Climate change: 4 in 10 Hong Kong-listed firms do not meet coming global sustainability standards, says Grant Thornton

Awareness is low of forthcoming reporting requirements, due from the International Sustainability Standards Board by the end of this year

Policymakers need to spread information about these standards, which are expected to become mandatory for listed firms, according to the accounting firm

Reading Time:2 minutes

People take photos in a park next to Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong on September 13, 2022, a day when air pollution in some parts of Hong Kong reached ‘serious’, the highest health risk level, according the air quality health index operated by the Environmental Protection Department. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:30am, 21 Sep 2022

At least 40 per cent of Hong Kong-listed companies do not yet fulfil the requirements of a new set of proposed international sustainability standards to be issued at the end of the year, mainly due to a lack of awareness, according to accounting firm Grant Thornton.

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), a new body set up late last year to consolidate various standards for environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, is expected to finalise its proposed global standards by the end of the year, after conducting public consultations until July 29.

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission and bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing have indicated their support for these standards, which are expected to become mandatory for listed firms. One set of standards is for climate risks and opportunities, with another for general sustainability-related reporting.

Awareness among Hong Kong-listed companies of the new proposed standards by the ISSB is limited, as these disclosures have only entered public discourse recently, said Eugene Ha, deputy managing partner of Grant Thornton Hong Kong, speaking at a media briefing on Tuesday.

Smoke and steam rise from a coal processing plant in Hejin in central China’s Shanxi province. Photo: AP

“At least 40 to 50 per cent of listed firms in Hong Kong do not fulfil the requirements yet, as their understanding of the requirements is still vague,” said Ha.