Eco-Business

Tom Beloe, UNDP's Sustainable Finance Hub Director keynote at CASI

SMEs form the backbone of Asia’s supply chains and labour force across Asia’s emerging markets, yet many struggle to access the finance and insurance needed to withstand climate shocks. Eco-Business speaks to UNDP’s Tom Beloe in Hong Kong, who explains what it will take to reach them.

Hong Kong’s heat stress warning system has been widely criticised as ineffective, failing to raise alerts even when temperatures hit a record high.

Exclusive Chinese shipyards dominate orders for greener vessels, while ports and fuel producers are building the infrastructure to serve them. Yet uncertainty over global regulation and the availability and cost of low-carbon fuels could leave early movers carrying much of the risk.

In tropical cities, urban heat islands (UHIs) exacerbate an already challenging hot-humid heat burden for residents. UHIs are formed by urban artificial surfaces like concrete and asphalt that retain heat by day and slowly release it at night, never giving cities a chance to cool.

By Ashraful Haque

By Jiang Mengnan

By Regina Lam

By Robin Hicks

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Trees are one of the most popular responses because they provide shade and reduce the amount of heat absorbed by surrounding surfaces. But outdoor comfort depends on more than air temperature alone. By Mohammad A Rahman

China has provided a clear regulatory signal. The opportunity now lies in translating that ambition into reporting that genuinely informs sustainable outcomes and drives climate action, in China and across global markets. By Peiyuan Guo

Judgments about climate transition pathways, biodiversity impacts and long-term risks do not always fit neatly into existing controls. Asia faces the additional challenge of non-accountants performing sustainability fuctions. Ethical standards are here to help. By Gabriela Figueiredo Dias

As many of Asia's investors and family offices are rooted in legacy, family values, and community stewardship, they are well-positioned to serve as anchor investors in climate and nature solutions. By Luis Alvarado

By Mark Hinnells

By Zhang Nan and Li Dianyi

By Jessica Cheam

By Henry Fernandez

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Simon Lord and Pamela Mar on Sustainability One on One

In the first in a new video series where sustainability leaders interview each other about the toughest things about their jobs, Simon Lord of Malaysian palm oil giant Sime Darby Plantation went head to head with Pamela Mar of Hong Kong-based textile and apparel giant Fung Group.

An independent media organisation in a tough industry, Eco-Business has striven to be Asia Pacific’s go-to source for all things sustainable business. To mark our seventh birthday, we've put together a video about our work and how we define purposeful journalism.

Hong Kong government’s three-step plan to ban ivory trade by 2021 received the go-ahead from the Chief Executive in Council, and the legislature amendments will be tabled before the Legislative Council in the first half of 2017.

Non-profit groups WildAid and African Wildlife Foundation have released a video containing undercover footage, exposing ivory laundering in Hong Kong and the loopholes in its regulations on smuggled tusks.

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Exclusive The economist and president of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network told the Eco-Business Podcast how China’s green industrial and financial capabilities can help accelerate Southeast Asia's transition to net zero.

L'Occitane's Asia Pacific director of sustainability Venisa Chu

The Asia Pacific ESG head of the B Corp-certified cosmetics firm says refill stations have been disappointing and getting suppliers on board with decarbonisation is difficult, but her team has not been affected by the ESG backlash.

John Haffner, deputy director of sustainability, Hang Lung Properties, says internal advocacy has been key to driving the sustainability agenda. Image: ReThink 2

Having "stretch targets" can spur innovation, says the sustainability chief for one of Hong Kong's largest real estate firms in the latest episode of "On the frontlines". He also shares why the firm has chosen to publish the draft of its net zero plan for open discussion of its climate targets.

A report by WWF finds that Hong Kong could lose 25 per cent of its biodiversity to new developments such as the North Metropolis.

A new report predicts Hong Kong could lose one quarter of its wildlife to new developments. WWF Hong Kong conservation head Dr Bosco Chan and Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden's Dr Stephan Gale tell the EB Podcast that developers must build in ways that protect nature and bolster climate resilience.

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