In 1987, the United Nations defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report). In recent years, sustainability has become the centre of attention in discussion for both public and private institutions. In February 2021, the Hong Kong Government announced its commitment to transform Hong Kong into a Green and Sustainable Finance Hub in the region and announced during the budget 2021-2022's speech the issue of US$22.5bn (HK$175.5bn) worth of green bonds over the next five years. In 2021, the UK and Italy have also committed to putting climate change and the reversal of biodiversity loss at the heart of the multilateral agenda in 2021, through the G7, G20 and COP26 Presidencies. Seizing momentum on the above initiatives linking Hong Kong and Italy, the acceleration of interest towards sustainability during the pandemic, and following up on the seminar held for the Italian Research Day 2018, academics in Hong Kong and Italy across different disciplines have decided to gather together to discuss the effect of plastics on marine food webs, business community's efforts to reduce environmental impact and ESG communication & measurements. Flash talks by experts from both Hong Kong and Italy and a roundtable will connect academia and business community to fine tune to potential collaborations.

The event is organized in the framework of the Italian Research Day in the World, that celebrates Italian researchers and academics abroad. This is their day, created to thank them and to give them visible proof that their country, although far away, is nevertheless close to them. Together with them we aim to send a strong message to the world that Italy is a driving force in the fields of science, technology and innovation.

E-mail: commerciale.hongkong@esteri.it

^Elenco attivita_promozionali^