HKU x CIC - Executive Masterclass in

Value-Driven ESG Strategy

Programme

HKU x CIC - Executive Masterclass in Value-Driven ESG Strategy

Programme Length

6 Interactive Half Day Sessions
[All sessions in Hong Kong Time (GMT+8)]

Programme Fee

US$ 3,850 [HK$ 29,980]
*Special rates:
5% off: Early Bird (until Jan 31, 2026)
10% off: Corporate Rate (3+ pax)
15% off: Special HKU Alumni/Staff Rate

Medium of Instruction

English
(Real-time caption in Mandarin Chinese and other languages available through Zoom.)

Delivery Approach

100% Live Online

Venue

Zoom

SCHEDULE AND VENUE

Dates

Module 1

Energy Transition: An Imperative to Future Proof Corporations

Planetary Boundaries: Risks to Corporations

13 Mar 2026
(Friday)
14:00 – 17:00
Module 2 Sustainable Finance and Green Investing: Unlocking Value of ESG Strategies 14 Mar 2026
(Saturday)
09:00 – 12:00
Module 3 Circular Economy: Hack your Thinking to Uncover New Value 20 Mar 2026
(Friday)
14:00 – 17:00
Module 4 AI: Harnessing Technology to Accelerate Value Creation 21 Mar 2026
(Saturday)
09:00 – 12:00
Module 5

Carbon Economy: From Emissions to Solutions to Value

ESG Strategies: What Matters Most

27 Mar 2026
(Friday)
14:00 – 17:00
Module 6

Beyond ESG Reporting: Protect and Create Value for Businesses and Organisations

Workshop: Sustainability transformation case studies

28 Mar 2026
(Saturday)
09:00 – 12:00

Venue

100% Live Online (Zoom)

PROGRAMME DETAILS

Learn From and Interact with World-Class Professors

This unique, power-packed programme brings together professors from Harvard University and the University of Hong Kong who are experts in Value-driven ESG Strategies covering Sustainable Investing, Circular Economy, Carbon Economy, and Energy Transition, along with harnessing AI-enabled solutions.

All sessions are meticulously curated to maximise relevance, value, and interactive learning experience for senior leaders in the public, private, government, NGO, and family office sectors through live online classes.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

HKU x CIC - Executive Masterclass in Value-Driven ESG Strategy

UNLOCKING BUSINESS & ORGANISATIONAL VALUE IN ESG STRATEGIES

Embedding sustainability into organisational strategy generates business value through operational efficiencies, innovation and technology, business development, green financing, and brand marketing. It also improves talent management, supplier relations, consumer loyalty, competitive advantage, and risk mitigation. Yet many companies still approach sustainability in silos, focusing primarily on ESG reporting and overlooking significant opportunities for growth, integration, and valuation.

This programme is designed to guide senior leaders in adopting a systems approach to their organisational strategy and ESG agenda toward uncovering value – from value protection through risk mitigation to value creation through competitive advantage. It highlights the critical risks and opportunities most relevant to organisations utilising cutting-edge knowledge, frameworks, solutions, and technologies. The overarching goal is to equip participants to advance their organisations’ sustainability journey—from compliance to stakeholder alignment, business integration, value creation, and finally, transformative change—toward unlocking value at the intersection of business objectives and material ESG considerations.

PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS

  • Acquire the Knowledge, Clarity, and Acumen to mitigate key ESG risks while seizing key ESG opportunities.
  • Move beyond ESG Reporting to unlock value through cutting-edge frameworks and solutions.
  • Leverage the Power of AI to accelerate sustainability agenda across diverse sectors and value chains.
  • Harness Circular Economy to supercharge innovation and growth in view of planetary boundaries and regulations.
  • Build the Sustainable Investment Case through insights aligned with People, Planet, and Profit.
  • Navigate the Evolving Carbon Economy Landscape to identify value-creating opportunities across value chains.
  • Embed Material ESG Topics to Oganisational Strategies through a practical, value-driven transition roadmap.
  • Network with Senior Leaders across geographies, industries, and sectors.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Board, CEOs and C-Suite Leaders, SVP/VPs, Managing Directors, and Department Heads

This masterclass is specially curated for CEOs and C-Suite Executives, Board Members, Senior VPs, Managing Directors, Advisors, Investors, Consultants, Analysts, and Decision-Makers across sectors, including Financial Institutions, Real Estate, Consultancy, Energy, Healthcare, Technology, Retail, Hospitality and F&B, Consumer Goods, Fashion, and Transportation & Logistics in the Private, Public, Government, NGO, and Family Office sectors, and across broad geographies from Hong Kong and China to Singapore, Taiwan, Australia/New Zealand, India, Middle East, and the wider APAC region.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

MODULE 1:

Energy Transition: An Imperative to Future Proof Corporations

  • Concepts and implications of energy transition on corporate strategies
  • Overview of global and regional energy policies
  • Risks and opportunities of renewable vs. traditional energy sources
  • Strategies for integrating renewable energy transition into operations
  • Future outlook of energy markets

Planetary Boundaries: Risks to Corporations

  • The nine planetary boundaries and the sustainable operating environment
  • Risks to corporations associated with boundary breaches
  • Corporate resilience imperatives through sustainability innovations

MODULE 2:

Sustainable Finance and Green Investing: Unlocking Value of ESG Strategies

  • Holistic approach of sustainable finance vs. traditional finance
  • Comparative landscape of frameworks and tools for private and public sectors
  • Unlocking value and monetisation of ESG through sustainable investing strategies
  • Approaches to impact investing such as social impact bonds
  • Designing the sustainable investment case to harness evolving policies
  • Sustainable finance transformation plan and capacity development

MODULE 3:

Circular Economy: Hack your Thinking to Uncover New Value

  • The 10 Rs model in the ‘Era of R’ and the design-design solutions
  • The ‘Era of D’ and tapping waste as a resource through bioeconomy
  • Learning from nature through nature-based solutions and biomimicry
  • The seven inconvenient truths about plastics
  • Opportunities and risks from EU’s circular economy roadmaps
  • Business case for circularity and practical strategies to overcome hurdles

MODULE 4:

AI: Harnessing Technology to Accelerate Value Creation

  • Boosting economic efficiency and productivity with AI
  • Leveraging AI in financial institutions for sustainable finance and ESG impact
  • AI opportunities in supporting the circular economy and rethinking supply chain
  • The rapidly evolving future of healthcare in the age of AI
  • AI’s role in powering green energy transition
  • AI-enabled smart cities, intelligent infrastructure, IoT, and green mobility
  • Seizing the AI opportunity now and in the future

MODULE 5:

Carbon Economy: From Emissions to Solutions to Value

  • The GHG Protocol methodology for measuring emissions across value chain
  • Carbon regulations including EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
  • Monetisation opportunities in the carbon economy leveraging mechanisms
  • Business case for carbon emissions reduction
  • Future outlook and emerging opportunities

ESG Strategies: What Matters Most

  • The business case: Why ESG matters for enterprise and government leaders
  • The concept of double materiality and its strategic importance
  • Navigating regulatory compliance frameworks across jurisdictions
  • Strategic sustainability governance and its integration into corporate strategy
  • Developing sustainability performance management systems

MODULE 6:

Beyond ESG Reporting: Protect and Create Value for Businesses and Organisations

  • Embedding ESG at the board, executive, and operational levels
  • Navigating the evolving ESG frameworks and anticipating regulatory changes
  • Board governance structures including incentives and litigation risk management
  • Cultivation of a leadership culture, change mindset and learning organisation
  • Communicating value: Internal and external strategies for ESG storytelling

Workshop: Sustainability transformation case studies

Case study and class presentations: Selected Cohorts to present case studies on ESG transformation,
highlighting strategic implementation challenges and opportunities that pave the way for value protection
and value creation.

Participants must attend at least 75% of the modules (a minimum of 5 out of 6) to be eligible for programme completion. Certification will be awarded by HKU Business School and Crimson Impact Collective upon successful completion of the programme.

FACULTY PROFILES

Cary Krosinsky

PROF. CARY KROSINSKY

Lecturer, Harvard University, Yale University, New York University (NYU)

Prof. Krosinsky is a highly regarded educator, author, and advisor in sustainable finance. He has been teaching Sustainable Finance and Sustainable Investing since 2009 and currently teaches at Harvard Univeristy, NYU, and Yale College. He has published seven books since 2008 including Sustainable Investing: Revolutions in Theory and Practice – selected by the People’s Bank of China for translation into the government’s official Green Finance Series in 2018. His seventh book – Modern China: Financial Cooperation for Solving Sustainability Challenges – released in 2020. He is the co-founder and director of the Sustainable Finance Institute which hosted the Future of Sustainable Finance at the Peking University HSBC Business School in Shenzhen in 2019.

DR. MANUEL MAQUEDA

Special Programs Instructor, Harvard University

Dr. Maqueda is Special Programs Instructor of Applied Circular Economics and Regenerative Economics at Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education. Previously, he created the Circular Economy online course at the University of California, Berkeley. He leads the Bionomia Institute, specialising in education, innovation and research in applied circular and regenerative economics. Dr. Maqueda’s mind-opening, memorable, and empowering speaking style is well-received across his clients, among them Google, Uber, Salesforce, Santander, LinkedIn, and NASA.
AHMAD ANTAR

DR. AHMAD ANTAR

Special Programs Instructor, Harvard University

Dr. Antar teaches Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for a Sustainable Future at Harvard University. A leading advocate for ethical, inclusive, and carbon-aware digital technology, He is the founder and executive director of Digital Emissions, a nonprofit focused on advancing digital justice and sustainable information technology (IT) solutions. Dr. Antar also leads the Awesome Green Software program at the Green Software Foundation. His 20-year industry tenure includes leadership roles in investment banking technology leading systems-driven transformation and driving operational efficiency at Wachovia Securities, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank where he currently serves as Managing Director.
THOMAS SCHMID

DR. THOMAS SCHMID

Associate Professor, University of Hong Kong

Dr. Schmid is an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Hong Kong. He finished his dissertation in Finance and worked as a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Technical University of Munich. Dr. Schmid’s primary research area is empirical corporate finance, with special interests in energy finance, climate finance, and corporate governance. His work has been published in various prestigious journals, including the Review of Financial Studies, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Journal of Accounting and Economics, Management Science, and Research Policy.
ANTHONY CHEUNG

PROF. ANTHONY CHEUNG

Programme Director
Professor of Practice, University of Hong Kong

Prof. Cheung is a Professor of Practice in Finance at the University of Hong Kong. He is a seasoned Board member on non-profit boards and a public company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with expertise in sustainability reporting, SDG measurement, and corporate governance best practices. He has chaired Audit Committee, ESG Committee, and Remuneration Committee. He leads ESG integration and drives sustainable investments in the capacity of Head of ESG and Managing Director for one of the largest multi-manager platform asset management groups in Asia. Prof. Cheung has also held various asset management roles in London, Singapore and Hong Kong, including Gartmore, Pictet and BNP Paribas.

FEES AND FUNDING

Full programme fee:

US$ 3,850 [HK$ 29,980]

Discounts*

TypeDiscountEligibility
Early Bird5%Registration has to be submitted by 31 January 2026.
Group10%Minimum of three participants from the same organisation registering for the programme.
HKU Alumni and Staff15%Please indicate your status in your registration, and we will advise and confirm on your eligibility.

*Only one type of discount can be applied per enrollment. The discount cannot be used in conjunction with other promotions, discounts or offers. In the event of a dispute, provision of the discount(s) is subject to the sole discretion and final decision of HKU Business School.

Deferment Policy

  1. Participants may defer their participation in the programme for a maximum of one year only.
  2. If a participant wishes to defer, they must provide an official statement in English detailing the situation and reason for deferral. This will be reviewed by our faculty office, which will determine whether the deferral request is approved.
  3. Administrative fees may apply to deferment applications.

CONTACT

Ms. Andrea KUK

Phone: +852 3917 3274
Email: andreak@hku.hk

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