Greener Future

Combating Climate Change

Our Climate Change Policy established in 2020, alongside with the Sustainability Policy, outlines our commitment by means of managing climate risks across our business strategy and operations in tackling climate change. NWS Sustainability Targets 2030 further demonstrate our long-term commitment towards a low carbon economy. As we strategize building our resilience towards climate change, we focus on key areas as follows:

Refer to page 3 in the Performance Highlight of Sustainability Report 2021 for the details in building climate resilience.

Climate Risks Assessment

Climate resilience is an essential part of our sustainability strategy, evidenced in Hong Kong and the Mainland by the increased occurrence of acute weather conditions. As part of a Group-wide initiative, a climate scenario planning study was piloted to assess the physical climate risks faced by the HKCEC in order to identify areas for improvements, such as enhancing existing facility management practices to better prepare for more extreme wind and flooding events. In the coming years, we plan to further explore climate studies in relation to our wider business operations.

In 2021, NWS has conducted the first climate-related transition risk assessment of its key businesses with reference to the Recommendation of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (“TCFD”). Our transition risk assessment covered corporate headquarters and five business segments with reference to the International Energy Agency’s Stated Policies Scenario (“STEPS”) and the research findings of emerging policy and legal regulation aimed at addressing or related to climate change, within a time frame from present to about 5 years into the future.

Carbon Management

We are keen to reduce our carbon footprint and energy consumption is the prime source of our greenhouse gas emissions. Among the Group’s wide range of businesses, we are aware of the business segments that contribute most significantly to our carbon footprint and each of our business units works towards a common goal of developing their own guidelines and plans to reduce energy consumption.

With NWS Sustainability Targets 2030, a carbon intensity reduction of 50% by 2030, we continue to reduce our demand-side energy consumption, particularly those sourced from burning of fossil fuels like diesel. As we look for means to decarbonize as a Group, we made profiling analyses on our carbon emissions and energy use. We strategically prioritize the decarbonization effort in the most carbon-intensive business or operations which are construction and facilities management of the HKCEC,among our in-scope businesses. The commitment of cleaner electricity provision from the local power companies as well as the trend of rapid technological advancement are key to our roadmap for decarbonization.

Decarbonization Roadmap in Construction (Refer to p.80-82 of SR2021 for further details)

Decarbonization Roadmap in Facilities Management of the HKCEC (Refer to p.83 of SR2021 for further details)

Environmental Management

Formed by representatives from our subsidiary companies and chaired by an Executive Director, our Environmental Management Committee meets twice a year and provides a platform for the development and implementation of green initiatives, and the exchange of knowledge, experience and environmental best practices among business units.

Air emissions are significant for road transport and construction. Although our highway operation business is not a direct contributor on roadside air emissions, we support the nation-wide objective to enhance air quality, using new technologies to enhance traffic flow and support the adoption of electric vehicles. We consistently develop innovative solutions at our construction sites to reduce air emissions from generator sets, optimize on-site electrification, and to ensure proper environmental site management is in place.

We strive to reduce our energy consumption and invest in energy-efficient technologies. In addition to reducing fuel consumption, we actively seek for opportunities to clean energy in our daily operations, for example, the installation of solar panels at the HKCEC and at construction sites where practicable. In coming years, we will strive to optimize electrification in construction and adopt measures to enhance energy management in construction.

Water plays an important role in our operations and we are committed to using it efficiently. We have a range of water-saving initiatives across our businesses with different focuses to address various operation nature.

Addressing specific waste issues requires practical steps adapted to the nature of work of each business unit. We use resources on a needs-only basis to minimise hazardous wastes, and try to reuse and recycle non-hazardous wastes where practical. To fulfil our commitment to minimising waste, we introduce a range of initiatives, including internal activities and external campaigns, to encourage communities and our stakeholders to join us on our sustainability journey.

While direct impacts on biodiversity are not recognized as a material issue among our business operations, we practice biodiversity conservation where appropriate. We are committed to minimizing the potential adverse impacts of our operations on biodiversity through, for example, adopting recognized standards and certificates for more sustainable use of natural resources, e.g., Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) where possible; minimizing habitat disturbance, degradation and indirect effects of operations; and promoting the awareness of biodiversity among our stakeholders such as employees and the community.