HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach^[1] - 20 February 2019 - BDO, the world's fifth largest accountancy network, has announced and honoured today the winners of the second BDO ESG Awards ("the Awards"). Launched in 2018, the Awards was the first in the city to recognise listed companies which have implemented outstanding sustainability initiatives with remarkable results and achieved high standards in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting.

With an emphasis on independence and credibility, the BDO ESG Awards is organised and hosted by BDO in Hong Kong, co-organised by the South China Morning Post, with the support of BDO International Limited & BDO China, in a concerted effort of the BDO global network to drive development in ESG and ESG reporting.

The top three companies from each of the large market capitalisation, middle market capitalisation and small market capitalisation segments of Main Board listed companies, as well as GEM companies were selected as winners in each of the following two award categories: (1) Best in ESG Awards and (2) Best in Reporting Awards. The companies with the best combined scores in those two categories were granted the ESG Report of the Year Awards. This year, a new award category was also added to recognise newly listed companies which demonstrated exceptional performance in the areas of ESG (full list below^[2]).

Dr William Yu, Chairman of the Judging Panel of the Best in ESG Awards, said, "We are so excited to see the sustainability impact demonstrated through the ESG best practices brought by the participating companies. Companies are becoming more aware of the roles of ESG integration, addressing the emerging global sustainability challenges, ranging from climate risks, flooding, data security to regulatory pressures. My appreciation went to the awarded companies, which have successfully brought positive social and environmental benefits alongside a financial return. My sincere wish to BDO to continue its leadership and support to companies' ESG journey in Hong Kong and worldwide and attract more companies to join the sustainability bandwagon." 

Professor Carlos Lo, Chairman of the Judging Panel of the Best in Reporting Awards, said, "ESG Reporting is an important mechanism for actively engaging listed companies in corporate social responsibility in order to pave the way for them to achieve business sustainability. The Reporting Awards organised by the BDO aspire to recognise listed companies that have displayed the best corporate endeavors in compiling and communicating their ESG activities and performance to their stakeholders. The Judging Panel greatly appreciate the award-winning companies' earnest efforts, expressed in ideas with a high degree of originality and thoughtfulness in organising a state-of-the-art ESG presentation."

Mr Clement Chan, Managing Director of Assurance, BDO in Hong Kong, said, "We are pleased to see that Hong Kong listed companies are caring more about the quality of their ESG disclosure, evident from their increased inclusion of more information which are useful and of interest to stakeholders and investors in ESG reporting, telling us that the transition from basic ESG report to the global trend of "impact reporting" is in good progress. We see that even some newly listed companies have demonstrated great effort in this area, and hence we have specially created a new award category this year to acknowledge their commendable achievements. We believe companies have come to appreciate the value of ESG reporting and are therefore putting time and resources to incorporate sustainability elements in their business models and value chain that in return brings new business opportunities to them. We at BDO, as a comrade of ESG facilitators, will continue to offer support to them in helping their companies raise ESG standards and performance and in turn contribute to overall ESG development in Hong Kong."

Mr Johnson Kong,Managing Director of Non-Assurance, BDO in Hong Kong, said, "On behalf of BDO, I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the judges who have committed precious time and their expertise in the judging process to ensure the credibility and representativeness of the Awards. Moving forward, BDO will remain committed as a keen advocate for continuous enhancements in the ESG and ESG reporting standards of Hong Kong-listed companies towards international standards, so that the city can stay competitive in the global markets."

Mr Ricky Cheng, Director and Head of Risk Advisory, BDO in Hong Kong, said, "We see that global investors increasingly look for companies' non-financial information as indicators for investment analysis and actively seek for ESG-related information of the companies in which they invest, in order to understand how they manageESG risks,and ultimately, to protect their long-term capital investment and good returns. ESG reporting thus essentially influences a company's competitive positioning. This gives a strong reason for companies to attempt to communicate the ESG strategies, management approaches and achievements or difficulties, in which investors are more interested in, in a more transparent, interactive and informative way, as well as progressively shifting the ESG reporting to "Impact Reporting" in meeting not only the stakeholders' expectations but also the investors in ESG performance."

BDO ESG Awards 2019 Winners (listed in no particular order)

Best in ESG -- Large Cap

Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (293.HK)

CLP Holdings Limited (002.HK)

Lenovo Group Limited (992.HK)

Best in ESG -- Mid Cap

COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited (1199.HK)

Fortune Real Estate Investment Trust (778.HK)

Shun Tak Holdings Limited (242.HK)

Best in ESG -- Small Cap

Esprit Holdings Limited (330.HK)

Tsui Wah Holdings Limited (1314.HK)

Yip's Chemical Holdings Limited (408.HK)

Best in ESG -- GEM

1957 & Co. (Hospitality) Limited (8495.HK)

Allied Sustainability and Environmental Consultants Group Limited (8320.HK)

Roma Group Limited (8072.HK)

Best in Reporting -- Large Cap

Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (293.HK)

CLP Holdings Limited (002.HK)

Lenovo Group Limited (992.HK)

Best in Reporting -- Mid Cap

COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited (1199.HK)

Shun Tak Holdings Limited (242.HK)

Yuexiu Property Company Limited (123.HK)

Best in Reporting -- Small Cap

Esprit Holdings Limited (330.HK)

Karrie International Holdings Limited (1050.HK)

Tsui Wah Holdings Limited (1314.HK)

Best in Reporting -- GEM

1957 & Co. (Hospitality) Limited (8495.HK)

Allied Sustainability and Environmental Consultants Group Limited (8320.HK)

Roma Group Limited (8072.HK)

ESG Report of the Year -- Large Cap

CLP Holdings Limited (002.HK)

ESG Report of the Year -- Mid Cap

COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited (1199.HK)

ESG Report of the Year -- Small Cap

Esprit Holdings Ltd. (330.HK)

ESG Report of the Year -- GEM

Roma Group Limited (8072.HK)

ESG Report of the Year (Newly Listed Companies)

China Resources Pharmaceutical Group Limited. (3320.HK)

Nameson Holdings Limited (1982.HK)

Zhou Hei Ya International Holdings Company Limited (1458.HK)

References

1. ^{^} Media OutReach (www.media-outreach.com)
2. ^{^} full list below (www.media-outreach.com)
3. ^{^} www.bdo.com.hk (www.media-outreach.com)
4. ^{^} www.bdoesgawards.com (www.bdoesgawards.com)