Happenings

The workshop on the Special Issue in Voluntas: The Nonprofit Sector and ESG, organised by the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong, was successfully convened on January 8-9, 2026. This engaging two-day event brought together scholars, as well as professionals from the corporate and nonprofit sectors, to discuss the fascinating research conducted by international authors contributing to this special issue.

Each presentation was followed by lively discussion and Q&A sessions, reflecting high engagement and diverse perspectives from participants. The workshop successfully fostered meaningful dialogue on the ways the nonprofit sector intersects with ESG.

The workshop featured five comprehensive panels comprising a total of 12 insightful papers, addressing key themes across the ESG landscape:

1. Philosophical and Cultural Perspectives on ESG
   Highlighted that ESG is not merely a technical framework, but also a deeply normative and culturally embedded concept
2. Governance and Sustainability
   Examined how ESG is interpreted and implemented in concrete organizational and policy settings
3. Public Perceptions of Nonprofits and ESG
   Explored how nonprofits are perceived, evaluated, and engaged by the public and other stakeholders: Trust, legitimacy, and participation
4. Collaboration and Cross-Sector Partnerships in ESG
   Discussed the nuanced treatment of collaboration. Power asymmetries, strategic alignment, and the risks of mission drift.
5. ESG Metrics, Reporting, and Evaluation in the Nonprofit Sector
   Addressed the need to balance standardization and comparability with contextual sensitivity and mission-specific goals

Across these discussions, several cross-cutting themes emerged:

• ESG is not a one-size-fits all framework. Its meaning and implications vary across cultures, sectors, institutional contexts, and organizational forms
• Nonprofits are not passive recipients of ESG pressures. They actively interpret, adapt, and sometimes resist ESG frameworks
• Collaboration is central to advancing ESG for social good

🏬Field Visit to Nan Fung Group at AIRSIDE: Insights into Corporate Sustainability and NGO Collaboration

• Participants learned about Nan Fung’s sustainability framework, SEWIT, including management tools and impact measurement methods.
• SEWIT’s pillars: Social Cohesion, Environment, Wellness, Innovation, and Technology, guiding long-term business and community sustainability.
• Engaged in in-person exchanges with community stakeholders at Good Date Village, grounding the framework in real-world practice.

A big thank you to the Nan Fung team for hosting us and for the insightful sharing. We also extend our gratitude to all participants for making this event a valuable platform for knowledge exchange and collaboration. We look forward to further academic contributions in ESG within the nonprofit sector.