Start-up and Civil Society Track - Think Local, Think Green: Homegrown Success Stories across Businesses and Communities

25 November 2020 (Wednesday) 8:00-9:00 PM

Who does climate change affect?

Developing countries, who don’t have the required resources and infrastructure to deal with droughts and floods? Developed nations, whose economies face huge changes with the need for new skills in new industries? Future generations, who need to deal with unpredictable weather patterns such as heat waves and storms?

The answer is all of the above.

Climate change is a threat multiplier that has affected, is affecting and will continue to affect whole communities, livelihoods and even everyday lives. Beyond individual consumers making lifestyle changes and demanding corporate action, businesses and communities have to band together and take action now.

In “Think Local, Think Green: Homegrown Success Stories across Businesses and Communities”, four startup founders and business leaders in the local Hong Kong community come together and share what their organisations are doing to contribute to the green transition in their own way, by leveraging the power of community and driving change from the top.

Our four speakers will focus respectively on fashion, agriculture, living space, and travel (衣食住行 in Chinese), and also share specific and locally relevant actions everyone can take to stop climate change from affecting each of us.

Join us to think local, think green and take action now.

FASHION: Dorothy Pun - 22factor

FOOD: Tiffany Lau - Soulistic

LIVING: Chantal Wong - Eaton HK

MOBILITY: Natalie Chung - V'air

Read the Speakers Bio

Natalie Chung, Co-Founder and Director of V'air

Natalie is an environmentalist born and raised in Hong Kong, currently pursuing MPhil in Environmental Change and Management at University of Oxford as the Esther Yewpick Lee Millennium Scholar. Inspired by a polar explorer since young, Natalie has devoted her life to climate action. At the age of 18, she co-founded “V’air Hong Kong” to promote sustainable local tourism for climate change mitigation. Natalie gained multinational exposure in the environmental space through working with the World Bank, United Nations, WWF and Kadoorie Conservation China. With substantial experience in climate education and sustainability assessment, Natalie was appointed by the Hong Kong Government as a youth member at the Council for Sustainable Development. She is also a founding member of Hong Kong Youth for Climate Action.

Chantal Wong, Director of Culture of Eaton HK

Chantal Wong is the Director of Culture, Eaton HK, a new global hospitality brand for travellers and locals seeking inspiration, innovation and social and environmental impact. She is the co-founder of non-profits, Things that can happen, an art-space set up in response to the Umbrella Movement connecting art to its socio-political environment set up in 2014 and Learning Together that enables young refugees and asylum seekers to access tertiary education and career opportunities through scholarships, internships and leadership programmes set up in 2015. She sits on the Advisory Committee for Afield, a network and grant giving body for social initiatives from arts and culture around the world, as well as Harmony HK, a Hong Kong-based refugee- curated social enterprise which aims to promote and encourage diversity and inclusion through art and fashion.

Previously, she was the Head of Strategy at Asia Art Archive, a non-profit research centre dedicated to facilitating the writing of Asia’s changing art history from 2011-2017 and prior to that Director of Development at Outset Contemporary Art Fund (London) from 2009-2012. She was a member of Global Shapers HK hub, a global network set up by the World Economic Forum bringing young people driving dialogue, action and change together and spoke in Davos in 2017. She has a Bachelors Degree in Art History and a Masters Degree in Cultural Studies.

Dorothy Pun, Founder of 22 Factor

Dorothy Pun is an intrapreneur and innovator in the fashion industry. Her experience spans across product development, manufacturing, logistics, brand management, retailing and digital transformation. Currently the Vice President of Digital Commerce at Cobalt Fashion, the largest specialist in the knitwear sector, she constantly looks for ways to innovate the industry. It is with this same philosophy that she founded sustainable lifestyle brand 22 Factor to realize her passion in building impact businesses as a force to drive positive environmental and social changes.

Tiffany Lau, Founder of Soulistic

Tiffany is the Founder and Creator behind Soulistic, a vegan brand which focuses on education and experience of plant-based food that is sourced locally and created with health at its core. She is a certified plant-based chef and plant-based nutritionist, receiving her culinary training and nutrition certification in the US.

She discovered her passion in food and culinary therapy back in 2013, after being diagnosed with severe depression, anxiety and chronic allergies three years prior. She experienced the side effects of heavy medications and how processed food can affect one's health. Reliance on medication was not the sustainable way to a healthy life. As a result, she started learning about a holistic diet and natural healing.

In 2017, she switched to a plant-based diet and the rest is, as they say, history. Not only was she able to rid her body of chronic allergies, but 2020 marks her 4th year being clean from depression. This is why she is a strong believer that food can be medicine.

She hopes by sharing her journey and through her collaborative efforts with local small businesses who share similar beliefs and passion in food, she is able to help others lead a more healthy and happier life.

TEDxCivic Exchange will introduce Hong Kong to community leaders working toward workable climate solutions for our city via a series of virtual gatherings that include presentations, panel discussions, and case studies.

At its core, TEDxCEx will be a platform for policymakers, businesses, and civil society to collectively launch Hong Kong’s pathway to climate transition.

Our theme is "Our Time is Now for Climate Action". Our COUNTDOWN to a better future starts now.​

Our Mission Statement - #OurTimeIsNow

The IPCC has urged we not exceed 1.5°C of warming above pre-industrial levels globally. As of 2019, we are at 1.1 degrees. We need a green and just transition for our society, and we need it now. ​Therefore, we need a collective vision for a green recovery and ambitious action to achieve this in HK and beyond. ​