Global Presence and Success at Eco Expo Asia 2023

The recently concluded Eco Expo Asia 2023, held in Hong Kong from October 26 to 29, displayed a remarkable global reach. The event witnessed a substantial turnout with 12,000 visitors from 112 countries and regions, along with more than 300 exhibitors representing 13 different countries and regions.

The 2023 edition of Eco Expo Asia returned to AsiaWorld-Expo under the theme “Taking the Leap towards Carbon Neutrality”, with products on display from a variety of sectors in the environmental protection industry. This year’s exhibition featured new participating groups from Mainland China and Europe as well as the returning exhibitors from Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. The Eco Asia Conference once again brought together industry leaders, policy makers and academics from around the world to discuss the latest environmental challenges and the potential solutions. The last day (29 October) was open to public, in order to create more awareness of climate-related issues, and what the government and private sectors are doing to combat them.

The attendees, both exhibitors and visitors from Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas, found great satisfaction in this year’s exhibition. The Eco Expo Asia platform not only played a crucial role in the industry’s growth in Hong Kong but also fostered collaboration between businesses across Asia and the world. Mr Isaac Ma, Co-Founder, wePlastic summed up what Eco Expo Asia means for green industries in the region: “This fair plays a critical role in promoting local enterprises in the environmental protection sector, and gives us both local and international exposure for our products and research.”

Over the course of the four days, buyers from various regions and industries came to disover the latest technologies and innovative solutions in the market. Mr Isaac Ma continued: “We are a start-up recycling company, specialising in recycling plastic waste and transforming them into granules, used as raw materials to produce garments, eyeglass frames and other accessories. The response has been quite positive, with an impressive visitor flow. A lot of people came to our booth to make inquiries, and we expect that this will result in many business opportunities. We have come into contact from visitors from all over the world, including visitors from Hong Kong and Mainland China, as well as overseas locations including India and the United Kingdom.”

Mr Jouni Jääskeläinen, Director, EPSE, whose company participated for the first time along with a group of other companies from Finland at Eco Expo Asia echoed similar sentiments: “In the first four hours of the fair we have already met more potential partners than we initially targeted for the entire exhibition, so the results of our participation have been beyond my expectations. Our company offers a new and unique wastewater treatment solution, and there is a lot of opportunity here for us to meet engineering companies from Hong Kong, Mainland China and Southeast Asia to help deal with their wastewater problems. We have recently registered a branch of our company in Hong Kong, where we plan to set up a technology centre, so we are 100% sure that we will participate at the fair next year.”

 This year’s exhibition saw buyer delegations from a number of Southeast Asian countries alongside visitors from across the world, affirming the show’s position as an international meeting ground for the environmental protection industry, particularly in Asia. Mr Damrong Dejsakulrit, Managing Director, Energy Innovation Co Ltd visited the show from Thailand, commenting on the wide variety of products showcased this year: “I’ve come to this fair aiming to explore new energy-saving products that could be introduced to the Thai market. I’m quite impressed with the products on display, and we will discuss with our distributors in Thailand and determine the number of orders we will place, looking in the range of more than USD 100,000 for the first year. I think the fair has a strong lineup of exhibitors, and it allows our company to grasp what’s happening in the industry. It’s very likely that I’ll come back again next year.”

Travelling to AsiaWorld-Expo from Singapore, Mr Tze Siong Lee, Director, Innovative Energy Systems & Technology Pte Ltd shared his thoughts: “Our company provides energy solutions, and part of our business is monitoring energy usage for the Singaporean government and utility companies. I was looking for energy storage solutions and met several local and international exhibitors so far on the first day of the fair, from Canada and Hong Kong. I’m very impressed by Eco Expo Asia as the fair is well organised with many leading companies attending.”

In addition to the exhibition, Eco Expo Asia 2023 hosted a series of fringe events, comprised of several forums and seminars as well as the Eco Asia Conference. Guest speakers included representatives of industry leading companies, distinguished academics and government officials from Hong Kong, Mainland China and overseas. Sessions covered a diverse range of topics, from sustainable manufacturing to green finance and ESG, the circular economy, climate change, the hydrogen economy and more.

 Speaking at the Sustainable Manufacturing Seminar on the second day, Ms Karen Ho, Head of Corporate and Community Sustainability, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Hong Kong shared the latest developments in regulatory policy for the manufacturing industry, commenting: “The audience was very attentive, and came prepared with some insightful questions on how to effectively motivate companies to address their carbon emissions. Eco Expo Asia is the ideal place for answering these questions and its seminar programme has been an effective way to share this information with those who might be unfamiliar with the topic.”

Mr John Lo, Founder, Asia Carbon Institute Limited was a speaker at the Eco Asia Conference session titled “Evolving ESG Landscape and the Future of Sustainable Finance”. After delivering his speech he made the following remarks: “My talk discussed the role of the voluntary carbon market in Asia. Audience members displayed great interest and were very engaged with the topic. The development of the voluntary carbon market in Hong Kong has just begun, and requires more government support, training, and funding. The conference successfully brought together industry experts from different countries and regions, and the insights gained from the exchanges can be shared with government departments, industry associations, and private companies to collectively promote green development.”

 This year’s fringe programme was well received by audiences. At the same seminar on ESG, audience member Mr Wong Wai Kong, Founder and CEO, Filix Medtech Limited expressed his thoughts: “My company specialises in ‘product traceability’, which is to some extent related to ESG, and I hope to get the most up-to-date relevant market information. I have been impressed by the quality of the speakers as well as the topics being covered. The seminar today focused on how testing and certification advances ESG initiatives, which I believe is an emerging trend that is worth deeper discussion. It has offered me a better understanding on the latest progress in this area, so I’ll definitely come back again next year.”

 Mr Christopher Man, R&D Engineer, Mechanical, AEL (International Holdings) Limited attended the Sustainable Manufacturing Seminar where he shared similar observations: “I’m an engineer looking to learn more about smart manufacturing done in a sustainable way. All speakers at the Sustainable Manufacturing seminar were on point, with clearly articulated points on the policy implications of carbon neutrality in the manufacturing sector. I’m also here visiting exhibitor’s booths and attending other seminars to get more knowledge of the industry and so far, I can say I have learned a great deal.”

Eco Expo Asia 2024 will take place in late October in AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. The show is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd and co-organised by the Environment and Ecology Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). For more information about the fair, please email ecoexpo@hongkong.messefrankfurt.com or exhibitions@hktdc.org, or visit www.ecoexpoasia.com