HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute
World-Class Hub for Sustainability
Press Release
HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute
Launches Inaugural Climate Change Exposure Index, Placing Hong Kong 2nd Globally in Regulatory Climate Attention
Based on the earnings call transcripts, this New Index, covering 15,000+ firms across 92 countries, reveals what traditional ESG reports don't.
1 April 2026
HONG KONG, 1 April 2026 — The HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute has launched its inaugural Sustainability Index – the Climate Change Exposure (CCE) Index – led by Professor Ruishen Zhang, under the HKU Sustainability Index Programme. The launch took place on 27 March 2026 at HKU’s Main Campus as a side event of Hong Kong Climate Week, attended by nearly 30 select C-Suite Executives, investors, and leading scholars.
The CCE Index is the first of its kind to measure corporate attention to climate issues through their own management and financial analyst real-time discussions. Unlike traditional ESG metrics that focus on emissions, it analyzes what companies say – using AI to scan earnings call transcripts from more than 15,000 firms in 92 countries. By tracking the frequently and context of climate topics, it delivers a market‑based indicator of the extent to which businesses integrate climate considerations into their strategic discussions. First published in the Journal of Finance (Sautner, van Lent, Vilkov, & Zhang, 2023), the index uncovers a striking blind spot: while discussions around climate opportunities and regulations now dominate discussions, physical climate risk attention remains idiosyncratic and inconsistent across firms.
Key Findings
- Climate exposure differs sharply across firms, with 70% to 96% of the variation in climate exposure occurring at the firm level, even within the same sector.
- Climate opportunity remains strong, regulation peaked in 2021, and physical risk exposure still gets less attention than it likely deserves – perhaps due to its idiosyncratic nature.
- Ranking 2nd globally for Regulatory CCE among more than 40 major markets, Hong Kong’s strategic positioning as a green finance hub is clearly reflected in the climate governance of its firms.
CCE Index Description: https://hkujcesgri.hku.hk/hku-jc-sustainability-index/firm-level-climate-change-exposure-index/
CCE Index Visualization: https://hkujcesgri.hku.hk/firm-level-climate-change-exposure-index-visualization/#
Event Highlights
A session highlight was a candid exchange between Prof. Ruishen Zhang and Mr. Yan Zhuang, President of Canadian Solar — one of the world’s leading solar and energy storage companies. Mr. Zhuang raised a sharp question: Do earnings calls truly capture forward-looking signals early enough? He noted that disruptive green technologies often enter public discourse years after they have been adopted in practice.
Prof. Ruishen Zhang explained that the CCE Index deliberately avoids predefining “climate opportunities,” instead allowing the market to define them. Its machine learning algorithm continuously learns evolving language patterns through scanning earnings call transcripts, surfacing emerging concepts — such as space-based solar power and data-center energy solutions —the moment they enter market conversation. Prof. Zhang’s response directly addresses Mr. Yan Zhuang’s concern about the timing, and meets a broader industry need for real-time trend detection— a need that his methodological innovation is uniquely positioned to meet.
Prof. Jeffrey Ng stated that:
Lead of the HKU Sustainability Index Programme
Associate Director, HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute
Area Head of Accounting and Law
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Professor in Accounting
“Sustainability ratings are relevant to many organizations when deciding how to deploy their sustainability efforts. Our institute has invested significant resources, with the expertise of our economists, to produce these sustainability ratings—and we are committed to continuing to improve and expand them. We hope the CCE Index becomes a trusted reference for both practitioners and policymakers navigating the climate transition.”
Prof. Ruishen Zhang emphasized:
Lead of the Climate Change Exposure Index
Affiliate Researcher, HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute
Assistant Professor of Accounting and Law
“CCE captures something unique: not what firms emit, but what managers and analysts are actually discussing. When climate shows up in earnings calls, it is not PR—analysts are asking hard questions too. The data predicts real outcomes: firms with higher CCE create more green jobs, file more green patents, and climate exposure is priced in financial markets. CCE tells us where the market sees value and risk about climate change going forward.”
About HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute
The HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute is established by HKU Business School and funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, to establish a world-class hub for best practices of Sustainability in Hong Kong, Asia and beyond. Our mission is to promote excellence in the field of Sustainability by bringing together globally distinguished scholars from diverse fields, integrating knowledge and practice, inspiring innovation, fostering collaboration and conducting impactful research. We work in partnership with academics, government departments, NGOs and corporate partners to harness the transformative power of environmental, social and corporate governance to create a sustainable and equitable future.
To date, the Institute has developed a global scholar network including over 200 worldwide academics, featuring 2 Nobel Laureates and 7 Top 1% most-cited economics scientists according to the Clarivate Analytics. We are ranked No.1 in Asia based on the volume of research publications and have cultivated over 100 partners from the corporate, government, and NGO sectors. Our events have reached over 100,000 participants. We are dedicated to pursuing research excellence and applying its cutting-edge insights in practice to power societal progress and create a sustainable and equitable future for all.
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