Diving Into Swire Properties' Sustainability Achievements & Commitments

Headquartered in Hong Kong, Swire Properties is a leading developer, owner, and operator of mixed-use, principally commercial, properties in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, with a presence in Miami, U.S.A. It is the first real estate developer with 1.5°C aligned science-based targets approved in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.

The company recently released its 14th Sustainability Development Report, which focuses on Swire Properties’ businesses, joint ventures, and subsidiaries in property investment, property trading, and hotel investment, where the Company has management control. Let's dive into its sustainability achievements and commitments!

For almost 50 years, Swire Properties has adopted, advocated, and adhered to a philosophy of responsible development environmentally, socially, and economically. In 2016, the company first introduced its sustainable development vision, which is "to be the leading sustainable development performer in our industry globally by 2030", with SD 2030 Strategy building on 5 strategic pillars: Places, People, Partners, Performance (Environment) and Performance (Economic). And in the following article, we're going to focus on the Performance (Environment) pillar, which aligns with SDG 3/6/7/11/12/13.

Climate Change

Swire Properties is responding to the Climate Change focus area through initiatives on mitigation, adaptation and resilience. It is the first real estate developer in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland to have new 1.5°C-aligned science-based targets approved.

Designing for Climate Resilience

Becoming Part of the BEC Low Carbon Charter Power Up Coalition

The Business Environment Council launched the "Power Up Coalition" in 2021, designed to facilitate early connection of construction sites to mains electricity. As one of the first signatories, Swire Properties agreed to pursue on-site decarbonization opportunities at our construction sites, including installing renewable energy systems, transitioning to becoming 100% diesel generator-free, etc.

Energy

Swire Properties strives to continually reduce the consumption of energy in its Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland portfolios and in hotel operations. In 2021, the company adopted a variety of technologies and strategies to achieve this objective, including generating renewable energy on-site, using it for operations, and in one case, feeding power back into the electricity grid.

Collaboration with Tsinghua University

Swire Properties has been working with Tsinghua University through the Joint Research Centre for Building Energy Efficiency and Sustainability to develop and test new methods to increase energy efficiency and improve environmental performance in its projects since 2011. This collaboration continues to generate substantial energy savings and allows the company to share new ideas and practices with its employees, business partners, industry peers and other researchers.

It pushes the boundaries of traditional building management by developing new artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies, improving IAQ control measures, increasing the generation and use of renewable energy, and other measures to make our portfolios even more energy efficient and sustainable.

Taking on the BE305 Challenge

The Swire Properties Operations team in Miami, U.S.A. entered the Business Efficiency 305 Challenge (“BE305"), which is initiated by the Miami-Dade County in Florida. The contest challenged companies across the county to reduce electricity and water consumption by 25% against a 2019 baseline by the year 2026.

Resource and Circularity

Swire Properties is committed to supporting the transition towards a circular economy by reducing and managing waste effectively and promoting circularity across its operations. It aims to identify the impacts of waste disposal from its business activities, set targets to continually improve its waste management performance, and incorporate waste-prevention considerations into the procurement processes.

Recycling and Re-purposing Food Waste

Food waste is a significant component of waste. Swire Properties installed its first food decomposer at one of the shopping malls in Hong Kong. It has been working with hotels, restaurants, and tenants to deepen its food waste reduction and recycling efforts. For instance, it collected more than 9,200 tonnes of food waste from its Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland portfolios and its hotels, an increase of 25% compared with 2020.

This year, Swire Properties also introduced new initiatives to repurpose food waste into useful products. EAST Hong Kong partnered with a local brewery to turn 30kg of surplus bread from its restaurants into its own branded craft beer. In support of the United Nations' International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, Swire Properties also ran two “Ugly Fruit” jam-making workshops with a local food rescue NGO to raise awareness about the global food waste problem.

Engaging Employees and Tenants with Smart Waste Technology

In 2021, Swire Properties introduced the Smart Waste Reduction Challenge, a first in Hong Kong, using smart scales and a digital engagement platform to “gamify” the collective sustainability journey experienced by its employees and tenants. The challenge involved 15 participating teams drawn from 10 office tenants across Taikoo Place, which resulted in 14 reductions in total waste per employee and 41% waste diversion rate achieved.

Supporting a Circular Economy for Plastics

In November 2020, Swire Properties partnered with a start-up company to launch Hong Kong’s first smart reusable cup concept and network at Taikoo Place. In 2021, the initiative expanded to a total of eight food and beverage outlets across the portfolio. In the same year, it continued to place reverse vending machines at The Loop in Taikoo Place and at Three Pacific Place, collecting more than 255,100 plastic bottles during the year for recycling.

Water

Swire Properties' Water Policy focuses on reducing its water consumption intensity. Pursuant to this policy, the company aims to design and implement efficient water management measures across its operations and encourage its employees and tenants to consume water responsibly, among other action items.

Sustainable Bathrooms at Taikoo Hui

For the Taikoo Hui in Guangzhou, the bathrooms on the MU level were redesigned this year using a “sustainable development” theme, which becomes the first public convenience facility in a commercial complex in Guangzhou to be recognised by the Guangzhou Emissions Exchange for outstanding performance in carbon neutrality. As a matter of fact, this renovation will result in projected overall water savings of around 2,400 m3 per year.

Biodiversity

Anchored by its Biodiversity Policy, Swire Properties integrates biodiversity considerations into its operations and, where relevant, work to minimise any adverse impacts of its operations on biodiversity and ecosystems.

Taikoo Place Biodiversity Study

Swire Properties conducted a biodiversity study of the Taikoo Place redevelopment project, in partnership with a professor from the University of Hong Kong, which aims mainly to develop a baseline of the urban biodiversity of the current Taikoo Place, and propose measures in the master landscape plan to further enhance urban biodiversity in the future.

Employee Communications and Engagement

*Fighting Climate Change, We’re All In ©Swire Properties*

In order to better implement its SD 2030 Strategy, which requires support from the employees, Swire Properties launched a series of internal communication activities to educate its own employees. For instance, Swire Properties launched the “Sustainability: We All Count” SD-themed communication campaign to raise awareness, the second iteration of which was introduced in 2021 with a new theme: “Fighting Climate Change, We’re All In”, highlighting its commitment to the Business Ambition for 1.5°C and the city-wide goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

At the workplace, to further engage its employees in the Business Ambition for 1.5°C initiative, Swire Properties runs a company-wide energy-saving competition called the “1.5°C@Work Challenge”, which aims to encourage the use of less electricity in offices.

Case study - SD in Action: Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu

Developed around the extraordinary Daci Temple, a heritage site with religious significance for over 1,400 years, Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu embodies the cultural elements that characterize this historic city. Balancing sacred buildings with modern shops, open spaces with intimate lanes, and calm with excitement, this completely unique complex is another example of Swire Properties’ placemaking expertise. The complex’s design pays homage to traditional Sichuan architecture but also takes an innovative, modern approach - harmonising the historical significance of the site with the commercial development to ensure long-term value creation.

An Energy Management Leader

The complex, including The Temple House hotel, is powered by 100% renewable electricity – one of the first entities in Sichuan and the first in Swire Properties to achieve net-zero carbon in its annual electricity consumption for landlord and tenant operations. This has reduced the overall CO2 emissions from Swire Properties’ Chengdu portfolio by around 8,500 tonnes per year and increased the renewable electricity mix in our Chinese Mainland developments to over 15%.

Maintaining the Best Indoor Air Quality

The complex worked with Tsinghua University through the Joint Research Centre for Building Energy Efficiency and Sustainability on an indoor air quality (“IAQ”) study to establish an improvement plan, which incorporated minimizing air infiltration, air purification polarisation, and monitoring via IoT sensors.

A Host of Environmental Initiatives at The Temple House

Since 2017, The Temple Café at The Temple House has planted and maintained an organic garden on site, which now supplies about 10% of its herbs and vegetables. The café has since developed a “farm to table” menu that incorporates these house-grown vegetables and herbs harvested from the garden. And during the Christmas holiday season, it has become a tradition to display a sustainable Christmas tree at The Temple House crafted from upcycled materials.

Building on the achievements since the launch of the SD 2030 Strategy in 2016, Swire Properties now advances to its next targets for 2025 and 2030. These new targets are challenging and will require innovation, creative thinking, and considerable effort as it strives to achieve its SD vision: to be the leading sustainable development performer in the industry globally by 2030.

One of their main targets includes reducing absolute GHG emissions by 25% by 2025 and by 46% by 2030 (Scope 1 and 2 SBT). In terms of energy reduction, by 2025, Swire Properties aims to reduce annual electricity use intensity by 20% in Hong Kong and by 13% in the Chinese Mainland, as well as to generate 4-6% of the landlord’s building energy from on-site renewable or clean energy sources for selected newly completed office projects. The company has also listed its targets in resource and circularity, water, biodiversity, occupant wellbeing, and building/asset investment respectively, which are shown in the picture below.

Diving Into Swire Properties' Sustainability Achievements & Commitments

DIVING INTO