(15 March 2017 – 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 another year of recognition from The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (“HKCSS”). In addition to receiving the 5 Years Plus “Caring Company” logo and upholding its position as a Caring Company for the ninth year, NWDS is also granted the “Business for Sustainability” logo, a new scheme introduced this year. These accolades illustrate the well-established structure and mechanism of the Company to progressively implement various sustainability measures so as to make contribution in the aspects of caring for the community, its employees and the environment.

Over the years, NWDS has been striving to construct a sound sustainability structure and mechanism to ensure that the relevant initiatives are rolled out effectively and steadily. On top of formulating the “Sustainability Policy” and the “Green Office Policy” as a pledge to sustainable development, the Company also set up the cross-departmental NWDS Sustainability Steering Committee in 2010 and invited all department heads to take part in formulating and carrying out various sustainability measures collectively to ensure the effective implementation and execution of relevant work within the organization.

Regarding its care for the community, NWDS has been upholding its spirit of “giving back to society”. It is concerned with the needs of under-resourced children in the mainland and has been doing its best to support their mental and physical development. The Company does not only launch a range of sustainability programs, but also encourages stores to organize local community projects and actively engages its employees and their friends and families to give back to society in action. Currently, the NWDS Volunteer Team has grown to a size of over 2,400 people and devoted up to 7,500 total volunteer service hours in FY2016, demonstrating an excellent corporate volunteer culture. On the front of caring for its employees, the Company regards its staff as an important asset and strives to offer competitive compensation packages and comprehensive on-the-job training. In FY2016, the Company pumped up the total number of nationwide training programs to 37 while the total staff training hours increased by 9% year-on-year to nearly 53,300 hours, showing its relentless efforts to develop talents. Entering into FY2017, the Company went the extra mile to roll out Staff Caring Program to offer a half-day paid caring leave per month to encourage its staff to achieve work-life balance. On caring for the environment, the Company is dedicated to incorporate green elements into every aspect of its operations to reduce its impact to the environment. In FY2016, the Company published the Sustainable Office Guide and the Waste Measurement Guidelines, reducing the annual average carbon intensity by 7.8% as part of its achievement in energy saving and emission reduction.

Launched by HKCSS in 2002, the Caring Company Scheme (the “Scheme”) aims at facilitating strategic partnerships amongst businesses and non-profit organizations to promote corporate social responsibilities and to create a more cohesive society. The Scheme assesses companies against 18 criteria under three main scopes, namely “Caring for the Community”, “Caring for the Employees” and “Caring for the Environment”. All companies and organizations must fulfill a minimum of two criteria in each scope to be eligible for the logo.

“Business for Sustainability” logo represents the next level of achievement after the Scheme. Granted by the Scheme and its partner Sustainable Business HK initiated by HKCSS for the first time in 2016, the logo calls for fulfilment of even higher standards and more stringent criteria. Companies are mainly assessed in three areas, namely their CSR values (Values), CSR management and practices (Process), as well as their contribution to the economic, social and environmental sustainability (Impact). To receive the “Business for Sustainability” logo, a Caring Company must demonstrate significant progress in integrating socially responsible and sustainable practices into its core business operations.

Ms. Violet Chan, Deputy General Manager of Corporate Communication & Investor Relations and Chairman of Sustainability Steering Committee of NWDS, said, “We are truly honored that the Company receives the two accolades of the 5 Years Plus ‘Caring Company’ logo and the ‘Business for Sustainability’ logo which is granted for the first time this year. Both of these commendations are a testament to our efforts and serve as a strong encouragement. I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the support of our management, as well as the concerted collaboration of our stores and offices. Going forward, we will expand the scope and variety of our green, voluntary and staff training activities, explore cooperation possibilities with external organizations, and collect stakeholders’ inputs from different channels to continually optimize our work in the different areas of sustainable development.”

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