Surveyed Enterprises Increasing ESG Investment

Overall, 96% of the surveyed GBA enterprises indicated plans to increase or maintain their level of ESG investment in the next two years. Of these, 66% said they planned to increase ESG funding, up 26 percentage points from the 40% with the same intent in 2024 and a three‑year high.

The surveyed GBA enterprises expect their average ESG investment to be about HK$874,771 over the next two years, a surge of 89% compared to the HK$462,535 recorded for 2024 and a clear indication that such enterprises have become more proactive in terms of implementing green practices.

As was the case in the last two surveys, Hong Kong enterprises are willing to invest a considerably higher average amount (HK$1,212,115 in 2025, a rise of 30% from the HK$935,659 recorded for 2024) compared to Mainland GBA enterprises (HK$781,264 in 2025, a rise of 135% on the HK$332,678 recorded for 2024). Despite GBA enterprises allocating a lower level of investment than their Hong Kong counterpart, the annual growth rate is considerably higher at 135%.

The 2025 survey also highlighted the fact that service sector companies are prioritising a higher level of investment than their manufacturing counterparts. On average, service providers are allocating investment of HK$916,272 (up 105% from HK$446,555 in 2024), while manufacturing companies are allocating HK$806,761 (up 65% from HK$488,539 in 2024).

Primary Challenges Remain Cost Pressures and Lack of Experience/Talents

The survey results showed that, when it came to implementing sustainable practices, the three major challenges enterprises faced remained cost pressures (78%), lack of experience (69%) and lack of talents (57%). This is similar to 2024, when lack of experience (49%), lack of talents (44%) and cost pressures (43%) were the primary obstacles. For 2025, however, the proportion of respondents identifying such challenges was significantly higher than in 2024, particularly in the case of cost pressures.

Turning to the sectoral variations, more manufacturing enterprises (90%) indicated cost pressures (90%) as the main obstacle. This stems from the need to upgrade or retrofit equipment and optimise production processes to meet sustainability objectives, all of which require substantial capital investment. Nevertheless, manufacturers benefit from relatively clear and measurable standards such as emission levels and energy consumption of equipment or products, resulting in fewer lack of knowledge (56%) and lack of standards (51%) as obstacles.

By comparison, the service sector highlights a lack of experience and standardised guidance as their primary challenges (80%). Green practices in services often lack well‑defined benchmarks, and sectoral differences make it difficult to apply uniform frameworks. Implementation also relies heavily on human resources, particularly multidisciplinary professionals who possess both ESG expertise and industry‑specific knowledge. Such talent is costly (70%) and in short supply (68%), posing additional hurdles for service sector. Looking at survey responses by location, more Mainland GBA enterprises (81%) see cost pressures as a hindrance to their implementation of green / sustainable practices than do Hong Kong businesses (68%).

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¹ For more details on the report, please refer to Hong Kong Empowers GBA Enterprises for ASEAN Growth Amid Global Trade Challenges

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