Hong Kong-based companies have been showcasing innovative ideas at the Startup Village at COP28 in Dubai.

The significance of the United Nations climate conference is not just its pivotal role in addressing government policies, with over 70,000 delegates converging to pursue common objectives, said William Yu, an environmental expert from Hong Kong who also acts as an adviser to InnoBlock, a local startup.

"At the same time, it extends invitations to green tech companies, such as InnoBlock, which provides down-to-earth ESG solutions," he said, referring to environmental, social, and governance.

He said it was interesting to see both trends happening at the same time at the climate meeting.

InnoBlock Technology Limited, a software development company with a wide range of products and services that optimize customer operations and their sustainability goals, was one of the Hong Kong-based companies present at the Startup Village.

InnoBlock CEO Kevin Ng said the firm's three main domains are carbon credit trade, carbon management and reporting, and supply chain management.

It works with the Global Reporting Initiative, a nonprofit that promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability, and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.

According to Ng, InnoBlock received an invitation from COP28 to represent Hong Kong as a green tech company from China. The firm is showcasing how its TT Green software supports companies in attaining their sustainability goals by 2030.

"During these recent encounters, we engaged with numerous visitors, many of whom faced challenges obtaining certain types of data, as well as calculating carbon emissions," he said.

TT Green, he said, can help address these issues through a global carbon emission calculator supporting over 400 regions with an extensive database.

Synap Technologies, another Hong Kong-based company at the Startup Village, offers highly specialized solutions for methane reduction in waste management facilities.

According to the company's CEO Frank Tsui, most of the visitors are industry players who know what they are looking for.

Hot topic

"Methane emission cut has become a hot topic only recently," he said.

"Thanks to the climate change special envoys from both China and the US, methane is on the emission cut agenda."

He said a decade on from the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, technology companies in Hong Kong have been looking to play a key role.

"COP28 is an opportunity for us to get connected with the international communities, where we can demonstrate our high value-added solutions," Tsui said.

"Through our participation in COP28, we can see our value and role in the BRI, and we can be a part of big infrastructure projects and offer high value-added applications and systems."

Halo Energy, another Hong Kong-based technology company at the Startup Village, provides end-to-end electric vehicle charging services and solutions.

"Halo targets working with different partners to make EV charging service available to all EV drivers at home, at work, and on the road," Halo CEO and founder Martin Tsang said, adding his company is now one of the leading EV charging service providers in Hong Kong, and is also expanding to Asia and Australia markets.

According to Tsang, being at COP28 gives his company an opportunity to promote its unique technology and reach out to potential customers in different parts of the world.