The Hong Kong and China Gas Company (Towngas) has made its debut in the FTSE4Good Index Series, along with an improved environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating from FTSE Russell, and the utility has secured four awards at the UNSDG Achievement Awards Hong Kong 2024.

At the awards, organized by the Green Council, Towngas received the Sustainable Organization Award – Bronze, acknowledging the utility’s culture of sustainable development, including its ESG strategy, Energy, which encompasses six key principles – energizing the ecosystem, neutralizing its footprint, engaging with society, retaining its strengths, greening the future, and young-at-heart with resilience – integrated across various business aspects.

Three of the company’s projects were also recognized. The Fueling the Future: Transition to a Hydrogen Economy project won the Individual SDG Award - Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy. The company is extracting hydrogen from its gas network to provide hydrogen energy to customers. Applications include a memorandum of cooperation with Citybus’ parent company, Bravo Transport Services, to supply hydrogen for public buses, a hydrogen fuel cell power generation pilot project at a padel court in Sai Kung, and Hong Kong’s first green hydrogen project in collaboration with Veolia at the South East New Territories Landfill Extension, producing green hydrogen from biogas.

The company’s restaurant, CulinArt 1862, won the Individual SDG Award (SME): Responsible Consumption and Production. The restaurant integrates culinary art, sustainability and food waste reduction in its operations, using an internet-of-things smart kitchen, sourcing seasonal ingredients from the company’s organic farm, and implementing waste reduction initiatives and green procurement.

Additionally, the company became the first utility in Greater China to launch a green supply-chain finance programme, promoting ESG practices among suppliers. This initiative earned the company the Recognized Project Award.

The company, it notes, “recognizes that both vision and implementation are crucial in sustainable development, and is committed to developing various sustainable solutions and actively applying them across various scenarios. Through these efforts, Towngas aims to make meaningful contributions to a wide range of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs).”