Taking ESG reporting to the next level at ESR

Propelled by increasingly stringent reporting requirements for Hong Kong listed companies as well as growing stakeholder interest in enhanced disclosure on ESG topics, ESR sought to streamline its reporting processes and strengthen corporate messaging on sustainability.

Challenge

ESR is the largest Asia-Pacific focused logistics real estate platform by gross floor area. The company develops and manages a network of best-in-class logistics facilities across China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and India.

For the past few years, ESR has expanded into new markets through various acquisitions and investments. More recently in 2019, ESR completed an IPO on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEx). Sustainability is a key element of ESR’s value proposition for investors, clients and other business partners. 

Propelled by increasingly stringent reporting requirements for Hong Kong listed companies as well as growing stakeholder interest in enhanced disclosure on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) topics, the company sought to streamline its reporting processes and strengthen corporate messaging on sustainability.

Solution

ESR engaged The Purpose Business with the task of creating a strong and consistent narrative for the group’s first ESG report. We interviewed ESR team members representing all major markets and business functions in order to collect, organise and consolidate information on sustainability initiatives.

Working closely with key stakeholders across the group, we developed data collection templates and helped to analyse and review key performance data for publication.

Impact

The final report published as part of ESR’s Annual Report for 2019 in Q1 2020 complies with the HKEx ESG Guide and makes reference to relevant Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting guidelines. It clearly and concisely communicates the company’s sustainability strategy in order to provide relevant and useful information for internal and external stakeholders.

To read the report, please visit https://www.esr.com/en/esg_report.php .