Case study: How Sino Land creates economic value for its stakeholders
Sino Land Company Limited, headquartered in Hong Kong, is one of three companies of Sino Group, whose core business encompasses the development of residential, office, industrial and retail properties for sale and investment in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney. Sino Land seeks to create long-term value for its stakeholders and the communities in which it operates Tweet This!, ensuring that they all grow more resilient together.
This case study is based on the 2022 Sustainability Report by Sino Land, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Sino Land has integrated sustainability into all aspects of its business and operations while deploying innovative solutions, as it seeks to create sustainable value for all its stakeholders for a healthier and better future. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Sino Land took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for the state
- create economic value for the community
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Sino Land has identified;
- How Sino Land up proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Sino Land to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2022 Sustainability Report Sino Land identified a range of material issues, such as climate resilience and GHG emissions, ethics and integrity, health and safety, energy consumption and efficiency, sustainable buildings. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Sino Land.
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:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s 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 Sino Land engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Executive Board Members | · One-on-one interviews · Surveys · Regular meetings |
| Investors/Analysts/ Shareholders
| · Surveys · Annual general meetings · Annual and interim reports · Press releases, announcements and circulars · Investor conferences · Analyst briefings |
| Employees
| · Surveys · Town hall and mini-town hall meetings · Staff magazine and app (InSino) · New hire orientation · Intranet (SinoNet) · Sinovation programme · Sino Sustainability Academy · Grievance mechanisms |
| Tenants/Customers/ Residents
| · One-on-one interviews · Surveys · Handover service surveys (property buyers) · Customer satisfaction surveys · Home visits by property management teams · Customer service hotline · Regular gatherings · Social media · Daily personal contact · Mailings and publications (LifeScape) · Sino Club · Grievance mechanisms |
| Partners/Suppliers/ Contractors
| · One-on-one interviews · Surveys · Tendering process · Meetings and conferences · Exhibitions · Site visits · Grievance mechanisms |
| Peers
| · Surveys · Industry events · Joint projects · Meetings and conferences |
| Academia
| · One-on-one interviews · Surveys · Joint projects |
| Government
| · One-on-one interviews · Surveys · Joint projects · Meetings and conferences |
| Trade Associations/ Industry Organisations
| · One-on-one interviews · Surveys · Industry events · Meetings and conferences |
| Media
| · Surveys · Press releases · Media briefings, conferences and luncheons · One-on-one interviews · Social media |
| NGOs/Local Communities
| · One-on-one interviews · Surveys · Regular meetings with green and community partners · Joint projects · Volunteer opportunities · Charitable events · Art exhibitions and functions |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Sino Land engaged with over 700 individuals representing 11 key stakeholder groups, including senior management, who participated in a stakeholder engagement exercise by either completing an online questionnaire or participating in interviews.
What actions were taken by Sino Land to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2022 Sustainability Report Sino Land reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021/2022, Sino Land paid HK$ 1,572,902,250 for employee wages and benefits.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In 2021/2022, Sino Land paid HK$ 6,276,733,848 to providers of capital.
- Creating economic value for the state
- In 2021/2022, Sino Land paid HK$ 337,541,289 in Hong Kong profits tax and HK$ 60,757,803 in taxation in other jurisdictions.
- Creating economic value for the community
- In 2021/2022, Sino Land spent HK$ 17,721,000 in community investment (i.e. charitable donations and sponsorship).
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Sino Land, 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 following link:
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