A study of the impact of

effective sustainability
reporting on investment
decisions of people in Hong
Kong
The 2008 financial crisis has changed the game
43
28
25
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
%
TOP 3 PERFORMI NG LI STED COMPANI ES I N
TERMS OF CSR
SUN HUNG KAI
PROPERTIES
HSBC HONG KONG CHINA
AND GAS COMPANY
42% pay more attention to
companies CSR efforts today
compared to before the
2008 financial crisis
people paying more attention post-2008
People want to
invest in
companies with
effective
sustainability
programmes
Peoples investment decisions are being influenced
88% of Hong
Kong investors
say that a
companys
sustainability
efforts would
affect their
investment
decision

88%
12%
Unlikely /
Very unlikely
Likely /
Very likely
and women appear to be more influenced than men
75% more women than men
say their investment decision
would be influenced by a
companys sustainability efforts

although it still follows after the
fundamentals
people still want business and stock performance
Business Performance
Stock Market Performance
Business Strategy
Corporate social responsibility (sustainability)
Investor relations
77%
76%
48%
22%
20%
but even business performance is associated with
CSR
86% Likely / Very Likely
86% of respondents
believe that companies
with effective CSR
programs deliver better
business performance

Not all factors are equal
there is variance in perceived importance of sustainability
elements
Operating
practices cited as the
most important component
of CSR/Sustainability
programmes followed by
environmental
protection
Operating
practices
Environmental
protection
Workplace
quality
Community
involvement
The Hong Kong Stock
Exchange plans to raise the
level of some recommended
disclosures in the
Environmental, Social and
Governance Reporting Guide
to comply or explain by 2015.
Why now?
Standards to consider
Getting started
Core components
Workplace
quality
Environmental
protection
Operating
practices
Community
involvement
Social (Labour
practices/
human rights)
Environmental
Social (Product
responsibility)
Social (Impacts
on society)
Working conditions
Health & Safety
Development & Training
Labour standards
Emissions
Use of resources
Environment & natural resources
Supply chain
Product responsibility
Anti-corruption
Community involvement
Employment
Occupational health & safety
Education & training
Child labour / forced labour
Emissions / Effluents & waste
Materials / Energy / Water
Products & Services
Supplier assessment (Environmental / Labour
practices / Human rights / Impacts on society)
Customer health & safety / Customer privacy
Anti-corruption
Local communities
HKSE ESG Guidelines GRI G4 Guidelines
Helpful tips for
companies
Map out what is material/relevant to your organisation
Understand what aspects of your
business have an impact
Social, environmental, economic
Positive, negative
Actual, potential
Direct, indirect
Short term, long term
Understand your boundaries where
do these impacts occur
Internal, external
Far reaching, localised



Map out what is material/relevant to your organisation
Engage and educate functions across the business
of project rationale
You will need support
data collection
affecting change and
improvements
CEO/COO/CFO email to key
personnel, impressing the
importance
Town-hall meeting with key
personnel to explain the initiative,
why it is important and the impact
on the organization
Issue guidelines on what to consider

Review reporting of peer organisations
Approach
How do they establish
materiality
What is their process
How are they affecting
improvements
What they consider material
How are they presenting the
content


Start early
Some information will need to be analyzed
There can be a lot of information to gather
from a number of divisions, teams and
individuals
All the information needs to then be
compiled
This all then needs packaging up into a
coherent report
6

m
o
n
t
h
s

t
o

o
n
e

y
e
a
r

Start realistically
Dont overwhelm/scare-off the teams
and individuals that need to contribute
Dont make the initiative so unwieldy it
never reaches completion
Ensure you are going to be able to
demonstrate year on year improvements
Remain consistent
Ensure continuity

ESG Report
Put benchmarks in place that enable and
drive year on year improvements

Try to identify metrics against
which you can demonstrate
improvement. Examples
Workplace incidents
Carbon emissions
Waste volume
Water usage
Economic impact from
community initiatives

Six tips for companies looking to benefit
1. Review the reporting of peer organisations
2. Map out what is material/relevant to your organization
3. Engage and educate functions across the business of project rationale
4. Start as early as possible
5. Start realistically
6. Put benchmarks in place that enable and drive year on year improvements
THANK YOU
Respondents Demographic Breakdown
S1-4