Editor’s Note
What does the word luxury mean today? In a world of rising pollution and plastic waste, the definition no longer reflects just expensive indulgences. Luxury is fast becoming the simple things we once took for granted—blue skies, fresh air, clean oceans and wholesome food. And if we desire the luxury of living on an unspoilt planet, then we need to start protecting it—now. It was this alarming realisation that spurred Edipresse Media Asia’s chief innovation officer, Julie Lee, to gather industry leaders from across the region for the inaugural Asia Tatler Sustainability Forum at Soneva Kiri in Thailand late last year.
After three days of brainstorming, workshops and debate, delegates such as William Davies, head of sustainability at Swire Beverages in Hong Kong, Thailand’s Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, executive vice-president of Sukosol Hotels, and May Mei, executive director of the Goalblue Low Carbon Development Centre in Mainland China, all vowed to make their organisations more environmentally friendly with commitments ranging from eliminating plastic to only using 100 per cent recyclable packaging.
Among the participants were co-founders of Ecodrive, a female-fronted Hong Kong organisation that fights single-use plastics. We are honoured to feature some of the co-founders on this issue’s cover—angela Cheng-matsuzawa, Emily Lam-ho, Tansy Lau-tom and Yolanda Choy-tang— and others in Pledges and Promises, our special report on the forum. See page 94.
Also fighting to protect the environment is Moses Tsang who, through his work as a global board member of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), is helping to raise funds for conservation projects around the world, including a local initiative to bring back water-cleansing oysters through an artificial reef in Lau Fau Shan.
The tireless philanthropist has also been instrumental in organising the coming TNC charity dinner and live auction at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong on March 22. Items to go under the hammer include beautiful nature images by National Geographic photographer and TNC supporter Michael Yamashita. Moses hopes the gala will raise more than US$6 million to support the work of TNC, which includes investing in drones to monitor illegal logging in the Philippines and Indonesia. Learn more about how this remarkable charity uses technology to enhance its conservation work in Force of Nature on page 100.
The Hong Kong Tatler team has also taken steps towards being more sustainable. We are happy to announce the magazine is now being printed on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, a non-profit organisation that protects forests through conservation.