Case study: How Kerry Properties treats waste responsibly

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2019 Sustainability Report Kerry Properties identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics and integrity, information privacy, customer health and safety, service and product quality, socioeconomic compliance. Among these, treating waste responsibly stands out as a key material issue for Kerry Properties.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards              

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Kerry Properties engages with:

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Kerry Properties engaged with over 700 stakeholders through face-to-face interviews, focus group workshops and a questionnaire survey.

What actions were taken by Kerry Properties to treat waste responsibly?

In its 2019 Sustainability Report Kerry Properties reports that it took the following actions for treating waste responsibly:

• Recycling waste
• Kerry Properties requires all contractors at construction sites to collect and sort waste properly and dispose of them according to local rules and regulations. It is also compulsory for them to track waste generation against the monthly recycling target set within Kerry Properties’ EMS (Environmental Management Systems). In 2019, Kerry Properties achieved and exceeded the target of 60% recycling rate of construction waste. Additionally, under the Enhanced Safety Performance and Environmental Protection Scheme, contractors are rewarded if more than 70% of C&D (construction and demolition) waste generated is recycled.

• Providing employees with guidelines on waste management
• In Hong Kong, Kerry Properties provides its employees with guidelines on waste management and reduction, to make sure that they understand the best practice. To prepare for the upcoming municipal solid waste charging scheme, Kerry Properties arranged training for property management staff. In China, Kerry Properties communicated the latest information and practices on waste sorting among employees and customers on social media platforms. In December 2019, Kerry Properties also held an EMS upcycling workshop in the head office though which it engaged its staff in sustainable waste management in a casual and practical way. For example, staff learned how to transform old jeans to stylish and practical denim bags.

• Driving behavioural change among tenants, residents and customers
• To drive behavioural change among tenants, residents and customers for promoting environmental protection, Kerry Properties provided relevant waste handling guidelines and organised a series of recycling campaigns, educational tours and workshops. In response to the introduction of mandatory garbage classification in Shanghai and Hangzhou, Kerry Properties introduced new waste management initiatives to Kerry Everbright City Phase III and Hangzhou Kerry Centre. Designated personnel were assigned with the responsibility of enforcing and monitoring the waste sorting and recycling. Tenants and customers were provided with clearly labelled containers and sorting guidance. To encourage waste reduction at the source, Kerry Properties also distributed reusable umbrella bags to tenants and residents as souvenirs during its green activities in Hong Kong. At Kerry Everbright City Phase III, Kerry Properties produced posters, notices and videos on waste sorting to raise awareness. Community activities, such as visiting tours, were also organised to promote best practices. At Hong Kong Kerry Centre, Kerry Properties held a 66-day “Bring Your Own Container” campaign to encourage customers to build a green habit. During the campaign, customers who brought their own takeaway containers could enjoy discounts at selected restaurants.

• Monitoring waste
• In 2019, Kerry Properties set up a smart waste monitoring system in five properties in Hong Kong. Waste and recyclable data were collected through cloud technology, enabling Kerry Properties to track waste generation more accurately and efficiently. At the same time, Kerry Properties organised educational activities on waste reduction and recycling.

• Prioritising food waste management
• Food waste has been one of Kerry Properties’ priorities in waste management. Selected properties in Hong Kong and China are equipped with food waste decomposers and, in 2019, food waste decomposers were installed in additional properties, for example, The Bloomsway, Mantin Heights, and Mont Rouge. Moving forward, Kerry Properties will explore the feasibility of introducing food waste decomposers to other managed properties. At MegaBox, Kerry Properties extended, since May 2019, the food waste collection and recycling programme to food and beverage tenants. Collected food waste was transported to O • PARK1, the first organic resources recovery centre in Hong Kong. Food waste is converted into biogas and compost, which are used for electricity generation and landscaping and agricultural purposes respectively.

• Reducing plastic waste
• To reduce plastic waste at the source, Kerry Properties introduced the “No Disposables” campaign to its managed properties in Hong Kong in 2019. Kerry Properties aims to ban disposable cutlery in all clubhouse activities through this campaign. Bottled water was also banned in all in-house staff engagement activities, meetings and large functions in Hong Kong. Instead, Kerry Properties provides water dispensers and water served with glasses whenever possible. To demonstrate its commitment to plastic management with its business partners, Kerry Properties also requires building contractors to ban plastic bottled water from all meetings at construction sites under “Kerry Project — Community Caring Scheme”. To promote recycling of plastic bottles, Kerry Properties installed smart plastic-bottle recycling machines at Kerry Everbright City Phase III, Shanghai Central Residences in Shanghai and MegaBox in Hong Kong. Kerry Properties offered monetary incentives for bottles returned, while plastic bottles collected will be used to produce new bottles.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 306-2 Waste by type and disposal method

Disclosure 306-2 Waste by type and disposal method corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
• Targets: 3.9
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
• Targets: 6.3
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Targets: 12.4, 12.5

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

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References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Kerry Properties, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

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