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Dr. Maria Francesch-Huidobro
Adjunct Professor, at The University of Hong KongDr. Maria Francesch-Huidobro is a political scientist with over 25 years of academic and professional experience in public policy and environmental, sustainability, climate change and energy security policy analysis. She has undertaken consultancy positions and was a professor of political science and public administration at the University of Hong Kong, City University of Hong Kong, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2005. She holds a BSc and MSc in Microbiology (Madrid), a Master of Public Administration (MPA) and a PhD in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Hong Kong.
Maria has led numerous publicly and privately funded projects which have resulted in strategies for carbon reduction implementation, assessment models, and enabling low-carbon living at a district level. Recent projects include studies on the role of cities in climate diplomacy, on low carbon transitions in isolated electricity supply systems in Southeast Asia, and on carbon pricing policies.
Maria is an author of Governance, Politics and the Environment: a Singapore Study (ISEAS 2008), and co-author of Governing Climate Change in Chinese Cities (Routledge 2015). Her work on climate adaptation governance in delta cities has been cited by the IPCC Special Report on 1.5C (2018).
Ms. Grace Kwok
Chairman and Executive Director, of Allied Sustainability and Environmental Consultants Group LimitedGrace is the Chairman and Executive Director of AEC Group and Chief Sustainability Strategist of AEC Capital Ltd. She is a seasoned sustainability professional with more than 20 years of experience in sustainable design and green building projects in Hong Kong, China, and across Asia-Pacific. With a background in environmental engineering, Grace is a keen advocate of regenerative sustainability for the built environment. She is currently the Director of the Hong Kong Green Building Council, Founding Vice President of the Greater Bay Area Carbon Neutrality Association, and Director of the Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals. Grace also serves as a co-chair of the Real Estate Working Group under the Hong Kong Green Finance Association. Outside Hong Kong, she has led AEC Group to become World GBC’s Asia Pacific Net Zero Collaborator while sharing the best practices through her roles in the IWBI Health Equity Advisory, LEED Technical Advisory Group, BRE ESG Advisors Club, and GRESB Real Estate Standards Committee. Driven by a vision to shape a sustainable future for all, Grace works with the buildings and other sectors through ESG and Green Finance advisory to build climate resilience and accelerate net-zero transition.
Mr. Freeman Cheung
SVP, Environment, Greater China at AECOMMr. Freeman Cheung is the regional executive responsible for AECOM’s environmental management practice in Hong Kong and Japan. Mr. Cheung is a seasoned environmental consultant with more than 30 years’ experience in environmental impact assessment for major infrastructure projects. He is also an air quality specialist directing the Review of the Air Quality Objectives Study 2030 and the Formulation of Ozone Control Policy in the Greater Bay Area studies for EPD.
Mr. Cheung is very active in the environmental professional field and helped found the Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals (HKIQEP), the Environmental Management Association of Hong Kong (EMAHK) and the Hong Kong Institute of Environmental Impact Assessment (HKIEIA). He also serves on the CIWEM Air Technical Panel and Advisory Committee for Chinese University of Hong Kong and City University of Hong Kong as well as part-time lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and City University of Hong Kong.
Mr. Cheung is currently the Chairman of HKIQEP as well as the past Chair of EMAHK and past Chairman of HKIEIA.
Ms. Sarah Mak
Director, of SMC Solutions LtdMs. Sarah Mak has over 30 years of experience specializing in Operational Excellence and Business Processes with a focus on environmental impact. She worked as an ISO 9000 (quality), QS 9000 (automotive), ISO 14000 (environment), and TickIT (software development) auditor for 7 years and has audited almost 300 companies globally in a broad spectrum of industries in the manufacturing, service, IT, and software development sectors. She has also worked at various business units of the Dutch giant, Royal Philips, in global capacities relating to Business Excellence, as well as in the property management arm of Cheung Kong Holdings Limited.
With a strong focus on business processes, Sarah led numerous process realignment and improvement projects across global functions in different business units of Philips, at Cheung Kong, and in her capacity as consultant for her clients. Utilizing her engineering background and environmental management knowledge, Sarah has facilitated, managed, led, and participated in numerous improvement projects of different scales. Her expertise is to help companies meet and exceed their legal and/or industry defined requirements while focusing on improving the bottom line and reducing impact to the environment.
Ms. Mak serves on various committees of several professional associations. Currently, she sits on the Qualification Panel of the Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals Limited (HKIQEP). She is the Regional Executive Director of the Quality Management Division of American Society of Quality (ASQ), and a Board Member of the Environmental Management Association of Hong Kong Limited (EMAHK). Sarah was a co-opt member of the QS 9000 Certification Council of the HKQAA (Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency) from 1998 to 2002 and served as Chair for the Hong Kong Total Quality Forum in 2006 and 2007.
Ms. Mak holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Science in Environmental Management from The University of Hong Kong. She is a Founding Fellow of HKIQEP and a Certified Member of EMAHK.
Dr. Billy Hau
Principal Lecturer and Programme Director, MSc in Environmental Management of The University of Hong KongDr. Billy Hau Chi Hang received his PhD from the University of Hong Kong in forest ecology. He is a terrestrial ecologist and a conservationist. His research focus is ecological restoration, especially for terrestrial habitats in degraded tropical East Asia. He aims to bring back native forest and the associated forest biodiversity into the degraded landscape in Hong Kong and South China.
Dr. Hau has been promoting urban biodiversity through applied research. He is a local expert in ecological restoration on man-made slopes and natural terrains and is often engaged by the government in contract research projects on trees and slopes in Hong Kong. He founded the HKU Eco-Leaders Training Programme in 2009 which involves training students on field ecology in preparation for expeditions to global biodiversity hotspots including Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, India, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, the Galapagos, and the Amazon. He is a mentor of many young conservationists in Hong Kong who are now contributing to environmental conservation. He has also led and contributed to many ecological and biodiversity related projects in Hong Kong, which has won him several awards.
Dr. Hau serves on various environmental NGOs and government committees on ecology and conservation. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals Limited (HKIQEP). He was a member of the Country and Marine Parks Board and the Advisory Council on the Environment. He is a member of the Town Planning Board, EIA Appeal Board, and the Urban Forestry Advisory Panel of the government.