Thought Leadership

Swire Properties was the principal partner of Hong Kong’s first “Advancing Net Zero Ideas Competition”, presented by the Hong Kong Green Building Council (“HKGBC”). Supporting the World Green Building Council’s global Advancing Net Zero project and the Hong Kong government’s target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the competition encouraged entries from around the world for designs that will bring positive change to the built environment and beyond.

We provided detailed building operation data collected from two of our green buildings at Taikoo Place – One Taikoo Place and Oxford House – to participants. This enabled the competition teams to conduct in-depth analysis of actual buildings in order to develop realistic, innovative solutions to help high-rise, high-density cities like Hong Kong achieve net-zero carbon. Our employees were also represented on the competition’s organising committee, technical committee and jury panel.

The competition received 22 team entries from a total of 58 organisations and companies, all of which were of a very high standard. Of the many inspiring and avant-garde concepts, the jury selected three winners and five merit awards in the Future Building and Existing Building categories.

The winning and merit entries were showcased at a public exhibition held in December 2021 at Taikoo Place’s Lincoln House Linkbridge and in an e-book hosted on the HKGBC website.

As part of our broader efforts to motivate the industry to support net-zero emissions, we participated in the “Advancing Net Zero Webinar Series”, also organised by the HKGBC. We shared insights on our 1.5°C-aligned carbon reduction strategy, technological innovations, as well as our embodied carbon management methods.

We were also invited to speak at the HKGBC’s “International Conference on Advancing Net Zero” in November 2021. At the conference, Tim Blackburn, our Chief Executive, took part in an expert panel discussion, sharing the Company’s leadership experience in driving the net-zero transition. In addition, our colleagues presented case studies about Swire Properties’ science-based targets and net-zero strategy across our global portfolio, as well as our pioneering energy management work at Taikoo Li Sanlitun.

We were also honoured to have our decarbonisation efforts featured in the World Green Building Council’s Building to COP26 Thought Leadership Series, which promoted collaboration for climate action ahead of COP26, held in Glasgow in November 2021.