Sustainability Report 2020/21

Our property management teams actively communicate with employees, tenants and local communities regarding our responses to extreme weather. Hong Yip and Kai Shing have developed operational handbooks and established a Typhoon Command Centre to strengthen monitoring and control under extreme weather conditions. Hong Yip offers emergency support to more than 300 buildings if they are damaged by typhoon while Kai Shing has an Emergency Support Team in the event of adverse weather. In some cases, a control room in shopping mall will become an emergency control centre. The emergency team will closely monitor conditions at the shopping mall during typhoons and rainstorms, and undertake emergency rectification when it is safe to do so. Individual properties have also developed their own strategies to mitigate physical risks, according to their needs. Our property management and construction subsidiaries have ISO 14001-certified Environmental Management Systems to deal with the impact of climate change, energy and carbon emissions on our daily operations. Combined with our progressive targets and careful monitoring, these systems support our transformation to a low-carbon business. Reducing Waste The Group adopts a three-tier approach that prioritizes waste avoidance over waste reduction and recovery to manage waste generated by our operations sustainably. We support the HKSAR Government’s waste management plans, including the Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013-2022. Construction and demolition waste from our construction work and general waste produced from our properties are the major waste sources of the Group. We avoid sending construction waste directly to landfill and are committed to achieving an annual diversion rate of at least 70% of construction waste in Hong Kong construction projects within the reporting scope to minimize construction waste that needs to be sent to landfills. During the reporting year, we have achieved around 97% construction waste diversion rate. We introduced various solutions to reduce waste and materials consumption at our construction sites. We try to avoid errors during construction as much as possible by adopting innovative construction methods. BIM and precasting streamline our on-site construction processes: they raise productivity, improve quality management and avoid the waste associated with faulty work. To reduce waste, we purchase raw materials in appropriate quantities and sizes and seek to transfer excavated sand and soil to other sites for backfilling, reclamation and other purposes. Scrap steel, such as bored piles and I-beams, is also recycled. Other innovative methods include the extensive use of prefabricated steel reinforcing bars and a new method of leveraging turntables to install dual- use bridges. Dimensions of materials are standardized at design and building stages to reduce waste, and recycling facilities are mandatory. We collect materials such as paper, cardboard, metal, aluminium, plastic and glass, transfer unwanted materials to local recycling centres and, wherever possible, undertake deconstruction rather than demolition. At our hotels and property management subsidiaries, we minimize waste generation and divert waste from landfill. Tenants and customers are encouraged to consume resources responsibly, and we promote the recycling of waste, including festive food, red envelopes and – following the installation of reverse vending machines – plastic bottles. During the reporting year, we partnered with external parties to further reduce waste and promote recycling. Selected shopping malls participated in the Environmental Protection Department’s Source Separation of Commercial and Industrial Waste and Greeners Action’s Beverage Cartons Clean Recycling Pilot Programme. In addition, 195 of our residential buildings, shopping malls, commercial and industrial buildings, and three of our Royal brand hotels, signed the Environmental Protection Department’s Glass Container Recycling Charter. Kai Shing also joined the Program of Umbrella Bags Reduction by Greeners Action for the fourth year. A total of 33 Kai Shing properties have earned certificates after green audit; 29 properties received the golden certificates. Amid increasing demand for takeaways during the pandemic, Kai Shing and Green Earth organized the Single-use Dining Ware Clean Recycling Programme at New Town Plaza Phase III and Castello. More than 1,300kg of disposable utensils were taken to a recycling facility, where they were recycled and turned into recycled plastic. 27 Hong Yip properties in Eastern District, Kwun Tong and Sha Tin participated in the Environmental Protection Department’s Plastic Recycling Pilot Scheme, to encourage the recycling of bags, containers, polyfoam, tableware and other plastic materials, to tackle the increasing impact of takeaways and prepare for the municipal solid waste (MSW) charging scheme. Value Created for The Environment Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited • Sustainability Report 2020/21 18