(28 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 that the Company garnered the “Green Office” Label under the “Green Office Awards Labelling Scheme” of the World Green Organization for the fourth consecutive year. NWDS also received the “Better World Company” Label from United Nations Millennium Development Goals, recognizing its continuous efforts in rolling out environmentally-responsible office measures.

NWDS Hong Kong Office has been honored every year since the inception of the “Green Office Awards Labelling Scheme”. The awarded label is a testament to NWDS’ untiring efforts along its path to environment conservation. In FY2016, the Company put the “Green Office Policy” into action, which encourages colleagues to conserve energy and reduce wastes in the office under the principles of Rethink, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We also take active actions in greening the daily operations of our department stores. Annual targets for environmental performance are set every year and an internal carbon audit had been conducted for two consecutive years to ensure an objective monitoring of our environmental performance. The effectiveness of the Company’s green measures is proven-realizing a 7.8% year-on-year reduction in annual average carbon intensity over the last year, mainly contributed by the 5.0% drop in the annual average electricity consumption per square meter in the stores and offices and the 13.8% decrease in the total A4 paper consumption, as revealed in the recently-published NWDS Sustainability Report 2016.

The “Green Office Awards Labelling Scheme” is a program introduced by the World Green Organization that aims to raise public awareness of global environmental issues. More than 250 companies have taken part in the scheme. Companies assessed under the scheme must implement effective green measures in nine aspects, namely, energy savings, water savings, waste reduction, paper/printing reduction, green procurement, IT use and disposal, transportation, education and awareness and green innovation. According to the scale of the corporation, companies need to fulfill at least 25-50 criteria in these nine aspects in order to garner the Label.

Ms. Violet Chan, Assistant General Manager of Corporate Communication and Chairman of Sustainability Steering Committee of NWDS, said, “The global environment is worsening by the day. As a company that embraces corporate social responsibilities, we believe that change must begin from ourselves. NWDS launched the “Green Office Policy” and issued the Sustainable Office Guide and the Waste Measurement Guidelines in FY2016, which have effectively lowered the Company’s carbon footprint. We are also extending our passion to other stakeholders by organizing some 200 environmental awareness events for our customers and the public. The Company is honored to be recognized time and again by various sectors over the years, who have inspired us to stay vigorous and proactive in working with stakeholders towards the construction of a green community.” 

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