Environment & Sustainability CommitteeCommittee Activities

Hong Kong’s Connected Future Series: PropTech and Urban Regeneration

The application of proptech in urban regeneration is gaining momentum as the property industry relies increasingly on technology to complete projects in a safe, eco-friendly and efficient manner.

At a webinar on 14 April, Alan Yau, Head of Real Estate at KPMG; Andrew Young, Associate Director (Innovation) at Sino Group; Tiffany Lau, Head of Urban Ecosystems at JLL; Elizabeth Ball, SVP North Asia at Essensys; and Bowie Ma, Director of Innovation and New Products at theDesk, spoke on the popularisation of proptech in urban regeneration and community building projects, as well as associated business opportunities.

Decarbonising Hong Kong 2050: Getting To Action in The Business Sector

Hong Kong aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, closer collaboration between the public and private sectors is needed.

At a webinar on 13 April, Daniel Tang, Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Cross-Boundary & International) from the Environmental Protection Department; Mark Watson, Head of Sustainable Development at John Swire and Sons; Mike Kilburn, Independent Sustainability Adviser; and Chaoni Huang, Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Capital Markets at BNP Paribas, exchanged views and ideas to promote a working partnership between the government and businesses to meet Hong Kong’s zero-carbon objective.

The panel covered a wide range of topics, including decarbonisation in energy production, buildings, supply chain, as well as financing and building capacity.

Not Just for Art Lovers: NFT Art and the Future of ESG

Jack Lau and Derek Collins – respectively the advisor at Articoin and Dean of Arts at the University of Hong Kong – spoke at a webinar at 16 March where they discussed the concept behind NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the latest trends with these digital artworks -- and other representations of assets – that are commonly built upon blockchain technology.

In particular, the speakers touched on how NFT-based digital art can help promote social causes and help businesses meet sustainable goals through the use of smart contracts. They also discussed the prospects of a new market for trading NFTs underpinned by features such as carbon credit purchases.