Paul zimmerman
Paul Zimmerman is CEO of Designing Hong Kong, an elected District Councillor representing the Pokfulam constituency, and a board member of Civic Exchange, Professional Commons, Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, and the Patient Care Foundation. His Hong Kong Government advisory functions include the Harbourfront Commission.
Paul has a Masters in Social Science (Economics) from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, and a Masters of Arts (Transport Policy and Planning) from The University of Hong Kong. He arrived in Hong Kong in 1984 and became a Chinese citizen in 2012.
Current campaigns of Designing Hong Kong:
1. Waste Reduction (beverage packaging, food containers)
2. Conservation (reduce and reverse loss of country parks, wetlands, and areas reserved for agriculture, green belt and other conservation uses)
3. Sustainable Urban Development (master planning, land supply, urban renewal/over development, harbourfront, infrastructure)
4. Liveable City (walkability, harbourfront, public space)
TANJA WESSELS
Described as the love child of David Attenborough, Oprah Winfrey and Bjork, Tanja Wessels is a an environmental thought leader, advocate and artist.
An encounter with an over packaged coconut in 2017 led to her understanding of eco-anxiety, a fear of environmental damage or ecological disaster. She has since become a devotee of the topic, giving public talks on mental health and the environment.
Before sustainability took over, Tanja studied filmmaking and art in Lisbon and London and moved to Asia in 2006.
Today she creates content for a number of publications on sustainability, art, and lifestyle, also collaborating on environmental art activism projects.
A founding member of Circular Community Hong Kong, a platform for businesses and individuals on the value of circular thinking, the community has recently expanded to Singapore.
In 2020 she is celebrating three years of not buying new clothing, something that started as a one year personal challenge, but has become a way of life. Her first venture into social entrepreneurship is launching soon, Wild Salvages, an online shop for contemporary preloved fashion.
On 17 October 2020 Tanja was a speaker at TEDxTinHau Countdown, a global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. Focusing on the topic of Materials, the talk looked at our relationship with clothing, ourselves and the solutions to a better way to think and shape the future.
www.tanjawessels.com
LINDSAY VARTY
Lindsay Varty is an award-winning author, journalist and public speaker based in Hong Kong. Her book Sunset Survivors focuses on Hong Kong’s fascinating yet fading traditional industries. She hopes that her project can encourage people to take a deeper interest in local culture and community and help support Hong Kong’s unique heritage.
Lindsay’s talks and walking tours have been highlight events for the 2019 International Literary Festival, The Royal Geographical Society, Asia Society, RTHK HK Heritage programme and more. Her work has been featured on CNN, The Guardian, CCTV, and more locally in SCMP, Localiiz and Sassy. Lindsay is also a rugby player and played professionally for the Hong Kong team for over 7 years. In 2017, she was a member of the first ever Hong Kong team to play in the Rugby World Cup. Her lust for adventure has taken her on extended trips to South America, Iceland and the island of La Réunion. Upon her return from these beautiful regions of the world, she realised the full extent of Hong Kong’s pollution problem and has been committed to living as plastic-free as possible ever since.
MARK HARPER
Mark Harper, Sustainable Development Manager, John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Limited. A passionate environmentalist, Mark has worked for over 15 years in the field of sustainability and environmental conservation. At John Swire & Sons Hong Kong, Mark is responsible for managing the Group’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosures as well as assisting the Group on policy and strategy development, particularly in the areas of climate resilience, biodiversity, waste and sustainable water management.
Outside of Swire, he sits on the Board and advisory Committees of a number of Hong Kong environmental organisations including the Business Environment Council, HeroesToo and the Executive Committee of Drink Without Waste. Prior to joining Swire, Mark worked at a number of high profile environmental NGO’s including Earthwatch Institute, Fauna & Flora International, China Water Risk, and the Business Environment Council, where he was responsible for managing the organisations’ ESG advisory services.
