Category: MIL-OSI

LCQ20: Nurturing environmental, social and governance talents 
Question:
 
     In recent years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) has become a core strategy for global development, and Hong Kong has also been actively promoting Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 (Plan) and the development of green and sustainable finance. It has been reported that according to a study, only 27 per cent of the secondary schools in Hong Kong have included references to matters relating to sustainable development, climate and biodiversity in their school development plans, reflecting that there are still inadequacies in the nurturing of ESG talents and civic awareness in Hong Kong. According to the Report on 2023 Manpower Projection, the Labour and Welfare Bureau has also envisaged that ESG will be deemed essential knowledge in the future employment market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
 
(1) as it is stated in the Plan that the authorities will broaden school teachers’ knowledge about climate change, and that schools may strengthen the relevant learning materials in different subjects, but the findings of the aforesaid study have revealed that such efforts seem to have failed to achieve the intended results, whether the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of schools’ education on climate change and biodiversity, etc;
 
(2) whether the authorities have considered further strengthening education on ESG (e.g. climate actions and social responsibilities) in secondary schools, and formulating interdisciplinary teaching guidelines; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
 
(3) as the Plan has mentioned the need to incorporate learning materials relating to climate change, low-carbon technologies and green finance, etc, into the curricula in tertiary institutions, whether the authorities have assessed if the relevant curricula in the institutions can satisfy the need to train ESG talents; how to ensure that students are equipped with ESG literacy to meet the needs of the future job market, thereby facilitating the development of Hong Kong into a regional green finance centre; and
 
(4) regarding the workforce in the local employment market at present, whether the authorities have plans to promote the popularisation of ESG education, thereby assisting members of the public in enhancing their ESG knowledge to address the needs of the future employment market; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 
Reply:
 
President,
 
     Regarding the question raised by the Hon Chan Siu-hung, the consolidated reply, after consulting the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the Labour and Welfare Bureau, and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, is as follows:
 
(1) and (2) The Education Bureau (EDB) attaches great importance to promoting education for sustainable development (ESD). It has been encouraging schools to adopt a “multi-pronged and co-ordinated” approach to enhance students’ understanding of sustainable development (SD) and encourage them to practise green living through different subjects, cross-curricular learning and life-wide learning activities. The relevant learning elements, which include climate action, biodiversity conservation, renewable energy, energy saving and waste reduction, making good use of resources and corporate social responsibilities, have been incorporated in the curriculum guides of various subjects, such as Primary Humanities and Primary Science at the primary level, and Geography, Science, Biology, Business, Accounting and Financial Studies, Citizenship and Social Development as well as some Applied Learning courses at the secondary level.
 
     ESD is an important component of values education across different subjects in primary and secondary school education. The Values Education Curriculum Framework (Pilot Version) lists “actively practising green living as well as encouraging and supporting joint efforts from people around” and “possessing a global perspective as well as being concerned about global environmental issues and the challenges in attaining sustainable development” as the expected learning outcomes, encouraging students to take responsibility for environmental conservation and nurturing in them proper values and attitudes, such as respecting, be thankful to and caring about nature.
 
     To support teachers in implementing ESD, the EDB has organised various teacher professional development programmes. Field studies and seminars have been conducted to deepen teachers’ understanding of ESD and related topics as well as enhance their teaching capacity. Since the 2020/21 school year, the EDB has conducted nearly 200 relevant training activities with the number of teacher participation exceeding 12 300. The EDB has also collaborated with Radio Television Hong Kong Radio 3 to produce the “Savvy Earth Savers” segment featured in the English learning programme “In the Common Room”. The segment explores environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and provides teachers with English learning and teaching resources for promoting ESD.
 
     The EDB has also organised diversified student activities, such as slogan and poster design competitions, drawing and photo-taking competitions and picture book creation competitions, to help students understand the rationale and importance of sustainable development as well as enrich their learning experiences. To further promote ESD, the EDB launched the “Achieving Carbon Neutrality Student Ambassador Training Scheme 2024/25” for the first time in this school year. Through the collaborative efforts with different government departments, green groups and the business sector in organising diversified experiential learning activities, such as bank visit, coral conservation field trips and green building tours, the EDB aims to deepen students’ understanding of green finance and intelligent green buildings and the importance of marine biodiversity. Building on the first year’s experience with the ambassador scheme, the EDB will continue to collaborate with different stakeholders to provide students with more learning opportunities to further increase their understanding of the efforts of the Government and various sectors of society in achieving the target of carbon neutrality in Hong Kong.
 
     Under school-based management, when formulating the School Development Plan (SDP), schools have to set out a clear direction for development and focused priority tasks, which should be in line with the school’s vision and mission, the latest education development, as well as the school context. Schools have been promoting ESD for years with good progress, and have generally taken forward relevant work as the routine ones. If there are new development focuses, strategies or measures, they will be included in the SDP as appropriate.
 
     Besides, the relevant bureaux and departments have also been actively implementing various education and publicity programmes to enhance students’ understanding of SD, including:

(i) The Environment and Ecology Bureau has organised a range of seminars, workshops, field trips and interactive dramas, etc, on various topics through the Sustainable Development School Outreach Programme (Outreach Programme) and the Sustainable Development School Award Programme, so as to promote the concept and practice of SD among secondary students, and at the same time recognise the efforts of schools and students in promoting SD in the community. In the 2024/25 school year, under the theme of Food Waste Reduction and Recycling, the Outreach Programme attracted the participation of 231 schools, encompassing about 82 000 teachers and students. 
     In 2024, the EPD also launched the “We-recycle@School” Activity (the Scheme). Through providing a variety of teaching materials, support and teacher training to primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, the Scheme assists schools and teachers in integrating waste reduction and recycling knowledge into daily teaching, encourage students to make good use of recycling facilities in schools and the community, and motivate their family members to practise resource separation and recycling together. Since its launch, the Scheme has received an overwhelming response, with the participation of about 350 000 students from around 550 primary and secondary schools. In addition, from January to May 2025, the EPD organised in collaboration with GREEN@COMMUNITY operators over 460 publicity activities on waste reduction and recycling involving or co-hosted by schools, thereby raising environmental awareness among students.
 
(iii) The Drainage Services Department (DSD) has been supporting schools in promoting environmental protection education through organising guided tours at sewage treatment facilities. For instance, students can learn about the sewage treatment process, energy efficiency design and the measures in combating climate change through visits to the DSD’s facilities such as the Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works and the Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works.
 
(3) The EDB has all along supported post-secondary institutions offering post-secondary programmes that meet the social and economic needs of Hong Kong, having regard to different policy bureaux’ and departments’ recommendations on manpower needs. In response to the ever-changing social needs for sustainable development, the University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded universities have offered various funded programmes relevant to “Environment, Society and Governance” in recent years, to nurture students to become talents in sustainable development and green finance. In the 2024/25 academic year, there are about 40 programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The EDB and the UGC will continue to encourage universities to nurture talents for growth, transformation and future challenges, and meet Hong Kong’s future development’s talent needs. Self-financing institutions also have the flexibility to develop programmes that meet market needs, and adjust the curricula and intake places of relevant programmes, in response to the ever-changing manpower needs of different sectors of society, and provide diversified articulation pathways.
 
(4) Bureaux and departments take forward sector-specific talent training programmes in response to the latest industry development and manpower situation to enrich the local human resources. 
 
     The Government launched in 2022 the Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme (Pilot Scheme) for application by local eligible market practitioners and related professionals as well as students and graduates of relevant disciplines. There are currently 94 eligible programmes and qualifications, including green and sustainable finance programmes and qualifications related to banking services, asset management, insurance industry, etc. These are provided by the professional and continuing education schools of local universities, professional institutions, international training providers, etc, and the list will continue to be updated. As of May 2025, over 7 200 reimbursement applications were approved, involving a total reimbursement amount of over $40 million. To continuously support local green finance talent training, we will extend the Pilot Scheme to 2028.
 
     Besides, the Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group (Steering Group) formed by relevant Government Bureaux, financial regulators and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited launched in October 2022 the Sustainable Finance Internship Initiative to create more relevant local internship opportunities for students. Members of the Steering Group also regularly offer training seminars and forums, at which representatives from financial regulators as well as experts from the academia and industry are invited to share insights to deepen university students and industry’s understanding of sustainable finance. 
 
     The EPD has all along been supporting the continuous development of environmental professions in Hong Kong, so that the standards and credibility of environment-related services and industries can be enhanced through professionalisation. The EPD is exploring collaboration with the Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals to provide ESG-related training, with a view to addressing the rapid development and growing demand for talents in the ESG field. Besides, relevant courses are offered by course providers under the Continuing Education Fund in response to market development and needs, which are currently mainly provided by higher education institutions, and the Employees Retraining Board also provides relevant courses.
Issued at HKT 14:25

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LCQ17: Mainland exchange programmes for students 
Question:

The media earlier reported that some Hong Kong students had developed problems of different natures while participating in Mainland exchange tours (exchange tours), which has aroused public concerns about the quality of the exchange tours and may have an impact on the willingness of parents, teachers and students to go north for exchange. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: