May 3, 2023
Grace Kwok has over 23 years’ experiences in
sustainable design and green building projects in Hong Kong, China
and across Asia-Pacific, she has led the AEC group to set up a
robust sustainability governance structure and is committed to
promoting sustainability from the inside out. The Group committed
to ambitious sustainability commitments, including Science-Based
Target and Net Zero Carbon Operation by 2030, and is a Signatory
for the Business for Ambition for 1.5°C campaign organized by SBTi
and UNGC. 
Also, took the lead to uphold sustainability standards by conducting climate risk assessments using TCFD framework and adopting GRI Standards in its annual ESG reports. AEC Group has obtained many awards for its sustainability governance and ESG initiatives, including Honorable Mention Award in the Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards 2020 and Grand Award in the Hong Kong Sustainability Award 2020/21. In support of World GBC’s net-zero built environment agenda, AEC Group has joined the ranks of WorldGBC Asia Pacific Net Zero Collaborators in 2021.
Driven by a vision to shape a sustainable future, Grace is dedicated to work with the building and construction sector to build climate resilience and accelerate net-zero transition. She had played a key role in encouraging the early adoption of green building rating systems and worked on the earliest
batch of HK-BEAM and LEED projects in Hong Kong. Grace had also been facilitating the localization of international green building and sustainable infrastructure rating tools, including BREEAM and CEEQUAL. In recent years, she created a stronger momentum for the green building movement with ESG and green finance as drivers and leveraged her expertise in corporate sustainability to promote sustainable real estate from fund and developers’ group to project levels.
With an environmental engineering background, Grace is a keen advocate of regenerative sustainability for the built environment. She is often invited to share her insights at local, regional and global conferences, including Internoise 2017, USGBC Greenbuild China 2019, International Symposium on Regional Air Quality Management in Rapidly Development Economic Regions 2020, APEC Workshop Training on Retro-commissioning 2021 and BREEAM Summit 2022, etc. She was recently selected to join GRESB Real Estate Standard Committee to develop ESG standard for sustainable real estate and has been appointed to join major government committees to advise on matters related to sustainable development, environmental conservation as well as innovation and technology.
Show Highlights
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Raising the bar to manage stringent building and energy codes in the Hong Kong region.
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Driving new industry standards and creating alternative solutions to the problems the industry is facing.
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Understanding the local and international standards in the finance sector to achieve a green classification.
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Driving green capital in the real estate sector by finding common language.
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Speeding up different initiatives like the quality of life category in how you present them to a client.
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Solving challenging problems for clients with alternative solutions shape industry standards.
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Working more on sustainable infrastructure to go beyond building.
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The city’s programs need to align with the sustainable development goals.
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Carbon management and climate resilience tips.
“Green building is very dynamic and it's got a changing landscape. Explore more about all the areas related to the green building movement. It's not only about buildings, it's about the people in the built environment as well. When we are working on a project we always remind ourselves so that we won't lose the focus, not just in the number or the modeling. Lastly, encouragement. When we're working on a green building project, you can expect it (the building) will stay there for a long time. You need to consider the whole life cycle of the building. It could become a legacy because it is going to be standing there for 50, 60 years.”
-Grace Kwok
Get the episode transcript here!!
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