Fewer Hong Kong firms plan to up their spending on sustainable initiatives amid economic downturn, PwC survey finds
- About three quarters of respondents plan to increase their investment in ESG-related programmes this year, compared with nine out of 10 companies in 2022
- The most popular measures taken by the surveyed companies included adopting cleaner energy to reduce their carbon footprints and providing ESG training to staff
About three quarters of the respondents plan to increase their investment in ESG-related programmes this year, the annual survey co-launched by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and accountancy giant PwC found. Last year, nine out of 10 companies indicated an intention to spend more on such schemes.
Those that intend to spend the same amount or less than in the previous year accounted for 15.1 per cent, up from 11 per cent in 2022.
“One of the reasons for the [attitude change] is the economic slowdown,” Raymund Chao, the Asia-Pacific and China chairman of PwC told the Asian Financial Forum on Wednesday. “Organisations are trying to balance between maintaining profit in the short term and investing in the ESG agenda.”
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Although Asia-Pacific achieved a 1.2 per cent reduction in carbon emissions per unit of economic output in 2021, that is well below the 15.2 per cent decarbonisation rate required worldwide to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, said Chao, citing research by PwC.