Alaya Consulting is delighted to announce that the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (HERA) 2019 have attracted a total of 71 submissions, up approximately 80% over the previous year. The total fees received against nominations, amounting to HKD40,000, have been donated to Greeners Action, a Hong Kong registered charity organisation that has been advocating environmental protection for 26 years.
Tony Wong, founder of Alaya Consulting, stated: “I would like to thank the participating companies. Their participation not only implies the growing focus on the quality of ESG disclosures, but also means the donation is getting bigger. Entering the fifth year of ESG disclosures in Hong Kong, ESG has become increasingly the focal point of the investment community and HERA plays a pivotal role in pushing for more meaningful and investor-friendly disclosure.”
HERA 2019 were kicked off with the call for submissions in early May 2019 and submissions were closed on 31st July 2019. All submissions are currently being evaluated by an independent panel of judges. The winners are expected to be announced on 18th October 2019.
Angus Ho, executive director of Greeners Action, stated: “We are excited to see the number of submissions this year and are grateful for the contribution to our organisation. More stringent disclosure requirements are only a matter of time. Participating in HERA constitutes an ideal litmus test of the level of disclosure as this facilitates benchmarking with other industry leaders.”
Inaugurated in 2018, HERA promotes ESG reporting in Greater China region. The 6 categories are Best ESG Report, Excellence in GRI Reporting, Excellence in ESG Reporting for Non-listed Companies, Excellence in Environmental Disclosure, Excellence in Social Disclosure and Innovative Front-runner.
HERA awards are decided by an independent panel of experts that includes (in alphabetic order) Angus Ho, Executive Director of Greeners Action, Jessica Tam, Head of HKCSS-HSBC Social Enterprise Business Centre, Stephen Wong, Deputy Executive Director and Head of Public Policy Institute, Our Hong Kong Foundation, Ir. Vincent Kong, Sustainability Manager of Sun Hung Kai Properties and Prof. Yarime Masaru, Associate Professor, Division of Public Policy at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
