Sustainability

Sustainability as a key enabler

Jardines has focused on creating enduring value since our founding nearly two centuries ago. From the outset, we have applied a long-term perspective to growth, building resilience in our portfolio and supporting the communities we serve. This wide historical lens also informs our approach to sustainability. Our sustainability practices, underpinned by a focus on innovation and resilience, enable Jardines and our portfolio companies to mitigate risk, enhance operational effectiveness, and maintain a strong competitive position in the markets where they operate. We pursue our vision for a sustainable future by fostering collaboration across the Group and working to support our portfolio companies in addressing material sustainability issues. We are committed to delivering long-term solutions which address the broad range of sustainability challenges we face, while producing long-term value for our stakeholders.

Building Towards 2030

The diverse nature of the Group’s portfolio provides a great opportunity for collaboration in building resilience to potential impacts. Though our portfolio companies may have their own sustainability agendas, we create a shared mindset towards long-term value creation. The Group’s sustainability strategy, Building Towards 2030, structures the Group’s response to social and environmental megatrends affecting the outlook of our portfolio and the communities we serve. The strategy has nine focus areas across three strategic pillars: Leading Climate Action, Driving Responsible Consumption and Shaping Social Inclusion. It is aligned with five of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), contributing to the global agenda to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure peace and prosperity for all people by 2030.

Our strategy provides an overarching sustainability vision that recognises the needs and expectations of our diverse stakeholders. The Group has identified key priorities to focus our sustainability ambitions, streamline our efforts and allocate resources as efficiently as possible. We uphold the autonomy of our portfolio companies, while supporting greater collaboration between them, to harness the knowledge and expertise available and unlock opportunities for systemic change.

Our portfolio companies’ sustainability agendas are consistent with the Group’s sustainability strategy and are tailored to their respective industries and geographies.

Of the three strategic pillars, climate action remains our highest priority. There has been encouraging progress in our decarbonisation journey, with many of our portfolio companies achieving target validation for scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions from the international Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), in recognition of our firm commitment to reducing GHG emissions. Hongkong Land was the first portfolio company to obtain the validation of its near-term 1.5°C-aligned target by SBTi in 2022. DFI Retail, Gammon and Hactl followed suit in 2023. JEC, Jardine Restaurant Group and Zung Fu achieved their target validation, while PT Astra Graphia committed to SBTi this year.

In 2023, all portfolio companies completed the development of scope 1 and 2 decarbonisation targets and roadmaps to 2030, most of which are 1.5°C-aligned. These decarbonisation targets and roadmaps include the details and timelines of different decarbonisation levers relevant to their respective industry sectors. The roadmaps were reviewed in 2024 and will be reviewed every year to track progress and updated based on actual performance to determine upcoming actions and priorities.

Moving forward, Jardines and our portfolio companies remain committed to our decarbonisation objectives, as we work with all our portfolio companies to align with climate science and sector-based approaches to reduce climate impacts, enhance resilience and unlock opportunities for future growth in a transitioning world.

Sustainability governance

Integrating sustainability within our existing corporate governance structure enables the strategic oversight, accountability and reporting necessary to create long-term value. The Company’s Board and Audit Committee, being part of our sustainability governance structure, are supported by strong day-to-day oversight by senior management. This structure is mirrored at the portfolio companies and is complemented by the Sustainability Leadership Council (SLC) – which brings together the chief executives of our principal companies and Jardine Matheson directors and senior executives – as well as by working groups focused on each pillar of our sustainability strategy. This governance structure is supported by the Group Sustainability team, which works closely with sustainability representatives from across our portfolio companies.

The Company Board

Sustainability is a regular agenda item at the Company Board. Specific items including climate action are raised and discussed regularly at board meetings. In 2024, we enhanced the sustainability reporting process at the Board level and streamlined agenda items. Items including progress on sustainability objectives and targets (particularly decarbonisation roadmaps); ESG data performance and trends; peer benchmarking; key market trends, regulatory updates and ESG ratings; and upcoming priorities and key initiatives were reported to the Board during the year.

Senior management of the Company, some of whom sit on the Company’s Board, are also members of the boards of our portfolio companies, where they emphasise the strategic significance of sustainability to Jardines. This approach ensures that our commitment to sustainability, including climate action, is consistent across the Group and informs major business decisions.

The Company Audit Committee

The Company Audit Committee supports the Board in overseeing and evaluating the Group’s principal risks and uncertainties, including climate risks. The Audit Committee also has oversight responsibility for reviewing independent external assurance in respect of the key sustainability metrics which measure the Group’s sustainability strategy, initiatives and goals, as disclosed in the Company’s Sustainability Report.

From March 2024, we have strengthened the governance for ESG data and climate risk management reporting process to the Audit Committee. This improvement ensures that ESG data, along with sustainability and climate risks, are reported and discussed before publication.

Sustainability Leadership Council

The SLC is led by Jardine Matheson Executive Chairman, Ben Keswick. It currently comprises more than 20 members, and its core members include the Group Managing Director, Executive and non-Executive Directors, Chief Executives of the Group’s principal portfolio companies and the Heads of relevant Group functions. Meeting twice annually, the SLC serves as a collaboration platform for senior management across the Group to exchange insights and perspectives on sustainability strategy, planning and direction for the Group. Emerging sustainability trends, best practices and stakeholder expectations are discussed regularly. Sustainability and climate-related risks and opportunities are also discussed, with the aim of improving the Group’s performance and ensuring consistent integration of sustainability considerations into corporate policies and business operations.

Portfolio companies

The boards of our portfolio companies are responsible for overseeing sustainability strategy within their respective businesses. Each individual company is expected to develop and implement a sustainability strategy that is aligned to the Group strategy and to set sustainability metrics and targets to effectively address material issues. The leadership of each of the portfolio companies reports at least twice a year on the progress of their sustainability agenda to their own boards.

The audit committees (in the case of listed companies) and the risk management and control committees (RMCCs) (in the case of non-listed companies) are responsible for sustainability and climate-related risk management, as part of the enterprise risk management process. They also have an oversight of ESG data performance and its assurance process, if applicable.

The governance on sustainability reporting to the boards and audit committees have also been strengthened, with consistent agenda items at the portfolio company level in 2024.

Sustainability Working Groups

Designated working groups support each of the pillars of our sustainability strategy. The working groups are comprised of and chaired by colleagues from our portfolio companies, who are responsible for driving their sustainability agendas within their organisations. The working groups support the execution of the Group’s sustainability strategy, as well as identifying and implementing initiatives which will create synergies and strengthen cohesion and cooperation between the portfolio companies. The working group members also actively share knowledge and experience to upskill each other.

Group Sustainability

The Group Sustainability team supports the integration of sustainability considerations into the Group’s broader business strategies and operations, and provides advice on sustainability-related issues. It also provides ongoing guidance, advice and support to the portfolio companies, ensuring consistency in their approach to sustainability. Collaborating closely with various stakeholders including senior leadership, operational teams, and external partners, the team also drives sustainability initiatives and sets appropriate and relevant ESG metrics and targets to track progress on material ESG issues. Sustainability trends are regularly monitored and are incorporated into the Group’s approach to improving ratings, reporting and disclosures. In addition, the team works with other Group functions including Group Finance, Group Audit & Risk Management (GARM), Group Secretariat, Group Legal, Group Tax, Group People & Culture and Group Communications to progress the Group’s sustainability ambitions, as well as to provide support on relevant sustainability matters.

Remark:

For details of the Risk Governance Structure, please refer to the Risk Management and Internal Control section.

Solar panels installed in Hongkong Land’s Central Portfolio in Hong Kong

Stakeholder engagement and materiality assessment

We are committed to continual dialogue with our diverse stakeholders, to communicate our sustainability ambitions and progress. Through these engagements, we gather feedback to better understand their perspectives and expectations on key issues. We regularly update our investors on key sustainability developments and gather their insights on the Group’s strategy, performance and disclosure. We also actively engage with rating agencies to ensure that their analysis accurately reflects our sustainability performance. Through the coordinated efforts made across our portfolio companies, we have continued to achieve significant improvement in our ESG ratings over recent years.

Engaging our internal stakeholders is a key focus. We use a range of channels, from internal surveys to cross-Group events and campaigns, to encourage a dialogue among colleagues on sustainability. We use an internal sustainability communication channel to provide regular updates to Jardine Matheson Corporate colleagues on accomplishments and events, share the latest news and trends, and provide access to learning materials.

In addition, we gain valuable insights in our interactions as a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and other industry associations, and conduct peer benchmarking. We keep abreast of the latest global reporting standards and environmental and social megatrends, to identify new and emerging sustainability issues relevant and material to the Group. This helps us continuously review and enhance our sustainability strategy.

In 2024, we conducted a double materiality assessment – financial and impact materiality – to assess the impact of sustainability risks and opportunities to our portfolio, and the impact of our portfolio to the environment and society. We have adopted a mix of bottom-up and top-down approaches in consolidating views from the Company and our portfolio companies. Considering feedback from engagement surveys, insights gathered from stakeholder meetings, peer benchmarking and referencing the portfolio companies’ risk management reports, the assessment helped us confirm and refine our material topics, sustainability strategy and key focus areas. More details will be provided in the 2024 Sustainability Report.

Climate action

In the face of escalating climate change, we are actively monitoring the physical and transition risks confronting the Group, whilst identifying opportunities for mitigation. We view supporting and contributing to the transition to a low-carbon and, ultimately, a net-zero world as not only a business imperative but also a source of new opportunities for impact and growth.

As a primarily Asian-based diversified investment company, we have a deep understanding of the challenges and the operating environment in the region. Our network of partners, the skills of our colleagues and the credibility we have in the region, give us a unique platform to accelerate the transition, by creating and leveraging opportunities to leapfrog to the sustainable economies of the future. While this Sustainability section provides the Group’s perspective, we acknowledge that Jardines’ overall climate change performance is the result of a collaborative effort with each of our portfolio companies. As our portfolio companies continue to build their climate resilience, the Group will provide support, guidance, and oversight to ensure that Jardines as a whole is ready for the future.

TCFD Report

This section provides details on our climate journey based on Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. Please refer to the Consistency with TCFD Requirements section on page 63 for a detailed view on the extent of alignment with the recommendations.

Governance

The Jardine Matheson Board is ultimately responsible for the overall strategic aims and objectives of the Company. Sustainability updates, including climate-related strategy, decarbonisation targets, initiatives and progress, challenges and opportunities are reported to the Board at least twice a year. One update occurs at the year-end, reflecting the outcomes of the annual budget setting process, as part of which there is discussion of capital allocation for organic and inorganic growth, capital and operational expenditures, and the budget for sustainability initiatives for the coming three years.

The Board is also responsible for the oversight of climate risk management, as part of enterprise risk management, through the Audit Committee. All principal risks, including climate risks, faced by the Group and their latest developments and progress of mitigation measures, are reported to the Audit Committee bi-annually and disclosed in the Principal Risks and Uncertainties sections in this Report. Identified climate risks and opportunities in the medium-long term disclosed in this TCFD section are reported to the Audit Committee as well.

Climate action is one of the critical topics reviewed and assessed by the SLC, which receives updates on global and regional climate and sustainability trends, policies, initiatives and activities undertaken across the Group twice a year. Progress on climate risk assessments and identified climate risks and opportunities are also provided to the SLC, to inform their discussion of climate strategy and priorities. The Company and individual portfolio companies’ senior representatives will provide corresponding updates on sustainability strategy to their respective boards. Sustainability-related policies, including the Group Climate Change Policy available on the Company’s website are also reviewed by the SLC. All sustainability-related policies are periodically reviewed by executive management and updated as required.

The Group Sustainability team, led by the Group Head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, supports the Board, SLC and Climate Action Working Group in developing the overall sustainability strategy and related initiatives. A monthly meeting is held by the Group Sustainability team with the Executive Chairman, to report progress on our sustainability agenda. The Climate Action Working Group meets on a quarterly basis, and updates on its activities are provided to the SLC twice a year.

For more information on the roles and responsibilities of those involved in our sustainability governance framework, and management oversight of the sustainability agenda (including climate risks and opportunities) across the Group, please refer to the Sustainability Governance section.

Strategy

Our Group commitment to climate action is set out in the Group Climate Change Policy, published in June 2022. The policy outlines the principles that steer the Group and our portfolio companies to build resilience to climate change impacts and the transition to a low-carbon economy. To help drive the shift to more renewable sources of energy, Jardines has also published a clear commitment to Supporting a Just Energy Transition, affirming our goals of scaling up investments in renewable energy and adjacent innovations, diversifying into non-coal mineral mining and not investing in new coal mines or coal-fired power plants. As an Asian-based investment company, we want to be a key partner for the region in contributing to an orderly and equitable transition.

Over the past few years, we have been engaged in an ongoing exercise to identify and analyse material climate risks and opportunities across the Group. Climate scenarios are adopted, to evaluate the resilience of our portfolio companies to the impacts of climate change on our strategy and financial planning. At Jardines, we use three sets of time horizons to analyse climate-related risks and opportunities: short-term (within three years), medium-term (four to ten years) and long-term (beyond ten years).

In 2021, we completed a study of physical risks likely to have a material impact on the Group’s significant assets, assessing potential asset damage and business interruption. We analysed the exposure and impact of both acute¹ and chronic² hazards on more than 800 significant assets across our Group companies in 22 countries and regions. The study was conducted utilising three Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)³ developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

In 2022, the Group initiated an assessment of transition risks which might impact our portfolio companies, with the assistance of Group Sustainability and GARM. The exercise aimed to develop a consistent set of scenarios and assumptions for risk assessment, setting the foundation for a robust methodology which would result in comparable outcomes across the Group. Two consolidated scenarios were developed based on internationally recognised data sets⁴ with the following characteristics:

The scenarios will be periodically refreshed to align with climate science updates and significant changes in our operating environments, as a result of shifts in policy, regulations and other signals. We are currently reviewing the changes to policy and regulations, analysing the impact on our portfolio companies, and assessing the need of reassessment of climate scenarios.

The assessment produced distinct transition risk heat maps for the High-emissions and Low-emissions scenarios, identifying the critical impact of transition risk drivers across the diverse sectors of our portfolio companies in their most material geographic regions, based on revenue and/or strategic value. A number of sector-specific mitigation planning workshops have been conducted to equip the portfolio companies with the knowledge and resources for climate resilience.

A summary of the identified climate risks and opportunities, our mitigation/adaptation measures and potential financial impacts are included in the table below. Currently, we are not able to quantify the financial effects of the climate risks and opportunities because those effects are interconnected with those of the existing business risks and are not separately identifiable. The financial impact is also subject to a high level of estimation uncertainty as reliable data in the market is still lacking.

Our success as a business is based on our ability to identify emerging risks and opportunities and make the right capital investment decisions. The risk management process described in the Risk Management section of this Report enables the integration of these risks and opportunities, including climate-related ones, into our long-term strategy. This is the first step in putting climate risk on the agenda, including three to five year strategic and financial planning, investment and divestment decisions, managing supply chains, developing products and services, and daily operations across all portfolio companies.

With guidance from the Group Finance and Sustainability teams, each of our portfolio companies allots a budget to fund sustainability and climate action-related activities. The budgets are approved by the Chief Finance Officers of our portfolio companies and the Group Finance Director. In 2023, the Group developed a framework for a systematic incorporation of sustainability considerations, including climate risks, into capital allocation decisions. That work has continued in 2024, as the framework was rolled out for implementation, including targeted engagements and knowledge-sharing sessions for key people across the Group. We are progressively building on our learning every year to further enhance our methodology. We have been proactive in responding to climate risks and building climate resilience, but there is still much to learn and do.

To future proof our portfolio, we must be agile in managing and adapting to climate change. Increasingly, the economic success of businesses globally is tied to agility to change and long-term planning for sustainable development. The necessity of building climate resilience drives our spirit for innovation in building a future-fit portfolio. We are increasingly focused on ensuring that our investment opportunities align with our sustainability goals. We continue to support Asia’s shift to clean energy, including JC&C’s investment in REE which has an increasing renewable energy portfolio in Vietnam, Astra’s development of EV infrastructure in Indonesia, and our motor portfolio companies’ distribution of new energy vehicles in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia.

Risk management

We have incorporated the best practices of enterprise risk management into the process of climate risk identification, assessment and management. The sustainability teams in each of our portfolio companies are responsible for climate risk management and provide a business-specific climate risk perspective to their risk management team. The Group’s approach to overall risk management combines a bottom-up process with a top-down strategic view. As with other principal risks and uncertainties, material climate risks and mitigation measures are reported to GARM and consolidated into the Group risk register to formulate a risk heat map, which guides risk prioritisation. The risk heat map is reported to the Audit Committee twice a year.

Both physical and transition risk reports from the 2021 and 2022 climate risk assessments have been provided to the portfolio companies to explore the implications for and develop mitigation measures to minimise the impact including property damage and business interruption. Guidance and support on climate risk management and mitigation measures planning are provided by Group Sustainability and GARM, when needed. Climate risks have already been reported by some portfolio companies who are advanced in their sustainability journey and featured in the Group’s Principal Risks and Uncertainties.

Building on the Group-wide climate risk assessments carried out in 2021 and 2022, we have developed a Group approach to the integration of climate risk into the existing risk management process and business risk register, which aligns with best practices defined by WBCSD, COSO⁵, TCFD, and ISO 31000. We have taken a significant step forward by integrating both physical and transition climate risks into our business risk register. This underscores our dedication to embedding sustainability into the core of our risk management, ensuring a comprehensive approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating the impacts of climate-related risks on the Group.

The inclusion of physical climate risks in our business risk register allows us to systematically evaluate and manage the potential impacts of climate change-related events, such as extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and temperature fluctuations, on our assets and supply chain. By doing so, we can enhance our resilience and adaptive capacity ensuring business continuity in the face of climate challenges. Similarly, the integration of transition climate risks addresses the potential implications of a global shift towards a low-carbon economy. As stakeholder expectations on climate evolve, regulatory changes, market dynamics, technological advancements, and reputational impacts will continuously be considered. By proactively managing these risks, we aim to better position ourselves within the shifting market landscape, while also contributing to global sustainability efforts.

This integrated approach ensures that we remain agile and responsive to the interconnected challenges posed by climate change, fostering long-term value creation and sustainable growth.

Materialised climate-related risk events/drivers have been included in the business risk register for monitoring by the respective risk owners. As climate risks may materialise over a longer time horizon compared to typical enterprise risk management (ERM) horizons, a sub-register solely comprised of climate risks and opportunities has also been created. The climate risk sub-register formalises current efforts and monitoring currently carried out across our portfolio companies. It is a full list of climate risks and opportunities over the short, medium and long-term, which facilitates the discussion and knowledge transfer on climate matters between teams. Sustainability and risk management teams will monitor the risk signals (e.g. carbon price policies) and evaluate the impact of each climate risk under different climate scenarios. Once the risks materialise and are significant, they will be included in the existing business risk register to ensure the accountability of the risk owners. For example, supply chain disruption is an existing business risk managed by supply chain directors at each portfolio company, but climate risks could intensify the uncertainties of logistics. Mitigating the risk of supply chain disruptions, including the impact from climate risks, is the supply chain director’s responsibility, assisted by the sustainability and risk management teams.

The impact assessment for climate risks is currently based on external research and management judgements. Climate change modelling and more sophisticated financial impact assessments will be conducted, based on a common set of scenarios and assumptions, at a later stage when more data points are transparent and available in the market.

As part of our ongoing climate risk management process, one important objective has been the development of a culture of climate action across our portfolio companies. Climate risk is an issue which is now frequently included in internal risk management training and conferences. It is also included in risk newsletters published by GARM to raise the awareness of climate change and climate action across the Group, particularly targeting finance and risk management colleagues. Most of our portfolio companies are actively attuning their business capabilities to better evaluate and respond to climate risk. The Group will continue to guide the discussion, to further improve our portfolio companies’ approach to assessing the significance and impact of climate risks in relation to other risks in our risk registers.

Please refer to the Risk Management and Internal Control section of this Report for details of the Group’s ERM framework.

Metrics and targets

Building on the climate risk assessment work carried out in previous years, we are in the process of establishing appropriate metrics and indicators to help the Group manage relevant climate risks and opportunities. As we drive forward the climate action agenda, we will consider forward-looking metrics to help us build resilience to climate change. In 2021, we developed GHG emissions guidance aligned with the GHG Protocol for measuring scope 1 and 2 emissions. We aggregate data to provide the performance of our GHG emissions over the years, disclosed by portfolio company, in our annual Sustainability Report. At the time of publication of this Report, the Group’s 2024 performance is still undergoing external assurance, and further details will therefore be provided in the forthcoming Sustainability Report 2024. The Group’s 2023 performance is extracted in the table below:

^*Total scope 1 and market-based scope 2 (gross emissions excluding carbon credits) was subject to independent limited assurance by PricewaterhouseCoopers as part of our 2023 Sustainability Report which is available on our website.

2021 was the first year for which we collected GHG emissions data across the Group, starting with direct emissions (scope 1 and 2). The Group is aware of the importance of our indirect emissions (scope 3), and in 2024 we have taken steps to start the measurement. A few of our portfolio companies, such as Hongkong Land, DFI Retail and Gammon, have already publicly disclosed their scope 3 data.

Decarbonisation has been a key focus area of the Group’s sustainability strategy. In 2021, the Group developed a framework to guide and align decarbonisation efforts across the Group, in line with climate science. Due to the wide geographic spread of our investments, there is significant variation in the regulatory and policy environments affecting our portfolio companies, which have implications for the feasibility, cadence and pace of potential decarbonisation initiatives. To account for the size and complexity of Jardines’ portfolio, and after close consultation with internal stakeholders, we have segmented our portfolio companies into two pathways, namely Decarbonisation Pathway and Transition Pathway, with a view to achieving credible interim targets and ultimately net-zero by 2050, in line with climate science.

The first Decarbonisation Pathway expects portfolio companies to align their carbon reduction targets with credible, scientific approaches, including SBTi and sector-specific methodologies consistent with a 1.5°C trajectory. Hongkong Land was the first portfolio company to set a 1.5°C near-term target⁶ which was validated by SBTi in 2022. DFI Retail, Gammon and Hactl followed suit in 2023. In 2024, Jardine Engineering Corporation, Zung Fu and Jardine Restaurant Group, have also had their decarbonisation targets validated by SBTi; and PT Astra Graphia has committed to SBTi.

The second Transition Pathway expects the Group’s mining and energy portfolio, which has business continuity risk due to significant challenges and unclear decarbonisation pathways, to develop a transition plan to continue their business in a low-carbon economy.

The success of the Group in reducing carbon emissions is dependent on the decarbonisation progress by each portfolio company. Every company is responsible and held accountable for developing decarbonisation plans and delivering on the agreed targets. Each portfolio company develops a scope 1 and 2 decarbonisation roadmap, which includes the details and timeline of different decarbonisation levers to achieve GHG reduction targets. These roadmaps are reviewed every year to track decarbonisation progress and updated based on actual performance to determine upcoming actions and priorities.

The Group’s transition plans to achieve its ultimate ambition of net-zero by 2050, rely on the efforts and collaboration of our portfolio companies. In the short term, we focus on decarbonising our scope 1 and 2 emissions following the established roadmaps. Different initiatives such as energy efficiency measures and staff engagement to drive behavioural change are already in place. In the medium term, we will continue to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions primarily through renewable energy procurement and start to focus on decarbonising our scope 3 emissions through supplier engagement. In the long term, we will aim to leverage emerging technologies and innovations to address the remaining gaps.

Consistency with TCFD requirements

Our climate-related disclosures meet the reporting requirements for UK listed companies in the Transition Category, and are consistent with the TCFD recommendations on:

• governance – all recommended disclosures;
• strategy – disclosures (a) and (b);
• risk management – all recommended disclosures;
• metrics and targets – disclosure (b).

As we are still in the early stages of our TCFD journey, we acknowledge that we are not fully consistent with TCFD requirements, including the additional guidance for all sectors published in October 2021. As a highly diversified Group, it will take some time for us to fully consider and plan the actions necessary to achieve alignment. We will continue to move forward and improve our disclosure in the coming years. For strategy disclosure (c), we have analysed the climate scenarios to identify certain climate risks and opportunities, and provided the qualitative information of financial impact. We have also adjusted our financial planning accordingly. However, this is an ongoing process and we have not yet fully adjusted our business strategy for climate resilient development under the low emissions scenario. This is a continuous collaboration between Group Sustainability, Finance and Strategy teams in the short-medium term. For metrics and targets disclosures (a) and (c), assessing climate-related risks and opportunities is complex. We will continue exploring the metrics and targets which are applicable across different portfolio companies and industries in the short-medium term.

Responsible consumption

We seek to leverage the scale and reach of the Group in promoting resource efficiency and circular business. Our portfolio companies come together through our Responsible Consumption Working Group (RCWG), to collaborate and drive strategic alignment across our portfolio companies.

The RCWG continues to meet quarterly to progress work on the implementation of ongoing waste management initiatives and to establish a coordinated approach to further enhance circularity efforts across the Group. Through closer collaboration between our portfolio companies, we create more value as a Group by leveraging our synergies and cross-sectoral expertise. Our portfolio companies are actively sharing insights and exploring collaboration opportunities. We will continue to seek opportunities to leverage the diversity of industries across our portfolio companies, to promote circular resource loops across the Group.

Collaboration between portfolio companies to identify major waste streams and expand ongoing waste reduction initiatives remains a core objective of the RCWG. We also increased our efforts on raising awareness of nature impacts and on keeping our portfolio companies aligned on the latest expectations for addressing nature topics.

Group Sustainability keeps up-to-date on the latest market trends and engages with our portfolio companies to discuss specific issues that may have a significant impact, including legislation in key markets to support alignment with evolving requirements. Knowledge sharing has been a core function of the working groups. We continue to invite subject matter experts to share their insights on relevant topics, and portfolio companies to share their waste management experiences and learnings with each other. The RCWG will continue to actively seek waste reduction collaboration opportunities, and feasible actions identified for implementation.

In the coming year, we will coordinate with our portfolio companies in building a Group-wide approach to nature-related issues to strengthen alignment on core relevant issues pertaining to the Group. As part of these efforts, we strive to set out a roadmap to position our portfolio companies in becoming nature-positive, managing risks and enabling contributions to global biodiversity and climate ambitions.

Contributing to the protection of nature is a key element of our commitment to sustainability. Nature risks include loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems. At the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), governments established a series of goals and targets for 2030 and 2050 as part of a framework to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Jardines is closely monitoring global developments, including the regulatory requirements of the Task Force for Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD), and the increasing levels of interest in biodiversity conservation, as well as looking for future opportunities for the Group. In the coming year, we will continue to provide training and education on nature and biodiversity for our portfolio companies, predominately through the RCWG.

We remain closely engaged with our portfolio companies and relevant stakeholders to address specific biodiversity issues, including supporting the long-term preservation of the Tapanuli orangutan in the area around the Martabe mine in Indonesia. More up-to-date details can be found in the statement on the Martabe mine and Tapanuli orangutan in the Sustainability section of the Company’s website.

Social inclusion

Contributing to the sustainable growth of our cities and supporting the people in our communities has been a longstanding commitment at Jardines. Our community investment strategy focuses on positive contributions towards the issues of education, health – with a keen focus on mental health – and livelihoods.

For over 40 years, the Jardine Foundation, an educational trust, has been providing access to higher education and has awarded over 430 scholarships worth a total of US$45 million, at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, to help outstanding students from the Group’s Asian markets study at top universities. The Foundation supports access for students to leading universities in the UK and some of our key markets in Asia. We partner with eight colleges at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, as well as The University of Hong Kong and Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia.

Recognising the pressing need for increased access to quality mental health care and effective treatment options, Jardines established MINDSET, a registered charity, in Hong Kong in 2002 and expanded to Singapore in 2011. MINDSET’s vision is to create inclusive communities, where everyone is empowered to improve their mental health. Over the years, MINDSET has been working to raise awareness and acceptance of mental health issues within the community, and support reintegration opportunities for persons-in-recovery. These initiatives include the longstanding Health-in-Mind programme, the recent iACT® Wellbeing Practitioner Programme and Mindbrew initiatives in Hong Kong, as well as the MINDSET Learning Hub and DigitalMINDSET projects in Singapore. Signature fundraising events – Walk Up Jardine House in Hong Kong and MINDSET Challenge & Carnival in Singapore – are organised every year. Since the inception of MINDSET, over US$18 million was raised and committed to mental health programmes in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Taking a holistic approach to Social Inclusion, Jardines also aims to strengthen our communities by supporting livelihoods, providing the means for people to achieve financial stability and live their lives with dignity. Through our portfolio companies, we touch the lives of millions of people daily, providing places to live and work, and meeting the everyday needs of consumers. While we connect with our communities through our portfolio companies, we proactively reach out to less privileged individuals and other community groups, offering support to achieve self-sufficiency.

In addition to the community programmes, the Group-wide Colleague Volunteering Programme (CVP) was established in 2021 to augment community engagement and volunteering opportunities across the Group. Coming together with other portfolio companies, colleagues join hands in supporting underserved groups within our communities. In 2024, the Group-wide volunteering events were organised on a quarterly basis, focused on themes such as Climate, Circularity, Mental Health and STEM Education, all of which were aligned to the Group’ sustainability strategy. The organising companies leveraged their business expertise and resources for the events. For instance, Zung Fu and JEC hosted the STEM students, while DFI Retail provided their products as goodie bags.