Helping sustainability shine at Chow Tai Fook

Chow Tai Fook sought to streamline their reporting process, enhance sustainability communications and pursue sustainability that guides into business approaches

Challenge

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group (“Chow Tai Fook”) is one of the world’s leading jewellery groups and is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. The Group’s commitment to sustainable growth is anchored in its core values of “Sincerity • Eternity” with the “Smart+ 2020” strategic framework in place to promote long-term innovation in the business, in people and in culture. Its retail network covers Greater China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and the United States. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group has been investing considerable efforts to look into the long-term sustainability of its operations. When reviewing their sustainability journey, the Group realised that there were opportunities to further drive sustainability efforts – beyond reporting and community philanthropic contributions to a more holistic sustainability strategy. The company sought to streamline reporting process, enhance sustainability communications within various departments and business units and pursue sustainability that guides into business approaches.

Solution

To mark its 90th Anniversary, the Group envisioned driving sustainability with a long term strategy, which includes a set of goals to be achieved by its centennial year, and engaged TPB and Fuji Xerox to bring it to fruition. TPB conducted an internal online survey, interviewed internal and external stakeholders, and benchmarked international and local industry peers, while Fuji Xerox provided a data solution service, iESG, to strengthen data governance and key performance management.  A series of stakeholder engagement exercises deepened our analysis on material topics and informed a materiality assessment, which eventually formed the base of Chow Tai Fook’s sustainability strategy. The project team further shaped the sustainability strategy with reference to the vision, mission and core values of Chow Tai Fook and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

To help Chow Tai Fook facilitate the resources needed to achieve the goals, four priority areas were identified: 1) responsible sourcing; 2) craftsmanship, innovation and technology; 3) resource efficiency and carbon reduction and 4) people focused. Insights from the stakeholder engagement, materiality assessment and data performance were also included in Chow Tai Fook’s 2019 Sustainability Report, meeting the standards of the HKEx ESG Guide.

Impact

“Our Centennial Commitment”, which is the sustainability strategy provides a base for Chow Tai Fook’s 10-year journey and sets the way forward to embrace the economic, environmental and social pillars of sustainable development in pursuit of its core values – “Sincerity • Eternity”. Sustainability Champions, who are internal experts from the four priority areas appointed by their Sustainability Committee to translate the strategy into action plans. Using iESG, the Champions visualised data trends and analysis to help them make informed decisions and understand progress on targets. The TPB and Fuji Xerox project team worked collaboratively and purposefully to help Chow Tai Fook bring life the ambitions of the four priority areas.