Over 870 Enterprises Break Records in Commitment to Sustainable Development

FHKI Hosts the "BOCHK Corporate Low-Carbon Environmental Leadership Awards 2023" Ceremony and Launches the 2024 Edition

 

The Federation of Hong Kong Industries (“FHKI”), fully supported by Bank of China (Hong Kong) (“BOCHK”), successfully held the 2023 Prize Presentation cum 2024 Launching Ceremony for the “BOCHK Corporate Low-Carbon Environmental Leadership Awards” today (13 August), with over 700 guests in attendance. The significant event was honoured by the presence of the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Diane Wong, who, along with FHKI leadership and BOCHK Deputy Chief Executive Wang Huabin, presented the awards and kicked off the 2024 edition.

The awards aim to drive eco-friendly initiatives across manufacturing, services, and property management sectors in Hong Kong and the Pan-Pearl River Delta region. The 2023 edition witnessed unprecedented participation with 874 enterprises, including 275 first-time entrants. The ceremony saw the distribution of 20 prestigious awards, spanning categories such as Gold, Silver, and Bronze across the sectors mentioned above. Special categories included the Best SME Award and SME Merit Award for manufacturing and services, encouraging active participation in environmental sustainability among SMEs. The programme further recognised exceptional contributions through the "Belt and Road Environmental Leadership Recognition Award," "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Environmental Leadership Recognition Award," and the "Sustainable Business Award."

Established to encourage eco-friendly practices among manufacturing, services and property management enterprises in Hong Kong and the Pan-Pearl River Delta region, the “BOCHK Corporate Low-Carbon Environmental Leadership Awards” reached an all-time high participation with 874 enterprises in 2023, of which 275 enterprises making their debut. A total of 20 awards were awarded in the prize presentation. In addition to Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards for Manufacturing, Services and Property Management Sectors, Best SME Award and SME Merit Award were presented to the manufacturing and services SMEs to encourage them to actively participate in environmental protection. Special recognition was given under the "Belt and Road Environmental Leadership Recognition Award", "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Environmental Leadership Recognition Award" and "Sustainable Business Award". Detailed winner information can be found in Appendix 1.

This year's participants collectively completed more than 2,900 green projects, achieving significant environmental savings such as the reduction of electricity consumption by over 166 million kWh, equivalent to the annual consumption of 50,000 Hong Kong households. They also reduced waste disposal by 1.29 million tonnes, equivalent to the weight of nearly 237,000 African elephants, and recycled over 920,000 tonnes of materials, equivalent to the net weight of 62,600 double-decker buses. For further details, please refer to Appendix 2.

FHKI Chairman Steve Chuang expressed his gratitude to Bank of China (Hong Kong) and all other stakeholders for their steadfast support over the years. He emphasised FHKI's strong commitment to sustainable development, which is fostered through the institution of awards, as well as the organisation of seminars and workshops to encourage enterprises to adopt Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. Chairman Chuang encouraged the industry to capitalise on the new opportunities presented by the green and low-carbon transition. “Hong Kong is fully committed to evolving into an international centre for green technology and green finance,” he stated. “Enterprises must seize these new opportunities to collaboratively build a green-tech industry ecosystem, striving to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and thus ensuring a win-win situation for both economic development and environmental sustainability.”

During her speech, the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Diane Wong, highlighted that climate change is a severe global challenge faced by all of humanity. Successfully addressing climate change requires not only governmental carbon reduction measures but also the collective support and implementation from the entire society and businesses to reduce carbon emissions and promote green, sustainable development in Hong Kong. She expressed pleasure in seeing companies actively promoting green offices, managing resources efficiently, encouraging employee participation in environmental and charitable activities, and fostering low-carbon lifestyles. “I hope that all sectors of society will collaborate closely, further strengthen environmental principles, and continuously exert efforts in innovative technology, enhanced management, and carbon reduction to contribute collectively to the sustainable development of businesses and the planet,” she stated.

BOCHK Deputy Chief Executive Wang Huabin commented, “Green finance is thriving in Hong Kong, thanks to a host of initiatives by the Hong Kong SAR Government that encourage more businesses to leverage Hong Kong’s green finance platform for sustainable development. Beyond offering a broad array of green and sustainable financial products and services, BOCHK is deeply committed to partnering with government agencies, the industrial sector, academic institutions, and various community groups. Together, we address the challenges brought by climate and environmental changes, steering the economy towards a greener, low-carbon, and sustainable direction. Since 2015, BOCHK has fully supported the FHKI to organise the ‘BOCHK Corporate Low-Carbon Environmental Leadership Awards,’ which have seen growing scale and influence. In 2023, the event reached new heights with 874 enterprises from diverse sectors participating, encouraging them to complete numerous environmental initiatives and thereby strengthen the sustainable development ecosystem throughout the Pan-Pearl River Delta region. We are eager to continue our partnerships with the Hong Kong SAR Government, the FHKI, and colleagues across all sectors, as we collectively support the carbon neutrality objectives of both mainland China and Hong Kong.”

FHKI Deputy Chairman Jude Chow stated that carbon reduction and sustainable development are major global trends. The FHKI has been proactively making recommendations to the Government on local green and circular economy strategies to meet carbon reduction targets for 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. “The FHKI recognises the challenges faced by businesses, particularly SMEs, in reducing their carbon footprint,” he noted. “That's why we have continued to host these awards over the years, honouring enterprises that make significant contributions to sustainable development and encouraging more companies to join the environmental journey.”

In addition to the awards presentation, the event featured a sharing session titled "Corporate Sustainability: Overcoming the 'Easier Said Than Done' Barrier". The session included insights from several distinguished guests: Richard Lin, Founder and Director of Groen Denken; Jay Leung, District General Manager of Sino Estates Management Limited - Exchange Tower, which won the Gold Award in Property Management; Benjamin Liang, Special Assistant to the CEO and HR Director of Hongrita Mold Ltd - Hongrita Mold Technology (Zhongshan) Ltd, recipient of the Bronze Award and Best SME Award in Manufacturing; and Rocky Lau, Director of EnerRight Intelligent Ltd, who received the Bronze Award and Best SME Award in Services. They shared a series of succinct and practical tips (see Appendix 3) to help businesses, particularly SMEs, integrate sustainable development principles into their operations.

The 2024 Awards are now open for entries, and we warmly invite participation from all sectors to contribute to environmental conservation. For more details, please visit the website: https://oneoneone.industryhk.org/

 

Pic 1: Diane Wong, the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology (right 3), FHKI Chairman Steve Chuang (left 3) and BOCHK Deputy Chief Executive Wang Huabin (right 2) posed for a group photo with Gold Awardee in the Manufacturing Sector: The Hongkong Electric Company Ltd (HK Electric)(left 2), Gold Awardee in the Services Sector: MTR Corporation Ltd (right 1), and Gold Awardee in the Property Management Sector: Sino Estates Management Limited - Exchange Tower (left 1).

 

Pic 2: Diane Wong, the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology (middle), FHKI leadership and BOCHK representatives posted for a group photo. 

 

Pic 3: Diane Wong, the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology (front row, middle), FHKI Chairman Steve Chuang (front row, left 8) and BOCHK Deputy Chief Executive Wang Huabin (front row, right 8) posed for a group photo with FHKI leadership, BOCHK representatives, all awardees, representatives of all supporting organisations and attending guests.

 

Pic 4: FHKI Chairman Steve Chuang delivered a speech.

 

Pic 5: Diane Wong, the Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, delivered a speech.

 

Pic 6: BOCHK Deputy Chief Executive Wang Huabin delivered a speech.

 

Pic 7: FHKI Deputy Chairman Jude Chow delivered a speech.

 

Pic 8: The Hongkong Electric Company Ltd (HK Electric) was conferred Gold Award in the Manufacturing Sector.

 

Pic 9: MTR Corporation Ltd was conferred Gold Award in the Services Sector.

 

Pic 10: Sino Estates Management Limited - Exchange Tower was conferred Gold Award in the Property Management Sector.

 

Pic 11: A sharing session themed "Corporate Sustainable Development: Easy Tips to Breaking through the problem of 'Easier said than Done'" was held, intending to share tips for enterprises, especially SMEs to put sustainable development into practice.

 

Pic 12: Hongrita Mold Ltd - Hongrita Mold Technology (Zhongshan) Ltd was conferred the Bronze and the Best SME Award in the Manufacturing Sector. Benjamin Liang, the Special Assistant to the CEO and HR Director, shared his view at the sharing session.

 

Pic 13: EnerRight Intelligent Ltd was conferred the Bronze and the Best SME Award in the Services Sector. Rocky Lau, the Director of the company, addressed the audience at the sharing session.

 

Pic 14: The 2023 Prize Presentation cum 2024 Launching Ceremony for the “BOCHK Corporate Low-Carbon Environmental Leadership Awards” today attracted over 700 guests in attendance.

 

 

*Please visit here for higher resolution photos.

 

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