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Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards 2024

 

 

Self-nomination form

 

The Institute is proud to be launching the Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards ("Awards") 2024. The Awards continue to reflect the importance of both good corporate governance (“CG”) and environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) reporting and practices for listed companies (“companies”) and public sector / not-for-profit organizations (“PSOs”), and their investors and stakeholders. They encourage companies and PSOs to achieve high standards of CG and ESG and to integrate good CG and ESG into their values, strategy and operations.

 

The Awards continue to enjoy strong support from a wide range of stakeholders, including the HKSAR Government, financial market regulators, investor groups, professional associations and firms, the business community and academics. Since their inception in 2000, the Awards have played an important role in establishing benchmarks and encouraging improvements in standards of CG and, since 2011, also for sustainability/ ESG practices and reporting, among listed companies and PSOs in Hong Kong. They raise awareness of the need for companies to be transparent and accountable to their shareholders and other stakeholders, and also inform the wider community about current CG and sustainability/ ESG standards and developments in Hong Kong.

 

The Awards focus primarily on voluntary practices and disclosures that go beyond the minimum legal and regulatory requirements, as reflected in annual reports and sustainability/ corporate social responsibility/ ESG reports.

 

Features of the Awards include:

 

  • The Awards’ top level of accolades, the Most Sustainable Companies/ Organizations Awards, give equal weighting CG and ESG and will be presented to those listed companies and PSOs that demonstrate the highest standards in both areas, and which are moving towards fuller integration of CG and ESG considerations into their decision-making. Diamond, Platinum and Gold Awards, as well as Special Mentions, are available in this part of the competition, to reflect different levels of achievement.
  • There will also continue to be awards specifically for CG and ESG. These awards acknowledge companies and organisations that demonstrate a high standard of performance in either one of these two areas. Two different levels of recognition, namely CG or ESG Award, and Special Mentions are available in these categories of awards.

 

Note:

 

1.    Awards will be offered in seven main categories:

  (i)    Hang Seng Index ("HSI")-constituent companies

 

Non-HSI-constituent companies:

      (ii)   Large market capitalisation

      (iii)  Medium market capitalisation

              (iv)  Small market capitalisation

              (v)   H-share companies and other Mainland enterprises

 

        Public sector/Not-for-profit organisations:

      (vi)  Large

              (vii) Small and medium

 

  • There are also Self-Nomination Awards, aimed at smaller listed companies, with a market capitalization not exceeding HK$6 billion (as at 30 April 2024) and also PSOs, that have taken significant steps towards strengthening their CG and/ or ESG practices and disclosures, especially by adopting new voluntary practices. Applicants for Self-Nomination Awards are invited to apply to be considered for these awards, using the online form. They should explain the good practices that they have introduced or enhanced, and disclosed in their annual and/ or ESG/ sustainability report during the period under review. Shortlisted candidates may also be invited to attend an interview to discuss their CG and ESG policies and practices in more detail.

 

In addition to introducing other changes and new features, the Institute regularly reviews and refines the detailed assessment criteria and allocation of marks to take account of changes in local regulations, relevant international developments and the evolving expectations of the community. With changes to the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Guide under the listing rules coming into effect in 2025, and Hong Kong looking to adopt new corporate sustainability reporting standards, based on the first set of international sustainability disclosure standards released by the International Sustainability Standards Board in 2023, climate-related disclosures will be among the areas considered in this year Awards.

 

Entry Procedure

 
The judging criteria and application process are explained in the brochure (see the icons at the top of this page) inviting entries for the Awards. There is no fee for entering Awards 2024, and there are opportunities for recognition to be achieved and reputations to be enhanced. The submission deadline is 9 August 2024.

 

 

Background

  • Introduced by the Institute in 2000, the Awards are Hong Kong's most well-established, dedicated CG and ESG awards. The main objectives of the competition is to encourage and promote good CG and ESG and disclosures and practices and to acknowledge listed companies and PSOs that exemplify the best standards in Hong Kong. In addition, the Awards aim to encourage listed companies and PSOs to progressively integrate the oversight and implementation of their CG and ESG.

  • The Awards have expanded over the past two decades from a total of three categories and ten possible awards to seven main categories and over 50 possible awards.

  • A category for H-share companies was introduced in 2006, which was subsequently been extended to include other relevant enterprises whose effective management, main interests, etc. are in the Mainland, making reference to the "Hang Seng Mainland 100" index.

  • The non-HSI companies are divided into three separate categories, based on following three Hang Seng Indexes, as at 30 April 2024:

    (i) Large market capitalisation (Hang Seng Composite LargeCap Index),
    (ii) Medium market capitalisation (Hang Seng Composite MidCap Index); and
    (iii) Small market capitalisation (Hang Seng Composite SmallCap Index).

 

  PSOs are divided into two categories, namely, (i) large and (ii) small- to medium-sized, based on their total revenues.

 

  • The Awards brochure provides further information about how candidates will be assessed for the different kinds of awards.

  • The Judges' Reports for reporting years indicated below (click on the relevant link) contain the results and commentaries on the CG performance and also, from 2011 onwards, the ESG performance of the award winners (at that time referred to as sustainability and social responsibility reporting), as well as general observations on the standard of CG and ESG in Hong Kong:

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

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Recent A Plus articles on the awards

As part of the Institute’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the awards, the Institute’s monthly magazine A Plus has featured articles on how the awards have helped to develop Hong Kong’s corporate governance landscape, and what winning awards means to companies and public sector organizations.

 

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