Page 37 - HKSA (Chi)

AWARD BACKGROUND

Sustainable development is the new frontier of business and organizations. It has emerged over the past decades
and gained wide acceptance after its appearance in Our Common Future, a report published by World Commission on
Environment and Development in 1987. In the report, sustainable development was given a fundamental definition of
“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs".

Sustainable development then gradually evolved into considering social equity, economic, and environmental factors
simultaneously, which is also known as the triple bottom line for both social and private enterprises. Nowadays,
sustainability development encompasses various aspects of life, ranging from economic advancement to gender equality,
climate change to health and safety.
The growing importance of sustainability is evident in view of the constant increase in global sustainable investments.
Research has also indicated that sustainability initiatives can help an organization improve on financial performance by
seizing new markets, managing risks and improving returns on capital. These are essential for an organization to survive in
today’s drastically changing and increasingly complex global business environment.

It is beyond doubt that sustainable development delivers immediate as well as long-term benefits for businesses,
people and the planet, which is especially important to an international centre like Hong Kong. In view of the growing
importance of Sustainability among the business community, The Hong Kong Management Association launched the
Hong Kong Sustainability Award in October 2016 as a long-term initiative to promote sustainability. The award received an
overwhelming response from more than 100 organizations, among which small and medium-sized enterprises accounted
for half. It is positive proof that regardless of the company’s size, scale and nature of its business, sustainability can become
a staple of its operation and culture. Comprehensive sustainability casebooks have been built by the winning organizations
of this Award, and is expected to exert substantial influence on other companies in taking a bigger step forward on their
sustainability journey.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AWARD

• Through a holistic approach, the Award brings recognition to organizations, business leaders and sustainability experts
that have demonstrated due consideration to the economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainability while
achieving good business and organizational performance.
• The Award is developed by a pool of business leaders and sustainability experts, and the approach of the Award is
appropriate to Hong Kong’s business environment.
• The Award advocates cross-sector sharing of best practices of sustainability, inspires organizations to entrench
sustainability into their operation and culture with the aim of achieving long-term business sustainability.
• The Organization Award category is open to all organizations registered in Hong Kong, from private to public sectors,
regardless of their size and nature of business or service.
• The Individual Award Category bestows recognition to business leaders and sustainability experts for their contribution
to the sustainable development of their organizations and the business community.

OBJECTIVES

• To raise awareness of the importance of sustainability in the business community
• To give public recognition to organizations demonstrating a commitment to sustainability in their operation while
achieving good organizational performance
• To provide a platform for organizations to benchmark best practices of sustainability
• To recognize business leaders and sustainability experts for their significant contribution to the sustainable
development of their organizations, as well as the business community