrooms

Hong Kong-listed companies, which lag behind the US and Europe on board diversity, face greater pressure from fund managers to dismantle all-boys clubs.

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