International – Libassonline.com || Poman Lo is known for being ahead of the curve. At the end of 2009, the business leader shook up Hong Kong’s hospitality industry when she opened iClub, envisioning it as the city’s first carbon-neutral hotel. This was way before the terms “ESG” and “sustainability” became a phenomenon and the important elements across industries and in corporate governance that they are today.
“No one really knew what carbon neutrality meant [at the time],” says Lo, vice-chairman of Regal Hotels International, under which the iClub Hotels brand falls. “It was such a new thing that everyone was wondering whether it would lead to anything.”
While that move over 14 years ago was certainly a bold one, Lo remained steadfast and confident simply because she was clear about her mission. “I see my craft as weaving purpose into every project or every initiative that I lead,” Lo tells the Post. “I believe the key to success is to start with ‘why’.”
Although she was not fixated on what the result would be, the risk she took with iClub eventually paid off. “The hotel did turn out to be a very well-received brand, and as a business, it has also been profitable all these years,” she notes.
Besides practising what she preaches in her business, Lo also has a strong sense of purpose to actively advocate for sustainability in her other roles.
She is a founding managing partner of the sustainable technology fund AlphaTrio Capital.
She is also the founder of the Institute of Sustainability and Technology, a Hong Kong-based research and education institute which states its aim as equipping individuals and businesses to find solutions to today’s most pressing environmental and social challenges through education, innovation and technology.
In addition, Lo also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, teaching sustainable business management and impact investing.
Purpose continues to drive Lo in both her day-to-day work and her advocacy. “Climate change is no longer a theoretical construct,” she says. “We must act now, or we will miss that window of opportunity.”
Lo adds: “My goal is not only to share best practices in green hotel management, but also to foster a growing community of eco-conscious travellers.”
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