ENVI Mahidol Showcased Carbon Neutrality Efforts at ESG Xchange 2025

“We were a university team representing the education sector,” Dr. Jakkapon said, noting that the event opened any number of doors for the faculty.

“The conference strengthened our capacity to connect sustainable campus practices with global collaboration, sustainable finance and policy strategies and emerging technologies,” he said.

Both Dr. Kitikorn and Dr. Jakkapon led sessions at the event, held 6-7 May 2025 in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, China.

Dr. Kitikorn led a presentation on carbon neutrality within Thailand’s education sector, while Dr. Jakkapon led a roundtable on carbon neutrality at Southeast Asian university campuses.

Officially titled 'ESG for Climate Actions International Summit ESG Xchange 2025,' the gathering also included presentations by Carbon Neutrality Campus (CNC) network member Dr. Xu Tian (Shanghai Jiao Tong university); Thailand’s Sustainability University Network (SUN) members Associate Professor Ekkachai Mahaek (Chiang Mai University) and Dr. Saravanee Singtong (NXPO Thailand); and Mr. Phromporn Israngkul na Ayutthaya of Global Green Chemicals PCL (GGC).

While in Hong Kong, the MU ENVI team also met with government officials and international leaders, and visited the campuses of two leading universities – the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

ESG for Climate Actions International Summit was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and was hosted by the World Green Organization (WGO) – an independent NGO which combines with environmental conservation social and economic actions, to create solutions for low carbon societies worldwide. WGO also leads networks of world-renowned experts, and it places special emphasis on science-based policy research and local community projects.

This year’s annual event was one of the largest to date, and included more than 100 speakers,

1,500 attendees from 10 different countries, and  more than 40 sponsors and exhibitions spread across a main stage, exhibition booths and themed pavilion stages. Among those joining the 2025 event were United Nations personnel, government officials and international leaders, as well as high-level stakeholders from top corporations.

The 2025 conference was themed: Accelerating Climate Action: Innovation, Integration, and Impact. The annual event is also known as “ESG Xchange” for short and WGO proudly notes “the X is for Exchange, the X is for Action, the X is for Collaboration, and the X is for Transformation.”

The event’s stated goals include promoting development and cooperation, empowering enterprises and transformation, advancing green finance, encouraging green transformation, fostering innovation, enhancing decarbonization at all levels, creating opportunities for new organizations and elevating global brands and enterprises’ influence.

MU ENVI’s team joined in presentations at the conference on the third day of the trip (and the second day of ESG Xchange).

A special dedicated Carbon Neutrality Session highlighted the morning. The first half of the session included a series of individual presentations, while the second half was dedicated to a roundtable discussion. CNC Network projects (done in collaboration with UNESCAP, MU and SJTU) were also introduced and potential partnerships with Hong Kong agencies were explored.

Attendees, representing any number of countries, learned a great deal Dr. Jakkapon said. “They learned about our platform's existence, first of all. And they also agreed that sustainable universities are one of the most important aspects of carbon neutrality initiatives.”

Two leading members of the CNC Network provided preliminary presentations – Dr. Xu Tian (of Shanghai Jiao Tong University; SJTU) and MU’s Dr. Kitikorn Charnondusit.

His presentation, entitled Thailand’s Education Sector Toward Carbon Neutrality, began with a discussion of the Paris Agreement and the resulting Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in ASEAN countries. Key drivers undertaken by leading Net-Zero countries were also explored, followed by Thailand’s National Strategy (2018-2037), its 13^th National Economic and Social Development Plan, and the Kingdom’s Climate Change Master Plan (2015-2050).

Dr. Kitikorn then examined how these policies encourage academic institutes to develop environmentally friendly curricula at multiple levels. Finally, he highlighted the successes Mahidol has enjoyed in becoming Thailand’s leading sustainable university – with a set target of becoming a Net-Zero campus by 2030.

In Policy Approaches to Achieving Net-Zero, Dr. Xu outlined China’s GHG emission reduction strategies, with highlighted implementation measures and special focus on the energy sector, carbon capture and utilization technologies, industrial carbon footprints and carbon trading.

A second point of emphasis was the integration of green and low-carbon principles into educational institutions. This includes measurable targets, as well as technology for reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. She noted that 50 universities in China (including SJTU) now have carbon neutrality institutes (as of 2024).

Local actions at SJTU include revised green building standards, shared bicycle programs, charging stations for electric cars, food waste recycling, and the development of environmental courses. Published SJTU research also contributes to a public Net-Zero mindset in society, Dr. Xu noted, highlighting two such publications: “Environmental and Resources Impacts from an Aggressive Regionalized Carbon Peak Policy” (published in Environmental Science and Technology, 2022)  and “AI could Transform Metal Recycling Globally” (published in Nature, 2024).

The third presentation of the morning session was Mr. Phromporn Israngkul na Ayutthaya of Global Green Chemicals PCL (GGC).

Entitled Corporate Pathways to Carbon Neutrality in Thai Industry, it began with GGC’s Decarbonization Roadmap – which has already been integrated into operations and includes goals of a 20% GHG reduction by 2030, and complete Net Zero emissions by 2050 (Scope 1 and Scope 2).

Implementation at GGC is divided into three pillars, he noted: efficiency driven, portfolio driven and compensation driven. The first group includes elements like plant improvement and low-carbon heat and power production. Portfolio-driven actions include green business wings and low-carbon technologies, while the last group includes compensation from new technologies and offsetting.

Mr. Phromporn ended his presentation by discussing how Thailand’s indigenous Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG) model holds promise for Net-Zero industries in the Kingdom.

A panel discussion on Carbon Neutrality in Southeast Asian Campuses followed and included members of both the CNC and SUN networks, with MU ENVI’s Dr. Jakkapon Phanthuwongppakdee as moderator.

Representing SUN were Associate Professor Ekkachai Mahaek (Professor of Practice and Vice President, Chiang Mai University) and Dr. Saravanee Singtong (Director of the Division of Strategy of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation; Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council; also known as NXPO Thailand). SJTU’s Dr. Xu also joined as a representative of the CNC Network.

Dr. Saravanaee opened the session with a reflection on how her office’s policies (and other similar government frameworks) drive Thai universities towards Net Zero. She also credited close collaboration with SUN for furthering efforts. In the near future, she added, NXPO will categorize universities based on their levels of success, and then combine these criteria with allocated budgets for research.

Associate Professor Ekkachai followed with examples of carbon-neutrality projects, research and technology from Chiang Mai University. The climate mitigation measures which he introduced were further based on an innovative smart system, which includes smart environment, smart energy, smart mobility, smart community, smart economy, smart building, smart innovation, and smart governance.

Dr. Xu then spoke on university collaboration – especially across nations and borders – as a key driver of Net-Zero policies. Universities around the world can accelerate progress towards carbon neutrality she said, by developing partnerships and platforms, encouraging adoption of new technology, increasing joint research and facilitating government leaders and local decision makers towards new policies and pathways.

Looking ahead, all panelists reflected on the most important actions for the next five years, and listed awareness of Net-Zero emissions, alignment of national policies, and strong research collaboration.

The MU ENVI team also attended a number of noteworthy sessions at ESG Xchange 2025.

These included topics ranging from urgent calls for action, to changing financial systems, to new AI tech, and physical climate transitions.

“Financial strategies and policy-making are crucial for the carbon neutrality initiatives in higher education institutions,” Dr. Jakkapon said. “We learned that setting up a wider collaborative platform can also expose the university to more innovative technologies and alternative policies.”

Day 2 for the MU ENVI team (Day 1 of the event) included an opening ceremony led by WGO, with remarks from UNESCAP, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI), as well as local Hong Kong government officials and private companies.

Keynotes included: “Innovating for Impact: Driving Sustainable Development through Enterprise and Investment in Asia-Pacific”; “the European Green Deal: Opportunities for Asia's Carbon Neutral and Sustainable Future”; “From Net-Zero to Nature-Positive: Aligning Financial Systems with Planetary Boundaries”; and “Designing for Net-Zero: How Real Estate Developers Can Lead the Climate Transition.”

In the morning of the MU ENVI team’s third day in Hong Kong, members were joined by professors from the CNC Network and Thailand’s SUN Network.

ESG Xchange session subjects included: the UN’s work in Micronesia; ESG strengthening of supply chains; “Integrating Climate and Social Dimensions: Advancing Resilient Sustainability Reporting through GRI Standards”; and a presentation by a Kuala Lumpur’s company on its approach to ESG-driven innovation and AI talent development in the workforce.

In addition to useful information learned during the presentations, the MU ENVI team also made some valuable connections, and further identified valuable new partnerships.

“We connected with representatives from any number of green organizations,” Dr. Jakkapon said. “And this in turn has opened the door to potential future collaborations.”