Bringing local values into the ESG framework in Asia

The changing definitions of ESG investment in Asia
Speaker: Anthony Cheung, Managing Director, ESG at Polymer Capital; Convenor of Green Finance, Board Governor at Friends of the Earth (HK)

Abstract: ESG has gained prominence in Asia including Hong Kong for a relatively short period of time. Yet, its definitions and applications are already shifting. Through examining a selection of latest initiatives and regulations, this introduction will illustrate how the definitions of ESG investment are changing in Hong Kong and across the region and what are the key implications.

Bringing local values into the ESG framework: the WeValue InSitu method

Speaker: Professor Marie Harder, Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai

Abstract: A significant challenge for ESG systems is to find ways to obtain useful indicators about local shared values, which are considered very difficult to elicit in an authentic, communicable, and useful form which also allows comparisons across localities. In this presentation we introduce the method named WeValue InSitu, which takes groups of local persons through a crystallization process whereby their lived-values are made more explicit through specially designed cycles of meaning-making dialogic activity. We will use illustrations from cities such as Shanghai and Vienna and BRI countries in Asia and Africa studies to explore the usefulness of the WeValue InSitu approach for use in ESG.