Our Story
The story of GREEN Hospitality began in the autumn of 2018, when Soap Cycling, Asia’s first and largest youth-led soap recycling charity, had the idea of creating a globally-focused network to help the hospitality industry correct course. “As an organization working closely with the hospitality industry, we realized that while it is a driver for exponential economic growth, such growth, without a comprehensive industry-wide focus on sustainability, will continue to take a significant toll on the environment and the wellbeing of local communities,” said Justen Li, Chairman of Soap Cycling. “We wanted to help our hotel partners make more informed, sustainability-driven decisions in their business operations, and that’s really how GREEN Hospitality started.”
GREEN Hospitality’s first initiative, the inaugural GREEN Hospitality Conference, was held on 26 April 2019, at the Cordis Hotel, with the support of the Sustainable Development Fund, the HKU Business School, and Foundation for Shared Impact.
After 2 years of creating impact and building a community of sustainability-driven professionals in the hospitality industry, a new social enterprise was established to carry forward the mission of GREEN Hospitality - Pangaia Solutions Limited.
Purpose
We are dedicated to facilitating connections and promoting dialogues among all related industries in the hospitality sector, which will help businesses achieve their sustainability goals and become the catalysts for change.
Our presence is defined by our members. We are not a single voice for advocacy but an alliance of advocates. We are positioned with a network of individuals and companies that share similar sustainability goals. We believe that achieving those goals is easier when partnering with individuals and companies with similar passions and areas of expertise.
More than anything though, we are problem solvers. Whether through highlighting issues, sharing ideas, or supporting innovative technologies, we are committed to expediting actionable solutions.
We believe in change for the good and knowledgeable and collaborative hospitality industry can be the driver of this change.
Vision & Mission
We see hospitality and tourism as catalysts for sustainability and we are determined to achieve this vision by advancing research, incubating innovations, and fostering activities that enable the industry to achieve Sustainable Development Goals in the interest of the planet, people, and prosperity.
Meaning of GREEN
GREEN stands for much more than color. This is the mantra that leads us on our journey of making a positive impact on the planet and the people.
Green
GOVERNANCE & GLOBAL IMPACT
As our industry is global and the environment is connected globally, so should be our impact. We start by understanding local issues and analyzing global practices. We have a global team with the collective creativity to drive us forward.
We adhere to the principles of responsible leadership and governance in our own organization while promoting and helping the hospitality industry to put responsible governance as a cornerstone of their organizations.
Green
RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION
& PRODUCTION
We adhere to the principles of the Circular Economy by focusing on creating new business models driven by innovation, intrapreneurship, social ventures, change management, and a bottom-up approach in designing strategies for business.
We commit ourselves to promote business cases with shared value, shared impact, and replicable successes. We steer sustainability forward by inspiring others to change their business-as-usual models.
for reduce-reuse-recycle-recover or reinvent
Green
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Incorporating greenhouse gas emission reduction, lowering of water usage, promotion of biodiversity and responsible travel in our stakeholders’ businesses is at the top of our agenda.
Climate Change is real and solutions are needed in order to avert the Climate Crisis. We advocate to guide business development practices, influence strategic decisions and create harmony between business and nature.
Green
EMPLOYMENT AND EMPOWERMENT
Malicious practices such as forced labor and human trafficking in the tourism and hospitality industry impede sustainable development as some products consumed in the industry are manufactured by vendors that adopt such practices.
We address these issues by encouraging our stakeholders including supply chains and management to purchase products from ethical sources.
As hospitality workers have been the hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis, we want to leverage the power of the platform to create a GREEN career center where GREEN members can share high-impact jobs and offer referrals to those looking.
Youth and empowerment are at the foundation of who we are. We are committed to developing leaders of tomorrow through our student and skilled volunteering programs.
Green
NOW!
Now is the time to build back better post-COVID business practices. Our future is in jeopardy and it’s never too late to do as much as we can now for the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.
Instead of being a cost or a burden, sustainability should become the key to recovery by reducing risk, cost and opening new perspectives when it comes to new products, markets, and branding.
To ensure that we are making progress, we adopt an action-based approach to everything we do. We show our work through impact reporting and set clear KPIs that we communicate and disclose to the public. We hold ourselves accountable for fulfilling our mission and aspire to turn great ideas into concrete actions.
Values
Sustainability
Understanding and embracing the concept of sustainability in life and business is an integral part of changing the way we run an organisation.
Innovation
Challenge ourselves and our status quo regularly through brainstorming and external initiatives. We focus on critical thinking and making change happen by thinking out of the box.
Youth Empowerment
Involve young people by offering skill-development opportunities in the organization to build sustainability and our legacy.
Transparency
Things we do must make sense; we always need to have a plan and communicate clearly with our stakeholders and within our organisation. Everyone knows what we are doing, why and how we will measure success.
Social Impact
We should always keep our eyes on the impact that we want to create and make sure we are doing it. We shall review our mission and vision and communicate regularly how we are delivering on these through our local and global initiatives such as youth empowerment, promotion of diversity and equal access to industry knowledge and best practices.
In everything we do, we should always keep our eyes on how a particular action brings about the solution. We shall always look for solutions and design all of our products and services to accomplish this.
Inclusiveness
Everyone should be treated fairly in our organisation. We shall always combat any prejudice. All our employee evaluations or judgments should be guided by a fair approach and objectives. We adhere to the United Nations’ sustainable development vision on diversity and inclusiveness with a view to leaving no one behind. We engage all stakeholders or businesses that share our vision and are willing to go the extra mile with us.
Diversity
We promote diversity among our employees, volunteers, interns and stakeholders. We believe that a more diverse group is more creative and creates greater value for the society. The world is interconnected and more so in the travel industry. Actions in one country affect people in other countries. By embedding diversity in our company, we seek to ensure that all possible aspects of our actions and impact are considered.
TEAM
Lucia Loposova
General Management
Lucia has been involved in social impact space, diversity & inclusion, and the nonprofit sector through her experience with the Erasmus Mundus Association to which she dedicated almost a decade of incessant work and support. Most recently. Lucia has been engaged with the Foundation for Shared Impact, delivering experiential learning programs at the University of Hong Kong - Impact Lab and Transformative Business Immersion. She holds a joint master's degree in Tourism Management (EMTM - European Master in Tourism Management), a program with a strong focus on ESG delivered by the University of Southern Denmark, the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and the University of Girona (Spain).
Tung Ching Li
Thought Leadership
TC is an avid reader, passionate writer, nature and wildlife lover, and Climate Reality Leader with a master's degree in international journalism, and fluency in four languages up her sleeve. After a decade as a writer and editor at advertising agencies and publishing houses, TC decided to put her skills and interest in sustainability issues to good use, first as communications manager at a zero-waste lifestyle company, and currently at the Foundation for Shared Impact, a one-stop-shop for social impact that supports impact-driven organizations such as GREEN Hospitality.
GOVERNANCE
GREEN Hospitality is a sustainability program of a nonprofit called Pangaia Solutions Limited which was registered as a company limited by guarantee on 1st February 2021 with an Incorporation Number: 3016904. To learn more about the governance and structure of the organization, please take a look at the Articles of Association.
Board of Directors
Lucia Loposova
Founder & Executive Director
Lucia has been involved in social impact space, diversity & inclusion, and the nonprofit sector through her experience with the Erasmus Mundus Association to which she dedicated almost a decade of incessant work and support. Most recently. Lucia has been engaged with the Foundation for Shared Impact, delivering experiential learning programs at the University of Hong Kong - Impact Lab and Transformative Business Immersion. She holds a joint master's degree in Tourism Management (EMTM - European Master in Tourism Management), a program with a strong focus on ESG delivered by the University of Southern Denmark, the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and the University of Girona (Spain).
Justen Li
Director & Legal Advisor
Justen holds a double degree in Business and Law from The University of Hong Kong. He is now currently a practicing lawyer in a construction company. He was part of the initial team that laid the foundation of Soap Cycling. For years he has been active in social community and projects serving both the youth and the elders. Soap Cycling is the originator and a founding partner of GREEN Hospitality. Justen will represent Soap Cycling on the GREEN's board to ensure continuity and build on Soap Cycling's experience.
Advisory Board
Carmen Ng
Deputy General Manager
Sustainability at Hang Lung Properties
Riding on over twenty years of experience as an environmental sustainability professional, she leads and drives the sustainability strategy within Langham Hospitality Group by setting high-level goals and commitments, including the reduction of our environmental footprint by half by 2030. She also supported closing a sustainability-linked term loan and revolving credit facility amounting to HK$7.5 billion with 11 banks in 2019. It is also the first raised by a listed company in the Asian hospitality sector. She has received the Hotels Magazine’s Inaugural Top 10 Awardees (ESG Category) in 2021.
Peggy Chan
Chef & Founder
Grassroots Initiatives & Zero Foodprint Asia
In 2012, Peggy Chan opened Grassroots Pantry in Hong Kong with a mission to raise awareness and share knowledge on the benefits of plant-based cuisine. A lot has changed since then. Sourcing unprocessed, sustainable ingredients, the award-winning restaurant earned praise for its inventive, flavourful dishes and set new standards in healthy eating. As chef and owner, Peggy Chan emerged as the region’s most authoritative voice on organic sourcing, and sustainable food systems.
Dana Winograd
Director - Operations
Plastic Free Seas
Dana has lived in HK for over 25 years, having been brought here initially to work in the hospitality industry. She is a founding member of DB Green, a grassroots community environmental NGO where she drove the residential recycling programme. In 2013 she co-founded Plastic Free Seas, a registered HK charity focused on educating young people on the issue of plastic pollution, with a mission to change the way single-use plastic is viewed and used in society today.
Ring Tu
Senior Consultant
Deloitte-Strategic
Risk Advisory
Christelle Not
Assistant Professor
The University
of Hong Kong
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Soraya Raccah
Development Manager -
East & South East Asia
Empower - The Emerging Markets Foundation
Ring Tu is currently working closely with regulators and market leaders in the space of sustainability and decarbonisation at Deloitte's Risk Advisory, contributing to the global transformation with both top-down and bottom-up approaches. Prior to joining Deloitte, Ring held various roles in the capital market, including M&A advisory, investor relations, private equity investment, and most recently an ESG investment analyst with an ESG hedge fund based in Asia. Ring holds an MBA degree from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a bachelor degree in Journalism. Beyond the profession established within the business domain, Ring has been constantly exploring ways that can unite business success and impact growth for a more responsible and sustainable human society.
After obtaining her PhD in Environmental Sciences in Canada, Christelle worked in world-leading research institute in Japan and Germany before joining the Earth Sciences Department and Swire Institute for Marine Science of the University of Hong Kong in 2015. As leader of the Environmental, Geochemistry and Oceanography Research Group at HKU, she conducts interdisciplinary research which focuses on the human impact on Oceans and Climate. Her research is published in leading international journals, and it has led to policy change in HK and wide-ranging public engagement. She is dedicated to enhancing the impact of her work in society, and is closely collaborating with corporate on topics such as sustainability and climate education. She has been invited to share her research with government departments, private sectors, NGOs, schools, and the public on all matters concerning climate change and plastic pollution. In recognition of her success in linking academic research with societal needs, she was made a fellow of the David C. Lam Institute of East-West Studies (LEWI) in 2020.
Highly motivated CSR and business development professional with a background in both corporate and NGOs. Areas of expertise range from client and donor management, developing fundraising strategies, building rapport with stakeholders, and creating effective communication and marketing tools. Her broad experience in Hong Kong and UK covers banking, research and events and in the NGO sector, a focus on education and poverty alleviation.
Lawal Marafa
Professor
The Chinese University
Of Hong Kong
Dr. Lawal Marafa is a professor at the Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is the founding Director, Postgraduate programme in Sustainable Tourism. He is a Senior Fellow of the World Leisure Academy and serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the World Leisure Organization. He also serves as a member of the UN World Committee on Tourism Ethics. Dr. Marafa was awarded the “Exemplary Teacher Award” in 2005, and received the Royal Belum Inaugural Ecotourism Award, Perak, Malaysia, and served as Facilitator at the Clinton Global Initiative. He is also the convener of the annual conferences on Sustainable Tourism at the Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2012. His teaching and research cover Tourism and Environment, Tourism Policy, Sustainable Tourism, Agricultural and Food Security, Natural Resource Management, Climate Change, and SDGs. Dr. Marafa has led several research projects and published extensively over the past three decades
Shauhrat Singh Chopra
Assistant Professor
City University
of Hong Kong
Shauhrat received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, USA, in 2015. His doctoral dissertation was focused on resilience of complex systems including economic systems, industrial symbiosis, and critical infrastructure systems at urban and national levels. Before joining the School of Energy and Environment, Shauhrat worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Environmental Science and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, on the U.S. EPA funded LCnano project focused on sustainable design of future transformative emerging technologies, such as nano-enabled consumer electronics, from a life cycle perspective. His data-driven research is focused on designing indicators to inform decision-making for a sustainable and resilient built environment.