The coverage of our annual sustainable development report is determined by reference to a detailed materiality assessment. The assessment identifies and evaluates the sustainability issues most important to our businesses and stakeholders for the year under review and in the near-term future.
We define a material issue as an issue that reflects the significant economic, environmental and social impact of our businesses or that substantively influences the assessments and decisions of stakeholders. We follow guidance from and report with reference to the GRI, including the requirement to report by reference to the GRI Standards and to identify and assess material issues.
The objectives of the materiality assessment are to meet external reporting requirements (GRI Standards and the HKEx ESG Guide) and to evaluate our sustainability performance in light of the expectations of those inside and outside our businesses with whom we engage.
In the interactive materiality assessment map, you can filter material issues by the category of the issue or by business and stakeholder priority. The size of the issue displayed corresponds with its importance.
The table below shows:
For each of the 22 material topics, we have provided a section in this report which indicates why the topic was material in 2018, our approach to managing the risks and opportunities associated with the topic, and our performance in relation to the topic.
| Material issue | GRI indicator | Boundary | Swire Group business | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Impact inside | Impact outside | |||
| Economic Performance | GRI 201 | All | ||
| Indirect Economic Impact | GRI 203 | All | ||
| Procurement Practices | GRI 204 | All | ||
| Anti-corruption | GRI 205 | All | ||
| Anti-competitive Behaviour | GRI 206 | All | ||
| Materials | GRI 301 | Swire Properties and Swire Coca-Cola | ||
| Energy | GRI 302 | Cathay Pacific, Swire Properties and Swire Coca-Cola | ||
| Water | GRI 303 | Swire Coca-Cola | ||
| Biodiversity | GRI 304 | Cathay Pacific and Swire Properties | ||
| Emissions | GRI 305 | Cathay Pacific | ||
| Effluents and Waste | GRI 306 | Swire Properties, Cathay Pacific and Swire Coca-Cola | ||
| Employment | GRI 401 | All | ||
| Occupational Health and Safety | GRI 403 | All | ||
| Training and Education | GRI 404 | All | ||
| Diversity and Equal Opportunity | GRI 405 | All | ||
| Non-discrimination | GRI 406 | All | ||
| Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining | GRI 407 | All | ||
| Human Rights Assessment | GRI 412 | All | ||
| Local Community | GRI 413 | All | ||
| Supplier Social Assessment | GRI 414 | All | ||
| Customer Privacy | GRI 418 | All | ||
| Socio-economic Compliance | GRI 419 | All | ||
Cyber-security, data protection and packaging waste (plastics) were identified as new material issues in 2018.
Our stakeholders did not rank the materiality of talent recruitment and retention or diversity and inclusion as highly as in previous years. However, we consider it important to report on these matters in order to demonstrate our commitment to remaining an employer of choice to our around 93,000 employees.
Our stakeholders did not consider human rights, biodiversity and our procurement practices of material importance for disclosure. However, they are disclosed as these are viewed as emerging issues of major importance to the future sustainability of our businesses.
Lists of companies and parts of companies which have and have not provided information for this report can be found here.
Performance indicators are reported on a 100% basis and therefore do not make reference to Swire Pacific’s shareholdings in operating companies.
