(17 November 2016 – Hong Kong) New World Department Store China Limited (“NWDS” or the “Company”; Hong Kong stock code: 825), one of the largest owners and operators of department stores in Mainland China, is pleased to announce the online availability of its third standalone sustainability report, NWDS Sustainability Report 2016 (“the Report”). Riding on the excellent environmental performance achieved in the last financial year, the Company promoted its environmental initiatives even further during FY2016 (i.e. from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016). The Company did not only roll out the “Green Office Policy” and internal environmental guidelines, but also significantly reduced the annual average carbon intensity of stores and offices by 7.8%, indicating that it stepped up much in terms of energy conservation, emissions reduction and waste reduction.

During the year under review, the Company made satisfactory progress in its four key sustainability aspects, namely environmental protection, community services, staff benefits and development, and operating practices, and scored the best in energy conservation and emissions reduction. The Company launched a “Green Office Policy”, promulgated a number of internal environmental guidelines and conducted an internal carbon audit for the second consecutive year to encourage its staff to practice green operations. As a result, the annual average electricity consumption per square meter in its stores and offices recorded a 5.0% drop, while the total A4 paper consumption also reduced by 13.8% over the last year, realizing a 7.8% year-on-year reduction in annual average carbon intensity. In addition to enhancing its environmental performance, the Company was also actively engaged in caring for the community and its staff. During the year under review, the NWDS Volunteer Team contributed a total of 7,477 hours in volunteer services, a 11.6% increase over the past year. The Company also helped its staff at various positions add value, and the number of total training hours went up 9%. It also organized more than 900 staff caring activities to improve their overall well-being. In terms of operational efficiency, the Company successfully collected 29 completed Supplier Sustainability Disclosure Forms, achieving a response rate of about 70%. Most suppliers responded that they had implemented measures related to energy conservation and emissions reduction, indicating the Company and its suppliers share and practice a common vision on sustainable development.

The Report continues to adopt the Core option of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, an internationally recognized framework, and also complies with the new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting Guide published by The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in December 2015. To ensure its content achieves international standards, the Report was also verified by a third-party verifier SGS Hong Kong Limited.

Ms. Violet Chan, Assistant General Manager of Corporate Communication and Chairman of Sustainability Steering Committee of NWDS, said, “The Company has been publishing a standalone sustainability report since 2014. This award-winning publication is widely recognized by the industry. This year, the Company’s direction towards sustainable development was placed on optimization. We formulated policies and guidelines for our stores and offices to encourage our staff to take up green practices; we also upgraded our data collection methods. In addition to strengthening stakeholders’ participation in their corporate sustainability work, we also adopted sustainability concepts to improve our operational processes. Going forward, we will make better application of systems to acquire environmental data from different locations more promptly and accurately, which would help us assess the effectiveness of related policies and measures in a timely manner. Moreover, we will also reinforce our communication with suppliers to construct a sustainable supply chain and to put our sustainability ideas into actions.”

Please visit NWDS’ website http://www.nwds.com.hk/en/csr/sustainability-report/ for the NWDS Sustainability Report 2016.

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