December 14, 2023 -- The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas) is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific) for the second consecutive year, becoming the only gas utilities company listed in the Index.
Launched in 1999, the DJSI are the first global sustainability benchmarks and track the stock performance of the world’s leading companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria. The DJSI Asia Pacific was introduced in 2009 to track the performance of the top 20% of the 600 largest Australian, Hong Kong, Japanese, Korean, New Zealand and Singaporean companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index that lead the field in terms of sustainability.
The achievement recognised Towngas’ strong and continuous commitment to ESG issues. As we transition from a traditional utility company into an integrated clean energy supplier, Towngas makes every effort to ensure a Just Transition – to create a low-carbon economy in a fair and equitable manner.
The Group is proactively expanding its low-carbon businesses such as smart energy, waste-to-energy, and energy efficiency, to provide customers with sustainable energy solutions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In pursuit of this goal, in 2023, we began to incorporate Internal Carbon Price (ICP), along with ESG Due Diligence, into our investment decision-making processes to identify and drive low-carbon opportunities and investments.
To protect nature and biodiversity, our smart energy business focuses on installing solar photovoltaic systems on rooftops to avoid infrastructure construction in biodiverse sites. For our stakeholders, we actively engage and partner with them to ensure that the impacts, opportunities, and inequalities along the value chain are well managed. Training and educational opportunities are provided to reskill and upskill our workforce with new energy knowledge and skills, improving employees’ versatility. We work closely with customers to develop innovative, sustainable and affordable solutions. For instance, we extract hydrogen from the existing town gas network in Sai Kung to support the use of electric vehicle chargers on the premises. For our suppliers, we set higher standards on ESG for them and offer support to accelerate their transformation. This includes providing tools to quantify their greenhouse gas emissions to make our supply chains more sustainable.
Towngas’ Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index has recently been upgraded from “AA” to “AA+”. We also ranked first in the 2023 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Infrastructure Public Disclosure for the second consecutive year. The Group will continue implementing initiatives to enhance ESG practices, creating a sustainable future.
Questions around this news
What does the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index track?
According to the release, the index tracks the performance of leading companies in the Asia-Pacific region that meet sustainability criteria. It covers companies from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Singapore, and focuses on economic, environmental and social considerations.
What sustainability initiatives did Towngas describe?
The release says Towngas is expanding businesses in smart energy, waste-to-energy and energy efficiency. It also describes incorporating an internal carbon price and ESG due diligence into investment decisions, installing rooftop solar systems, supporting workforce training, and helping suppliers measure greenhouse gas emissions.
What does a just transition mean?
A just transition is the shift toward a lower-carbon economy in a way that considers fairness and the effects on workers, communities and other stakeholders. It can involve supporting people as industries and skills change, addressing unequal impacts, and ensuring that the benefits and costs of the transition are considered.
What is an internal carbon price?
An internal carbon price is a value an organization assigns to greenhouse gas emissions for use in its planning or investment decisions. It can help decision-makers account for emissions-related costs or risks when comparing options, even where no external carbon charge applies directly to the activity.
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Press photo:
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Towngas is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index for the second consecutive year.
For media enquiries, please contact:
The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited
Mr Addie Lam
Assistant General Manager –
Corporate Affairs
Tel: 2963 2578 / 6702 6449
Email: [email protected]
Ms Kara Kwong
Senior Corporate Communications Officer
Tel: 2963 3497 / 6698 3357
Email: [email protected]
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At a glance
- Company
- The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas)
- Announcement
- Award
Key figures
- Consecutive years in the index
- second consecutive year
- Carbon neutrality target
- 2050
- Index coverage
- top 20% of the 600 largest
- Year internal carbon pricing and ESG due diligence began
- 2023
Products and programs
Earlier from The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (Towngas)
- Towngas’ smart products debut at Link Sustainability Lab, showcasing their capabilities to enhance home safety for seniors with IoT
- Towngas volunteers bring traditional yum cha experience to elderly homes, helping seniors to revisit past joyful moments with “soft meal dim sum”
- Towngas ranked first in four CUHK Business Sustainability Indices
- Towngas × B.Duck themed public transport hit the road to promote Towngas Green Flame Future Lab and green knowledge