HKUST Environment ,Social and Governance Report 2020-21

Materiality Matrix We conducted a materiality study in 2020-21 by carrying out a survey of more than 1,200 stakeholders including UAC (University Administrative Committee) members, academic staff, administrative staff and students of HKUST. The materiality matrix on HKUST development maps 16 issues, with their importance to decisions makers (UAC members) appearing on the x-axis while their importance to staff and students on the y-axis. All the 16 issues are positioned based on aggregating the scores assigned to the level of importance by decision makers, staff and students.

Table 3 (Stakeholder Analysis)

Stakeholder group

How we engage

Frequency

Key issues raised

University Administrative Committee member

- Materiality survey - Websites

Quarterly

- Quality teaching and education - Academic freedom and integrity - Community well-being - F.E.D.I. - Academic freedom and integrity - Reduction of waste to landfill - Community well-being - Quality teaching and education - Academic freedom and integrity - Reduction of waste to landfill\

Introduction Materiality Environment, Social and Governance Sustainability initiatives ESG frameworks

Staff (teaching and non teaching)

- Materiality survey - Materiality focus group - Websites - Events

On-going

Students

- Materiality survey - Materiality focus group - Websites - Events

On-going

On-going importance

Focus area

Watch list

issues people perceived as important that can impact HKUST development and recruitment.

issues people perceived as relatively less important that can impact HKUST development and recruitment.

issues people perceived as most critical that can impact HKUST development and recruitment.

To be clear, we recognize that all material issues are relevant to the University, so placement on the watch list does not mean they will be ignored. Rather, this placement suggests there are additional measures needed to raise awareness of their importance. We identified that most of our material issues have remained constant, although some issues have become more prominent in the last 12 months. Quality teaching and education, academic freedom, Fairness, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (F.E.D.I.), climate change and energy consumption, Sustainable Smart Campus as a Living Lab consistently feature among our most material impacts, while community well-being, experiential and hands-on learning now become the focus of our stakeholders. In preparation for this report, we sought the views of a range of stakeholders and the internal sustainability team to establish and validate our most material topics, which are categorized into 4 aspects, Environment, Social, Governance, Education.

Our Net-Zero Journey

Environmental, Social and Governance Report 2020-21

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