HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute Launches Inaugural Climate Change Exposure Index, Placing Hong Kong 2nd Globally in Regulatory Climate Attention
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 (https://hkujcesgri.hku.hk/hku-jc-sustainability-index/). 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.
- 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/#
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.”
