Announcing the Winners of the 5th Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards

Hong Kong, 20 October 2022 – Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited is pleased to announce the winners of the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (“HERA” or “the Award”). Since commencement in 2018, HERA has witnessed enormous positive shifts in approach and attitude of companies to ESG and related issues. HERA has seen firsthand how more and more companies are promoting ESG values and actively practicing ESG concepts. In the fifth anniversary of the HERA this year, the number of applicants has reached a record high. Over 100 entries competed for a total of 10 awards, including the new “Excellent in Real Estate” award, which is a joint effort of HERA and the global ESG benchmark of the real estate industry – GRESB. Since its establishment, HERA has always recognised enterprises with outstanding performance in ESG Reports, and is committed to not just promoting sustainability performance of companies but also encouraging companies to follow the best practices of corporate ESG disclosure.

Tony Wong, founder of Alaya Consulting and the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited, stated: “HERA’s commitment to promoting best practices in ESG is aligned with the market trend. Over the years, the winners of HERA have exceeded compliance requirements, and have successfully established the industry benchmark when it comes to disclosure standards.
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), established in 2021, is expected to launch two new standards by the end of the year, which will no doubt promote the equal importance of ESG disclosures and financial disclosures. In the future, HERA will continue to shine light on the best ESG practices within the industry, and work with outstanding enterprises in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to promote coordinated development of ESG in the above regions”

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 (in alphabetical order) to supervise HERA’s corporate performance evaluation process: Dr. Yarime Masaru, Associate Professor, Division of Public Policy, HKUST, Ms. Lisa Marie Djeng, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, Keywise Capital Management (HK) Limited, 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 Ms. Judy Chen, CFA, Senior Researcher, Our Hong Kong Foundation.

Overall, the judges panel was satisfied with ESG disclosure performance of the applicants and believed that the level of disclosure demonstrated by contenders for the awards was continuously improving, especially in terms of climate-related disclosures. In fact, many of the participating companies have made disclosures based on the TCFD framework and formulated corresponding quantitative indicators. The judges panel also encourages participating companies to increasingly incorporate ESG into their business strategies. Recognising that the current market is continuously affected by many uncertainties, a high level of ESG disclosure and dedication to adopting ESG best practices can help enhance companies’ competitiveness while also improving their resilience to the volatility of the market.

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 one new award category: Excellence in Real Estate.

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.

Media Contact:
HERA Organizer – Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Limited
Susie Chen
Tel: + 852 5120 5778
Email: susie@hkesgawards.com