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6 ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE REPORT 2020 MANAGING DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE 7

While embracing the new normal, we will continue partnership agreement with Shanghai Gas Company Building a Workforce for the Future The Year Ahead
to maintain our commitment to environmental, social Limited in October 2020. This collaboration will enable
and governance (ESG) development in terms of the us to capture more opportunities and promote the long- As our workforce ages and our older workers near After the trials of the year just passed, we can
safety of our operations, environmental performance, term growth of the natural gas industry. retirement, we have had to ensure their experience reasonably expect a better year in 2021.
social good, corporate governance and diversity under and skills are effectively passed on by developing our
our ESG Framework, with a focus on innovation. We Also underway were various waste-to-energy projects, employees and attracting young people to our industry. As the pandemic dies down, the economy in mainland
believe this will drive not only our ESG performance but such as utilising bio-grease and agricultural waste to China is expected to recover, and Hong Kong will
also our business development. produce advanced biofuels and converting food waste In 2020, we continued to organise talent development return, albeit slowly, to GDP growth. At Towngas, we
into natural gas. These and other related projects programmes for different levels of employees, will continue to evaluate ways of improving both our
Preparing for a Climate Resilient are contributing towards the transition to a circular from apprentice schemes for entry level positions business and ESG performance over the year ahead in
Future economy. to our Young Towngas Leadership Competencies our journey towards a more sustainable world.

Acceleration (YTLC+) Programme for staff with
Resilience was critical not only in our response to Accelerating Innovation and Digital less than 10 years of work experience who show I would like to thank our hard-working staff who
COVID-19 but also to climate change – another Transformation leadership potential. New programmes were also remained dedicated to providing our customers
impending crisis of great importance. launched during the year for graduate trainees and with outstanding service during a difficult year, as
One of the reasons we are considered a leader in ESG staff with management potential to gain experience in well as our business partners and stakeholders in
During the year, we continued to strengthen our is our culture of innovation. It has played a key role in our mainland China businesses. These programmes the community for their faith in us. I look forward to
emergency preparedness plans and modify our our success and will continue to be a main driver in the are intended to build a succession pipeline for our continuing our collaboration with stakeholders to create
facilities so that they are capable of withstanding growth of our businesses. expanding business in mainland China. a better, greener future.
extreme weather conditions. As we understand that
we must be prepared for different climate scenarios, In recent years, we have been using digital technology Through other programmes such as Career in a
we conducted a study on how transition risks could to underpin innovation. One example is our smart Nutshell, as well as our collaborations with leading Alfred Chan Wing-kin
impact our energy-related business, both positively energy business which, in combination with big data, corporations and tertiary educational institutes, we Managing Director
and negatively. This was in accordance with the artificial intelligence and the Internet, can improve are not only creating a sustainable supply of talent
recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s energy efficiency and reduce emissions for our for Towngas, but also for the overall development of
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. customers in mainland China. Hong Kong.
What we have learned from our study of transition risks
and opportunities across our portfolio is helping us to Another example is our cooking appliance with anti-
develop plans to mitigate these climate-related risks scorch function, which is equipped with an intelligent
and build resilience strategies. temperature sensor. We have also developed our own
digital technologies that improve our service efficiency
As we head towards a low-carbon economy, we have and quality, such as our Riser Health Analytics System,
been expanding our city-gas business, since natural which automatically analyses inspection videos and
gas is the cleanest fossil fuel and will likely continue to identifies corrosion on gas service pipes. In addition
be a mainstream fuel source in the short-to-medium to these innovations, we added new enhancements
term in mainland China. In one of the most exciting to our online virtual assistant, Tinny, so that it is better
developments of the year, we signed a strategic able to handle customer enquiries.