On 20 December 2022, the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group (the “Steering Group”) co-chaired by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) and the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) announced that it has entered into a collaboration arrangement with CDP, an international non-profit organisation that runs the global environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions.
Through this collaboration, the Steering Group and CDP seek to:
- enhance climate and environmental disclosure in Hong Kong;
- support capacity building and upskilling in climate-related disclosures by local companies; and
- facilitate data flow to support financial institutions’ climate-related risk assessments and to facilitate the real sector’s transition towards carbon neutrality.
As part of the collaboration, the Steering Group and CDP developed a cross-sector questionnaire on climate and environmental risk for non-listed small and medium-sized enterprises (“SME Questionnaire”). The SME Questionnaire aligns with the framework developed by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and it is available in three versions with different levels of granularity for micro enterprises, small enterprises and medium enterprises, catering for the size and needs of the reporting companies. The Steering Group and CDP have also developed guidance and learning materials for the SME Questionnaire and will arrange training sessions starting in the first quarter of 2023. Financial institutions and industry bodies are expected to work with the Steering Group to boost the take up rate of the SME Questionnaire.
The Steering Group will continue to review and update the SME Questionnaire periodically with CDP’s assistance and in line with global standards.
For more information on the strategic plan and initiatives of the Steering Group, please see our article published by Hong Kong Lawyer here and our blog post here.