ReThink HK 2021 is one of the largest sustainability conferences in Hong Kong, packed with insightful panel discussions and innovative eco-friendly product exhibition. I had the pleasure to attend the two-day conference at HKCEC, speaking at a panel on the first day.

Some key learnings:

1) Accept imperfections
– Starting from zero is better than doing nothing. Some companies hesitate to disclose climate risks because they don’t have enough data. In fact, investors will penalise companies that do not disclose at all. It is more beneficial for companies to be honest with the data and targets they have, recognise gaps and share plans to narrow the gaps.

2) Empower sustainability practitioners through TCFD
– TCFD can open windows of opportunity for the sustainability team to access all levels in an organisation to drive long-term transformations. In mature organisations, CSO can rely on the finance team to make business case for sustainability initiatives.

3) Unleash potentials in operations
– Using operational targets rather than financial materiality to track sustainability is a way to institutionalise sustainability in day-to-day operations. It’s easy to make grand sustainability plans sitting at the office, empathy and communications are crucial to identify practices that truly work and last.

I was impressed by a panel session, which Dr Peter Lee from Nano and Advanced Materials Institute Ltd. (NAMI) hosted. He shared their company approach to make plastic biodegradable but still recyclable at low cost by novel additives. I later found out he is a member at the Strategy Sub-Committee for Council of Sustainable Development, and we hosted a community townhall public engagement session on controlling single-use plastic. So delighted to see more people working towards the same target through various channels and approaches. A multi-pronged approach is what we need to break through silos to achieve maximum impact.