Olivia To: From environmental advocate to HK ambassador on green technology

In May, The Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies (SSPS) organised a career talk for current students taking the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Integrated Environmental Management (BSc(IEM)) programme. In the talk, Ms Olivia To and Mr Desmond Chan, two distinguished alumni from the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Global and Environmental Studies (BSocSc(GES)) programme, were invited to share their work experiences in the sustainability industry. The two alumni also gave a few tips on how to plan one’s career.

FLASS FORWARD interviewed them after the talk to understand more about their secrets to success and how they became environmental professionals. They also talked about the eye-opening moments they had during their time at EdUHK. Dr Dennis Hui Lai-hang, programme leader of BSocSc(GES) programme and Associate Head of Department (Learning and Teaching) of SSPS, hosted the talk.

Click here to read Mr Desmond Chan’s story.

Click here for a video of the career talk.

Ms Olivia To is a BSocSc(GES) graduate of class 2013. She is the Senior Vice President (Carbon Neutrality) of Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Invest Hong Kong. The government department is responsible for attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment into Hong Kong and she is the sustainability professional specialising in climate change and green technology.

In her previous role at the Environmental Protection Department of HKSARG, she was responsible for preparing the Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050 and carbon accounting. Before that, she worked at WWF, where she led climate and energy campaigns which successfully advocated several renewable energy policy changes to the Hong Kong government.

Ms To is a Committee Member at Energy Institute, a global professional body in the energy sector, and a Council Member at Future City Vision, a mission-driven charity shaping the future of Hong Kong. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree at EdUHK, Ms To went on to complete a master's degree in environmental engineering and management from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Olivia: I started off my career pretty successfully. In the first few years, I focused on nature conservation and management at local environmental groups. When I worked at the international organisation WWF between 2015 and 2018, I was part of the organisation’s advocacy campaign on climate and energy policy. I was on the team when WWF successfully lobbied the government to introduce a Feed-in Tariff policy and renewable energy certificates. Around that time, WWF installed Hong Kong's first few solar systems that received tariff rebates from the power company.

Under the tariff policy, people can sell renewable energy generated by solar or wind energy systems installed on their premises to power companies. And they can sell it at a rate higher than the standard electricity tariff. Renewable energy certificates are a carbon trading scheme where companies can buy carbon-free energy. By so doing, the private sector can offset its carbon footprint by supporting the development of local renewable energy. Hong Kong introduced the certificates system in 2019 as part of its long-term efforts to reduce its carbon emission levels. Being a part of the team campaigning for these two major policy changes brought me huge satisfaction, particularly when I was still considered a young graduate.

I later joined the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) in 2018 and worked there till 2021 before I joined Invest Hong Kong. As I said in the talk, carbon neutrality is critical in keeping the global temperature rise at less than 1.5 Celsius in comparison with the pre-industrial level, a target agreed in the Paris Agreement in 2015. In Hong Kong, our government has set to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. One of my major duties at EPD was to assist directorates to prepare a concrete plan to achieve this goal—the Hong Kong's Climate Action Plan 2050. Published in 2021, the action plan lays out the strategies, targets, and actions needed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. I consider the release of the plan an important milestone in the city’s environmental protection endeavours, and I was proud to be able to contribute my ideas to the plan and worked with the visionary leaders within the government.

Olivia: When I graduated in 2013, NGOs and academia played the primary role in advancing environmental cause. Over the years, the situation has changed tremendously. Ten years on, environmental protection and sustainability have permeated our society and lives. Today, the green industry attracts much more funding, investments and enjoys stronger policy support than before. Today, all large corporations have their own green policies. For instance, many corporations have set their science-based emissions reduction targets to achieve zero carbon emissions in their upstream, mid-stream, and downstream operations.

This has created high demand for sustainability professionals with both technical expertise and business acumen to drive green transformations within corporations. The growing prominence of environmental issues has fundamentally reshaped the career landscape for those passionate about creating a more sustainable future.

Because the overall environment is ever changing, we need to keep our minds open to welcome changes. I always believe open-mindedness leads to greater resiliency and adaptability in developing your career. Being open-minded means that you don’t need to restrict yourself to a particular type of organisation when you are developing your career. In my ten-year plus career, I moved from a local NGO to an international organisation to a government department with a business mindset. I’d advise young graduates to think out-of-the-box when job searching. They can even try the less trodden path for it might land them in a surprisingly rewarding position to advance their career.

Olivia: I’ve worked briefly in academia after I left EPD in 2021. My career reached a bottleneck in around 2022 when I didn’t know my next step in my career. Sustainability is a quickly evolving field. Because of its rapidness, I felt like I was being dragged into a whirlpool, unable to keep afloat. It was a time of self-doubt.

To swim out of the vortex, I began to look back at my university days. I asked myself why I chose to study environmental science. The reflection helped me to reignite my initial passion to protect nature and to save the environment. These served as the anchor that helped uplift me again. Finally, the opening at Invest Hong Kong came to my attention. I applied for the post and was accepted to work at the agency’s carbon neutrality office at the beginning of 2023.

In a sense, the transition before I landed on Invest Hong Kong was a setback to me. I learnt several things from this experience. No matter how resolute you are, there will always be ups and downs, successes and failures at different points in your life, even the most self-driven individual will face roadblock placed in their path by people around them. This is unavoidable; a fact that we need to accept and navigate. When setback occurs, take some time to reflect on why you are there. Spend time to gain insight about your inner drive and needs. Once you know your real needs, you will know your next move to progress your career.

 

Olivia: Different types of organisations require different skill sets. You can’t get through all the challenges with only one single skill set. NGO is the place where you find many creative and enthusiastic people who fight for causes they believe in. When I worked at WWF, my self-motivated character helped me fit in the organisational culture. At EPD, I learnt how to work according to the directives from above and collaborate across many teams and departments, the typical way a government body works. I also understood more about how senior government handle problems. At Invest Hong Kong, my job is to facilitate foreign businesspeople to accept that Hong Kong is an ideal place to invest in green technology and sustainability. I always have genuine beliefs in what the agency advocates.

Even though I was on a roll in my earlier career, I still experienced time of uncertainly and even self-doubt during my career. While my passion for a green future remains the same during different stages of my career development, I need to figure out my new role when I join a new organisation. While it is important to know your core strengths, you also need to be able to adapt to the changes in your role, your working environment, and your organisation. That is what I mean by there is no golden set of rules that can ensure success.

 

Q5: As you said, you have also experienced a bottleneck when developing your career. What helped you to get through the bottleneck?

Olivia: I think continuously reflecting on what kind of person you are is important. To me, nature is the best place for reflection. Every time I am stuck, I seek mental resources from nature.

When I worked at Greenpeace as an intern, I was involved in marine conservation work. Since then, I have developed a strong affinity for the ocean. The ocean is my link to nature. I would go diving when I feel lost because of events in my career or life. I always have many thoughts on my mind. These thoughts could be disruptive and pull me in different directions. But when I dive in the sea, all sounds disappear. Submerged in water, the surroundings are so serene that it stills my mind and removes all distractions. It keeps me calm and gives me space to reflect on the why and how, and often reignites my resolve to stay on course.

Olivia: The working world is a big theatre of persuasion. When you attend an interview, you need to persuade your future employers that you possess the right credentials for the job. It is necessary not only for interviews, but also in many different aspects of the working world. In the workplace, you need to persuade and convince others that your ideas are practicable. When I worked at WWF, I needed to convince donors to fund our programmes. At EPD, I needed to convince people from other teams to work together to achieve shared goals. In my present job at Invest Hong Kong, I need to show others that Hong Kong will attract investment and become a global hub for green technology and green finance. I need to convince stakeholders in the industry to work collaboratively to transform Hong Kong into such a hub.

We not only need to convince others to believe in us—our approaches, ideas and vision, sometimes, we need to persuade and motivate ourselves too. When I attend an interview, I need to persuade myself that I am the best person for the job. I also need to motivate myself to take up duties, not only in the workplace but also in other parts of my life. Without motivation, you can hardly keep up good relationships with your co-workers, family members, friends, life partners, and so on.

Olivia: Everybody needs time to accumulate life experiences. I think even a student can gain experiences by volunteering and internships. If you have the desire to widen your horizons, you must be able to find ways to achieve it. If you are keen enough to get the job, you must have something to bring to the table.

From my own experiences, starting your career at an NGO is not a bad choice. NGO is a grassroot organisation. What it advocates reflect the wants of the community. The exposure is valuable even when you move on to other types of employers in your career pathway. When a corporation launches a new product or initiative and when the government promotes a new policy, they need to understand how the public thinks. Then, your insight into how the public feels about the concerned initiatives and policies will help.

Running your own start-ups is another quick and guaranteed way to enrich your resume. Managing a start-up means you need to work hands-on and invest all of your time. Often, you need to work with research institutes who provide the technological support, private sector who provides the money, or the government who updates you on the latest policy. You need to work with people from different walks of life and build a business from the ground up. Hong Kong supports green innovation and technology, and government allocates budgets to R&D works more than ever. If you are interested in this area, you may try starting up your own tech venture. This may lead you to a very successful career.

I, of course, think that sustainability is a field that offers many opportunities to young graduates. I recommend them to give this thriving field a try.

Olivia: Every student needs guidance. Whether you have a good teacher to guide you during your university studies makes a real difference. For this, I have to thank Dr Lawrence Ho for giving me valuable advice. Dr Ho has a true heart in nurturing students. When I studied at EdUHK, he used his spare time to form small student groups to discuss youth and other social policies. As we went deeper in the small group discussions, we sharpened our abilities in analysing the concerned issues and in presenting our arguments.

I believe in the power of sharing. I believe people get inspiration through other people’s stories. Because of my belief, every time I return to universities, I spend time with students and young graduates, sharing my knowledge in sustainability and my work experiences. Good teachers, by which I mean teachers who have passion in the things they do, can stimulate students to reflect. Even though good teachers like Dr Ho might not be able to tell you which field to start your career in, their rich life experiences can inspire students to find their own path. A good teacher can broaden their students’ perspective so that they can better understand the situations and opportunities they face, giving them a higher chance of success.

I also want to thank Professor Eric Tsang Po-keung from the Department of Science and Environmental Studies and another teacher from the former Department of Social Sciences who helped me secure an internship at Greenpeace. I was the first Hong Kong female who worked as an intern onboard Esperanza, Greenpeace’s flagship. At Greenpeace, I had the opportunity to take part in many international conservation activities. The experience at Greenpeace was beneficial for me from a professional perspective as it led me into the world of marine conservation. It was also enriching from a personal perspective as I met many peers and counterparts from different parts of the world who shared the same values. Going abroad on the ship was an adventure. It literally broadened my life.