Sean Lee-Davies: Changing Times

Sean Lee-Davies’ career has spanned many types of media. He worked as editorial director of Asia Tatler, he’s been a producer, writer, director and host for television, a writer and photographer for magazines, and he’s the founder of Awethentic Studio, a digital content marketing agency. Now Lee-Davies has shifted his focus towards turning Hong Kong into a more environmentally friendly city.

Sean's endeavors in the media industry streched over the likes of photography, magazine and television.

Lee-Davies hopes to educate the city’s youth about important environmental issues such as recycling, energy consumption, and preserving endangered wildlife. Although he believes schools have done a good job of raising awareness about these issues, he says getting the public to implement real lifestyle changes is a far greater challenge.

“I think the younger generation is much more plugged into environmental issues than adults,” says Lee-Davies. “When I go to schools, I see posters everywhere telling kids not to eat shark fin soup and encouraging recycling. Overall, public awareness about these issues is getting better. But I don’t think the government is doing enough to lead the way in terms of sustainability, and adopting more sustainable practices.”

He notes that the government rarely takes action unless provoked, so it is important to educate to educate the public in order to pressure them into adjusting their policies. “We have a huge wastage problem in Hong Kong,” Lee-Davies says. “If everybody in the world consumed what the average Hongkonger consumes, we would need three planets to sustain the world. Clearly, it’s not a sustainable way of living.”

“Hong Kong also has more ivory items on sale than any other city in the world. There is no reason the ivory trade should be allowed when we know the negative effect it has on wildlife,” says Lee-Davies. “It also puts money into the pockets of criminals in the black market. We need to stop consuming shark fin soup, stop killing rhinos for their horns, and this all starts with the government.”

Project C:Change is one of his latest ventures for environmental protection.