These are generic Hong Kong-focused working formats, not regulatory forms. Adapt the wording, reporting boundary, responsibilities and approval steps to your organisation before use.
These templates help a team begin planning an ESG workstream by clarifying its purpose, scope, owners, available evidence and next actions. They provide a structured starting point before developing a detailed methodology, engaging an adviser or building a company-specific system.
Copyable ESG templates
ESG project brief
Use before requesting quotations or starting an internal workstream.
Business trigger: [HKEX requirement / lender / customer / tender / management decision]
Purpose and intended users: [reporting, financing, risk management, procurement or other decision]
Organisation and boundary: [entities, sites, jurisdictions, reporting period and exclusions]
Deadline and review timetable: [dates and reason]
Current position: [existing report, data, policies, targets, systems and prior work]
Outputs required: [gap assessment, calculations, workshop, report, dashboard, review or implementation plan]
Internal owner and reviewers: [functions, management and board involvement]
Evidence available: [bills, registers, calculations, policies, meeting records and source systems]
Constraints and assumptions: [budget, access, language, confidentiality, data gaps or dependencies]
Data ownership and evidence record
Combine responsibility, methodology and evidence location in one compact record.
ESG topic or metric: [name and unit]
Reporting period and boundary: [period, entities, sites and exclusions]
Data owner: [function and named role]
Preparer: [person compiling or calculating the information]
Reviewer / approver: [person checking method, evidence and final value]
Source system or file: [system, invoice, register, survey or spreadsheet]
Calculation or estimation method: [formula, emission factor, allocation or estimate]
Evidence retained at: [controlled folder, system reference or document ID]
Assumptions, exclusions and changes: [limitations and difference from prior period]
Review status and date: [draft / reviewed / approved, date and comments]
Scope 3 category screening
Record why a category matters, what data exists and what action comes next.
Scope 3 category: [category number and name]
Business activity or value-chain link: [purchases, logistics, travel, leased assets, product use, investments or other]
Initial relevance: [high / medium / low / not applicable]
Basis for relevance: [spend, activity volume, sector profile, influence, risk or stakeholder interest]
Data currently available: [primary activity data, supplier data, spend data or none]
Proposed calculation method: [supplier-specific, activity-based, spend-based, hybrid or screening estimate]
Main supplier or data contact: [organisation, function and contact route]
Data gaps and limitations: [coverage, timing, quality, allocation or factor limitations]
Priority action and target date: [request data, refine method, engage supplier or document exclusion]
Owner and reviewer: [roles responsible for action and approval]
Board ESG update
Keep the paper focused on decisions, performance, financial effects and escalation.
Decision or endorsement required: [specific approval, direction or noting]
Material ESG issue: [topic, affected business activity and stakeholder]
Current performance and trend: [metric, target, incident or milestone]
Financial or operational effect: [cost, revenue, asset, financing, insurance, continuity or reputation]
Risk / opportunity and time horizon: [short, medium or long term]
Progress against target or commitment: [status, variance and reason]
Management action and owner: [action, accountable executive and date]
Data limitations and assurance status: [estimates, control gaps, review or external assurance]
Escalation and follow-up: [next decision, reporting date and matters requiring attention]
SME minimum ESG data list
A practical first information request for a private company or supplier.
☐ Company profile: [legal entities, sites, activities, headcount and reporting period]
☐ Energy and emissions: [electricity, fuels, refrigerants, vehicles and renewable energy records]
☐ Water and waste: [bills, quantities, treatment routes, contractors and recycling records]
☐ People: [headcount, turnover, training, working hours, safety incidents and contractors]
☐ Policies and incidents: [environment, safety, labour, anti-corruption, privacy and material breaches]
☐ Supply chain and products: [major suppliers, customer questionnaires, materials, packaging and environmental claims]
☐ Evidence: [invoices, registers, policies, logs, certificates, calculations and approval records]
☐ Responsibility: [owner, preparer, reviewer and management contact for each information area]
Minimum controls
- Use a consistent reporting period and organisational boundary.
- Retain source documents and calculation notes separately from the copied template.
- Record estimates, assumptions, exclusions and changes from the prior period.
- Apply version control and do not overwrite submitted or approved records.
- Separate preparation, review and approval where proportionate.
What is intentionally excluded
The page does not provide emission-factor databases, calculation engines, dashboards, legal assessments or an assurance methodology. Those items depend on the applicable framework, business boundary, systems and intended use. The templates also do not determine whether a disclosure requirement applies.