What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Wharf identified a range of material issues, such as socioeconomic compliance, customer privacy, anti-corruption, environmental compliance, non-discrimination. Among these, promoting customer health and safety stands out as a key material issue for Wharf.

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 Wharf engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Employees	·      Surveys and focus groups ·      Town hall meetings ·      Intranet and internal publications
Shareholders, investors and financial analysts	·      General meeting(s) ·      Financial Reports, announcements and circular(s) ·      Corporate communications and company websites
Customers	·      Surveys and focus groups ·      Social media platforms ·      Service centres and hotlines
Government, regulatory bodies and industry associations	·      Regulatory taskforces and committees ·      Industry operational meetings ·      Forums and conferences
Media	·      Media briefings and luncheons ·      Executive interviews ·      Instant updates on internet
Business partners (including suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors)	·      Tendering ·      Operational meetings ·      Contract and performance review
Local community	·      Community investment programmes ·      Company visits ·      Social media platforms
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)	·      Programme partnership meetings ·      Regular programme review and assessment ·      Forums and conferences

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Wharf engaged, through an online survey, interviews and focus group discussions, with more than 700 stakeholders, including employees, suppliers, contractors and sub-contractors, tenants, investors and financial analysts, and community partners.

What actions were taken by Wharf to promote customer health and safety?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Wharf reports that it took the following actions for promoting customer health and safety:

• Offering accessible and caring facilities
• The design and features of Wharf’s premises take into consideration the different needs of its customers. Accordingly, Wharf’s shopping malls and hotels provide barrier-free facilities, such as elevators, electric stair-climbing wheelchairs, accessible toilets and designated parking slots, offering to customers safe and convenient access to the premises. Portable induction loop systems are also provided at the shopping mall concierge, to offer hearing aids for the people in need. In addition, the provision of family- and mother-friendly facilities contributes to a pleasant experience for visitors and guests. For example, there are six baby nursery rooms at Chengdu IFS, equipped with thoughtful amenities.

• Keeping premises safe
• Wharf carries out regular safety inspections and annual maintenance of facilities in all its premises, and also selects and monitors suppliers based on the health and safety performance of their products and services. During daily patrol at the premises, security personnel inspects facilities or items that may have possible health and safety risks, and makes sure that the conditions of escape stairs, corridors and other fire compartments comply with fire safety regulations. Wharf also provides fire safety training to all staff, equipping them with skills on escape planning, evacuation and fire extinguishing. At Chengdu IFS, Wharf’s committed staff conducted door-to-door fire safety trainings for more than 400 tenants, enhancing their awareness of fire safety. In addition, to enable all customers to fully enjoy public spaces, Wharf carefully plans and deploys crowd control measures, especially during large-scale events. Wharf’s premises are also equipped with adequate first aid equipment and automated external defibrillators and, in cases of emergency, Wharf’s qualified first aid team will arrive at the scene quickly to offer medical assistance. Additionally, Wharf seeks to provide a hygienic and healthy environment for customers while they enjoy their time at its premises, making sure that the premises achieve excellent indoor air quality through the regular monitoring and installation of fresh air systems. For example, besides adhering to an indoor smoking ban, Shanghai Wheelock Square obtained LEED Gold certification, with excellent performance in indoor air quality.

• Promoting food safety
• At Wharf Hotels, Wharf strictly complies with the Food Safety Law and Operating Rules for Food Safety in Catering Services in Mainland China. Wharf’s Marco Polo Hotels carry out weekly food safety inspections and monthly food safety training and assessments, for all catering staff. Wharf also conducts monthly audits on high risk food suppliers, to ensure that they always meet Wharf’s required safety standards. There were no incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes resulting in a fine or penalty, during the reporting year.

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

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services

 

Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Compliance with laws and regulations

 

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

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Wharf, 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/

Note to Wharf: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2016 Sustainability Report GM identified a range of material issues, such as customer satisfaction, vehicle efficiency & emissions, employee relations, operational waste, product innovation. Among these, promoting vehicle safety stands out as a key material issue for GM.

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 GM engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Customers

Investors and analysts

Employees

Suppliers

Dealers and dealer councils

Communities

Governments

Nongovernmental organisations

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics GM carried out two online surveys among GM employees and external stakeholders, asking respondents to prioritise the importance of sustainability topics and subtopics. The surveys were completed by 1,052 GM employees and 367 external stakeholders.

What actions were taken by GM to improve vehicle safety?

In its 2016 Sustainability Report GM reports that it took the following actions for improving vehicle safety:

• Appointing a Vice President of Global Vehicle Safety
• GM has structured its decision-making process for safety issues to include executives at the highest levels of the company. This includes appointing, in 2016, a first-ever Vice President of Global Vehicle Safety. In addition to leading GM’s product safety organisation, this senior executive has global responsibility for developing GM’s vehicle safety systems, confirming and validating GM’s vehicle safety performance, identifying emerging issues and conducting post-sale safety activities, including recalls.

• Expanding product safety resources
• GM has been expanding its Product Safety organisation, adding over 200 employees since 2014. This includes more than 40 new internal product investigators in North America who help identify and quickly resolve possible vehicle safety issues, and 32 safety forensic engineers responsible for early identification of potential vehicle safety issues. Additionally, GM reorganised its Global Vehicle Engineering organisation to improve its cross-system integration and address functional safety and compliance in the vehicle development process.

• Implementing a Speak Up for Safety programme
• GM’s Speak Up for Safety programme aims to offer employees, suppliers and dealers an easy, consistent and unfiltered way to report potential vehicle safety issues. Through a toll-free phone number, a smartphone app, email or the Speak Up for Safety website, submitters can report any potential vehicle safety risks, suggesting safety-related improvements. Subsequently, GM’s dedicated safety team funnels employee concerns to the appropriate departments and, through the entire process, potentially interconnected risks that cross products can be better identified. Employees across GM have embraced Speak Up for Safety and, since the programme’s beginning, over 12,000 concerns and/or suggestions by employees and dealers have been logged globally.

• Using data analytics to identify possible vehicle safety issues
• GM has been making greater use of data analytics, to identify potential vehicle safety issues. A data analytics team is merging multiple inputs (such as Speak Up for Safety submissions and dealer service records) to build a unique, comprehensive database. Statistical analysis and modelling can identify possible issues much earlier, by linking perceived disparate issues.

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

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

 

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

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by GM, 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/

Note to GM: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2016 Integrated Report Sanofi identified a range of material issues, such as carbon emissions, waste management, talent development, business ethics, medicine pricing and innovation. Among these, protecting patient safety stands out as a key material issue for Sanofi.

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 Sanofi engages with:  

Stakeholder Group

Employees

Healthcare professionals

Authorities and payers

Business partners

Patients

International and local organisations

Investors

Local communities

Media

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics Sanofi organised an international stakeholder panel, gathering more than 40 external stakeholders from around the globe, and also set up internal working groups.

What actions were taken by Sanofi to protect patient safety?

In its 2016 Integrated Report Sanofi reports that it took the following actions for protecting patient safety:

• Promoting effective quality management
• Sanofi’s Global Quality vision involves five key areas: quality systems, inspection readiness, quality risk management, quality performance and quality culture. The company’s quality team is dedicated to making sure that products and services provided are fully compliant with all requirements, effective, safe and easy to use. Sanofi uses a mature risk management process, handling quality issues including recalls when necessary, and identifying emerging quality risks, taking measures to avoid them or mitigate their consequences. Sanofi also monitors the quality performance of its own entities and key suppliers or subcontractors through audits, taking appropriate corrective and preventive measures if needed.

• Enhancing product security
• Sanofi seeks to ensure optimal product security through a number of initiatives. These include controlled transport conditions and anti-counterfeit measures, such as tamper evidence, authentication technologies, and serialisation. In addition, Sanofi makes sure it adapts to evolutions in the regulatory environment and supports digital health software development, while at the same time making sure all applications are compliant with applicable legal requirements. 

• Monitoring product safety
• Sanofi’s Global Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology (GPE) organisation monitors the safety of its products around the globe: prescription medicines and vaccines, consumer health products, generics and medical devices. GPE constantly assesses the benefit-risk profile of Sanofi’s products at every stage of their life cycle to determine, together with the health authorities, the best conditions of their use. GPE also provides physicians, healthcare professionals and patients with complete, up-to-date safety information, including possible risks associated with a product. Additionally, Sanofi’s GPE Department collects pharmacovigilance data from all sources of information, building strong interactions with patients and healthcare professionals globally, during both clinical development and product life cycle management. In this way, it ensures the completeness of the safety data collection process and the effectiveness of Sanofi’s safety evaluations, in compliance with all applicable regulations and policies. Sanofi also makes safety information on its products available through its websites.

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

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

2) Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling

 

Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 417-1 Requirements for product and service information and labeling corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
• Business theme: Product and service information and labeling
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
• Business theme: Compliance with laws and regulations

 

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

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

• Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
• Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
• Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
• Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Sanofi, 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) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

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

Note to Sanofi: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2014 Sustainability Report BMW Brilliance identified a range of material issues, such as occupational health and safety, product portfolio and research and development, energy consumption, air pollution emissions and climate change, talent attraction and retention, public policy, employee development, aftersales services, corruption and anti-competitive behaviour. Among these, as the safety of its customers and other road users is a top priority for BMW Brilliance and its stakeholders – and fundamental to its sense of product responsibility –, promoting product safety stands out as a key material issue.

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 organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

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 BMW Brilliance engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Shareholders	·         BMW Brilliance’s Board of Management reports to the Board of Directors, which represents BMW Brilliance’s shareholders
Customers	·         Customer talks, surveys and interviews
Employees	·         Open door and round table discussions between employees and senior management ·         Annual consultation sessions
Suppliers	·         BMW Brilliance Supplier Days
Dealers	·         Dealer training ·         5S dealer certification programme (Sales, Service, Survey, Spare Parts and Sustainability)
Policymakers	·         Regular, open dialogue with political decision-makers, union representatives, associations and  non-governmental organisations
Students	·         “BMW  Days” ·         Launched a new Doctoral programme at the Northeastern University known as ProMotion
Society	·         “Lead the Way to a Sustainable and Responsible Future – 2014 BMW Brilliance Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Forum”

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

BMW Brilliance’s ongoing dialogue with its stakeholders is a continuous learning process for its business. BMW Brilliance uses targeted dialogues to understand various perspectives and to receive their input on strategically relevant topics. It identifies trends and key topics at an early stage which helps the company gain acceptance of its activities and decisions. BMW Brilliance wants to build long-term trust with its stakeholders. This is important to demonstrate its commitment to society and for its future business success.

BMW Brilliance’s main stakeholder groups are its shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, dealers, policymakers, students and society. BMW Brilliance’s stakeholder engagement is reflected in its approach to key areas such as Product Responsibility, Human Resources, Corporate Citizenship, Production and Supplier Management. Dialogue with targeted stakeholder groups takes place in a wide range of formats that include dialogues, presentations, events, meetings, surveys and training. For example, BMW Brilliance conducts customer surveys and talks to understand customer expectations and needs, trains dealers to enhance their capacity and build greater customer satisfaction, arranges open discussions for employees with top management to understand their concerns and suggestions, conducts ongoing dialogue with central and local policymakers to share its expertise and interacts with students and society to jointly raise awareness about issues such as environmental protection and traffic safety.

To develop a solid basis for its sustainability management, BMW Brilliance reviewed its most relevant sustainability issues with its key stakeholders. BMW Brilliance invited 16 representatives of stakeholder groups to contribute their ideas and concerns in individual, detailed interviews. Key topics raised during the stakeholder interviews related to product safety, occupational health and safety and fuel consumption. In addition, in an internal workshop with participants from the BMW Group and different BMW Brilliance divisions, BMW Brilliance prioritised 28 potentially relevant sustainability issues according to each issue’s business impact on BMW Brilliance – considering the global context of the issues as well as where the most relevant impacts occur along the value chain. As a result, BMW Brilliance identified ten sustainability issues that are highly relevant for the company and its stakeholders. These issues are its priorities.

What actions were taken by BMW Brilliance to promote product safety?

In its 2014 Sustainability Report BMW Brilliance set the following targets for promoting product safety, based on the company’s approach to materiality – on taking action on what matters, where it matters:

• Receiving safety feedback

BMW Brilliance develops and manufactures products in strict compliance with the BMW Group’s quality management systems, monitoring its product performance and reviewing all safety feedback. If necessary, BMW Brilliance informs the responsible authorities about any customer safety issues and initiates any required safety measures. BMW Brilliance has established relevant processes and procedures to ensure it acts upon the feedback it receives from its customers and the marketplace.

• Protecting the lives and health of drivers, passengers and pedestrians through passive safety systems

BMW Brilliance’s vehicles have energy-absorbing crumple zones, safe passenger cells, restraint systems, airbags and many other passive safety features that protect the lives and health of drivers daily. In order to provide drivers and passengers with the greatest possible protection in the event of a collision, various safety elements work hand-in-hand. A networked system of highly sensitive sensors enables airbags to deploy in the appropriate situation and at precisely the right moment. Pyrotechnically activated seatbelt pretensioners and seatbelt-force limiters further minimise risk of injury. The vehicle front has various devices installed to protect pedestrians, including a shock absorber. This is integrated between the bumper carrier and panel to reduce leg injuries in a collision.

• Preventing accidents through active safety systems

Active safety systems include perfect chassis coordination, optimal traction and effective brakes. Electronic chassis control systems also contribute towards preventing accidents. One of the main ways BMW Brilliance increases safety is through driver assistance systems, which are being increasingly integrated into its model ranges. These systems provide a second set of eyes to observe what is happening on the road in order to warn and support the driver. The traffic jam assistant is another important support function. In long and monotonous driving situations, for example in traffic congestion, the traffic jam assistant helps to keep the car longitudinally and laterally positioned in the lane, easing the strain on the driver. Active battery management is also used to provide safety: the ZINORO 1E is equipped with an innovative battery safety system, which features a liquid cooling and heating system that can increase the battery adaptability and safety in various environments. In a low-temperature environment, it realises the ideal working temperature. And in a high-temperature environment, it prevents overheating. The battery management system features a self-diagnosis and management function. It monitors dynamically all key parameters of the battery such as storage, charge, discharge and operating status. In the event of an accident, it will disconnect the battery from the vehicle’s electric system. This will ensure all parts are electrically neutral and guarantee the safety of the vehicle and passengers.

• Guaranteeing product and service information

BMW Brilliance informs its customers if any potential risks and hazards related to its products exist, as well as about the environmental performance and proper use of its products and services. Information on vehicle safety and protecting customer health can be found in the respective manuals or in notes inside the vehicle (e.g. rescue card), as well as on BMW Brilliance’s official website. Additional background information on service, accessories, parts and BMW ConnectedDrive is likewise available online. BMW Brilliance ensures that any customer product and service information meets all technical requirements.

• Offering driver safety training

BMW Brilliance also contributes to protecting road users through driver safety training. The company offers 12 different training courses and in 2014 1,150 participants learned how to identify critical driving situations and respond properly. This included how to avoid such situations, if possible, in the first place.

• Using safe materials in vehicles

For each phase of the vehicle life cycle – from development through to use and disposal – BMW Brilliance’s specialist departments ensure compliance with worldwide legal requirements for product safety and human health. In the early development phase, a “Materials” interdisciplinary working group evaluates the potential materials to be used in a product to determine the risk potential and to eliminate any problematic candidates. The working group can then intervene in the selection and development process as well as in the production as needed. BMW Brilliance tests all current and future products according to the standards of the BMW Group. As well as series parts, all auxiliary production substances and process materials, such as paint and adhesives, undergo rigorous qualification processes. BMW Brilliance fully documents all chemical substances that are used in its production processes. These substances are first inspected to ensure their safety and then approved for a specific application through the company’s central recording system for environmentally relevant substances. The system also provides detailed specifications and tips on handling these products as well as on first aid, storage and transport.

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicator addressed in this case is: G4-PR1: Percentage of significant product and service categories for which health and safety impacts are assessed for improvement and the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by BMW Brilliance, 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) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

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

Note to BMW Brilliance: With each case study we send out an email to your listed address in request for a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.