The recent heat wave in Hong Kong has once again highlighted that global warming is becoming more and more serious, and countries are paying more attention to climate issues, especially the impact on the environment caused by the operation or production of large enterprises.
In recent years, financial investment institutions have also paid attention to the performance of enterprises in environmental, social and governance ("ESG") as one of the evaluation criteria. ”, but now it has gradually become the “survival” criterion for whether a company can win the favor of large investors.
The work of engineers in the environmental sector is very important, especially in building services facilities for energy use. Since buildings in Hong Kong account for 90% of the electricity consumption in Hong Kong, it is the basic goal of engineers to practice energy conservation in buildings.
Written by: Yuan Bailiang, senior engineer and former president of the Institute of Engineers
It is becoming more and more common for environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate governance (Environmental, Social and Governance), referred to as "ESG", to be incorporated into operating standards. The author regards this as embedded management to ensure effectiveness, and the level of performance becomes the financial market. mainstream investment indicators.
Environmental protection (Environmental) refers to pollution prevention, control, energy conservation and emission reduction; Social responsibility (Social) is related to customer, employee relations and benefits and the treatment of interests; Corporate governance (Governance) involves business competition, ethics, supply chain management and goodwill issues.
HKEX has previously announced that from 2016, all listed companies are required to comply with the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting Guidelines for reporting, otherwise companies need to publicly explain the reasons for non-compliance.
In fact, the term "ESG" was first estimated to appear in the United States in the 1980s. According to data, in 1981, a business roundtable meeting composed of CEOs of large companies in the United States signed a "corporate purpose" declaration, which pointed out that business and society are symbiotic relationships. Whether an enterprise is socially responsible or not will determine whether it can survive for a long time, which can be regarded as one of the earliest evidences for the emergence of "ESG".
In 2004, the United Nations published the "Who Cares Win" report, which for the first time suggested that "environmental, social and governance" should be included in the evaluation benchmarks of investment decision-making or business operations. The company's environmental protection, contribution to society and corporate governance, as one of the investment managers' work goals, believe that this move can have a positive impact on society, financial markets and personal investment portfolios.
Since then, the performance of "ESG" has been increasingly valued by large institutions, especially in the financial market. In the past, many companies only used it as a "tool" to enhance their brand image. Later, this indicator evolved into a factor for the survival of enterprises. In recent years, a large-scale survey has found that if a company does not conduct an "ESG" assessment or the assessment fails to meet the standards, as many as 49% of investors will not invest in the company or even withdraw their capital. Therefore, doing a good job in "ESG" is a matter of life and death for a company. .
In order to improve the company's "ESG" performance, it has to rely on the help of engineers and other engineering professionals in terms of environmental protection, energy saving and carbon reduction, because listed companies have to conduct assessments and write reports every year, explaining the areas of environmental protection, energy saving, emission reduction and carbon reduction. and the company evaluates which areas need to be improved to meet the requirements of energy saving, so that the evaluation of performance needs to be handled by professionals such as engineers.
In order to cope with the increasing demand for specialized personnel, various tertiary institutions have added a number of bachelor’s or master’s degrees related to related work, including PolyU’s Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering and the School of Accounting and Finance, CityU’s School of Energy and Environment, The short-term courses of different institutions have more specialized subjects. In addition to engineering knowledge, they will also teach the skills of dealing with relevant financial statements.
In recent years, in addition to private companies, many public organizations in Hong Kong have also actively participated in this assessment, and even large medical institutions have invested in preparing “ESG” reports. Buildings that operate 24 hours a day, such as hospitals, also need to conduct relevant assessments to review the operation time. sustainability.
The author believes that if more and more companies pay attention to their "ESG" performance, and the authorities are also committed to advocating and vigorously promoting environmental protection and achieving carbon neutrality, it will have a positive impact on the overall social environment and bring great benefits to the well-being of all mankind in the long run. benefit.
"01 Medical Clinic" cooperates with senior engineer Yuan Bailiang to launch a column "Yuantu has you" every Monday to share the big and small matters of engineering and medical care.
Yuan Bailiang has always been committed to promoting the professional development of the engineering field, and has just stepped down as the President of the Institution of Engineers.
Decades of professional journey are really worth recalling, and I am convinced that later generations may be able to understand the key points of the engineering profession.
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