Welcome to our first ESG & Sustainability [ESGS] newsletter

Over the course of 2024 we pulled this function out of our industry teams and defined it as its own specialism. As we saw talent moving cross-industry in this space, it became clear that it required more dedicated coverage and our Managing Director, Mathew Gollop took this on, supported by our existing supply chain sustainability specialist Angela Tsui, and new team member Aadya Kapur.

Our first step was to engage across the market with mid to senior professionals, exploring the sentiment and trends in Hong Kong and the wider region. Our initial findings were published here.

In summary we found:

• Talent transcends industry boundaries in this function – with examples of career transitions as diverse as manufacturing into financial services
• The market slowdown has impacted the pace of change but, not the long-term commitment
• Large private organisations (without the disclosure pressure) are still committing to major sustainability strategies
• The likelihood of a rise in demand for data and reporting skills in 2025
• A trend towards automation
• A shortage of strategy and integration skills

Other ESGS News

• Hong Kong announced the release of its Roadmap on Sustainability Disclosure. Mandatory requirements for large-cap companies will start in 2026. More info here.
• Hong Kong also mandated full sustainability reporting for public entities by 2028. More info here.

Last month we saw KPMG launch an amazing piece of research – Evolution of Sustainability Reporting in Asia Pacific – a really clear insight into the complexity of the regional framework.

The inaugural Greentech Summit

We attended the inaugural Greentech Summit which offered some useful insights and introduced us to this disclosure framework comparison, adapted from the work of David Carlin who has an insightful blog on these issues:

Reading List

Some feedback we received from a senior ESGS professional was that they found that talent in this sector were not very widely read on the subject and that they often lacked the wider contextual understanding. We asked for their suggested reading list which they were kind enough to share:

• Silent Spring - Rachel Carson
• Limits to Growth (30 year update)- Meadows & Randers
• Our Common Future, UN - also known as the Brundtland Report Climate IPPC report
• The Ecology of Commerce – Paul Hawken
• The Skeptical Environmentalist – Lomborg (this is considered a sacrilege by environmentalists, but it is worth reading different views)
• Cradle to Cradle & The Upcycle - Braungart, McDonough
• The Unending Frontier - Richards (For consultation)
• Thinking in Systems - Donella Meadows
• The Big Pivot - Winston
• Doughnut Economics - Raworth
• Green Swans - John Elkington
• Net Positive - Winston, Polman

Please do share with us if you have other reading suggestions or information sources.

Thats everything for our first edition, keep an eye out for our next ESGS newsletter, coming early 2025. If you're looking to take the next step in your career, or want to add talent to your team, please reach out to us by calling +852 3972 5888 or emailing mat@connectedgroup.com

Stay Informed, Stay Competitive, StayConnected!