The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), has launched its updated environmental, social and governance (ESG) e-training programme and published its new guidelines on ESG reporting to help issuers better navigate the evolving standards on ESG reporting.

“As ESG considerations increasingly move into the mainstream, HKEX, as the market regulator, is committed to ensuring that HKEX’s ESG framework and guidance are up to date with investor and stakeholder expectations,” says Bonnie Chan, HKEX’s head of listing.

To facilitate issuers’ understanding of the new ESG requirements to the listing rules and the ESG reporting guide, the exchange has launched an e-training course, “New ESG Requirements”,  which will take about 60 minutes to complete and covers the following topics: ESG requirements, board governance, reporting principles and boundary, setting targets, climate change, and social key performance indicators (KPIs).

A new guide for company board members and directors titled “Leadership role and accountability in ESG” is tailored to support and improve their understanding of reporting under the new ESG requirements. The guide contains self-assessment questions for boards and directors to find out where their companies are, and what they should do to set up the governance structure and refine relevant policies or systems for reporting under the new requirements.

The exchange has also updated its “How to prepare an ESG report” and related appendices to reflect the new requirements, including adding a new appendix with specific guidance on the calculation of social KPIs.