Meet four companies in Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen that are determined to turn innovations that reduce carbon footprint into viable businesses.
The company got its start providing a centralised digital platform that entities such as MTR Corp, Chinachem Group and the government's Electrical and Mechanical Services Department use to manage the carbon emissions of their buildings. Hong Kong engineering start-up Negawatt Utility is pivoting from helping building owners decarbonise their assets to providing a citywide reward platform to incentivise citizens to reduce their carbon footprints. The private sector is also stepping up. While there is no silver bullet, innovators in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) region are experimenting with ways to reduce carbon footprints and minimise the environmental impact of their users while also making money. Here are four examples. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po set up a green technology and finance development committee on June 23, part of a government effort to promote the development of Hong Kong as a green tech hub . The government has also allocated HK$400 million (US$51 million) to a green tech fund, set up in 2020, to invest in research and development projects. Urgency is growing for businesses and nations to decarbonise as they face tighter regulations and looming deadlines to meet emissions targets so that the world can avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, such as the severe rainstorm that brought Hong Kong to a standstill this week. But co-founder and CEO Arthur Lam realised the company's expertise in quantifying energy-saving activities could be put to use on a broader scale. "Buildings don't emit carbon emissions," he said. "It's the people who utilise the buildings. At the end of the day, we need to disrupt the people inside the buildings to be more sustainable, not the equipment." Advertisement To meet the government's goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, as laid out in former Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor's 2020 policy address, reducing emissions from the city's concrete jungle through actions such…