Asia’s first climate change alliance to help firms go green
Asia’s first climate change alliance launches, thanks to a collaboration between the World Green Organisation (WGO), PwC Hong Kong and Arup.
Designed to support businesses in tackling climate change and build resilience, the Asian Corporate Coalition for Climate Change Resilience (A4CR) is a first-of-its-kind climate-resilient business community in Asia.
Scientific understanding meets networking opportunities and benchmarking
This regional alliance comes as climate change delivers a growing impact on people, businesses and governments worldwide.
“To achieve the nationally determined contributions and decarbonisation targets, businesses are increasingly engaged with the scale of change required,” says Dr William Yu, Founder and CEO of WGO.
The A4CR aims to help corporates understand and address climate change risks while enhancing their readiness for climate-related disclosures in a systematic approach.
So, how exactly does it work? The A4CR brings together a lineup of global and regional experts, industry thought leaders and advisors from independent environmental organisation WGO, PwC, and Arup, a collective of 16,000 designers, advisors and experts, along with academia and professional institutions.
These global and regional experts will help firms understand climate-related risks and the prep works required by governments, investors and international institutions, and also assist comparison to international industry-specific best practices and ratings in climate change preparation.
By offering unparalleled scientific understanding and knowledge, a comprehensive benchmarking scheme, not to mention lots of networking opportunities, the A4CR forms a strategic coalition among major businesses in Asia to mainstream climate actions into corporate governance, strategies, operations and financing.
Hong Kong is leading Asia in signing up to change
The A4CR has already garnered widespread support from major businesses in Hong Kong, with steering members including Henderson Land Development Company, Kerry Properties, MTR Corporation, Swire Properties and The Hongkong Electric Co., while normal members include Chinachem Group, Nan Fung Development, and The Hong Kong and China Gas Company.
According to Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Joseph Chan, as a leading financial centre in Asia, Hong Kong is actively driving climate-related disclosures and sustainability reporting. Hong Kong’s experience in global risk management and familiarity with both mainland and international standards will enable it to set a good example for other Asian cities in climate-related disclosures.
“Hong Kong can also serve as the bridge between the world and the mainland – raising funds through issuing bonds, funds, initial public offerings and other channels – to help companies adopt different measures and technologies to mitigate climate risks and enhance resilience,” says Joseph.
How PwC and Arup are assisting corporates
As the ESG reporting technical advisor of A4CR, PwC will assist corporates to integrate ESG into their business and capture sustainable finance opportunities that deliver long-term financial benefits and value for investors.
According to Amy Cai, ESG Managing Partner of PwC China, the increasing trend of climate-related disclosures calls for corporates to prepare for investor-grade reporting and review their overarching strategic approach to ESG. “With PwC’s technical prowess in formulating and implementing ESG strategies and setting carbon targets, we help corporates turn climate-related disclosures into opportunities to create sustainable advantage and value,” she says.
Serving as the coalition’s climate technical advisor, Arup will draw on its in-depth understanding of the built environment to help businesses identify, assess, mitigate and adapt to current and future climate change risks.
Arup’s technical expertise, combined with a strong track record of delivering sustainable projects, enables the firm to advise businesses on the most effective strategies to address the impacts of climate change.
“By guiding companies to take the right action towards improving their resilience, we help make their business more sustainable in the long run,” says Dr Vincent Cheng, Arup Fellow and Director of Climate and Sustainability Services in East Asia.
Members of the A4CR will also enjoy a wide range of benefits, including events, training and social events where they can keep tabs on best practices and emerging trends in climate change preparation and connect with like-minded organisations. They can also take part in a benchmarking exercise to evaluate their ESG and climate-related performance against their industry peers.
