Climate Resilience

Green Industrial Park — Foshan Production Centre

The Foshan Production Centre not only endeavours to create a comfortable working environment for employees, but also attaches great importance to energy conservation and carbon reduction during design and construction phases.

Our factory buildings are south-facing so as to ensure appropriate level of sunshine penetration for a warm winter and cool summer. A huge green open space is located at the centre of our factory buildings for employees to enjoy. The exterior of the building is made of heat-insulating bricks and environmentally friendly terracotta panels. We also built a green roof to reduce the demand for air-conditioning in summertime.

The irregular shape of the factory buildings is purposefully designed to enhance light penetration. Roof windows are installed to bring in natural light, so the need for indoor light source could be reduced while maintaining a high level of security. The roof windows of the workshops are equipped with shading panels so employees can maintain an adequately illuminated work environment by adjusting the incoming light intensity. To further reduce air-conditioning needs, our offices are designed with floor-to-ceiling glass to make good use of natural light.

The key raw material of the terracotta panel curtain wall is natural clay, and is composed of 3 sets of natural heat insulation layers of terracotta panels, hollow bricks and other insulation materials. Not only does the curtain wall reduces air-conditioning needs, these properties also allow minimal water consumption for maintaining the cleanliness of the façade, which normal rainfall is sufficient instead of drawing massive fresh water. The green roof on our factory buildings also serves as an efficient heat insulation material that can effectively reduce the amount of air conditioning in the building and achieve energy saving.

Sustainable Building — Xian Glorious Plaza Flagship Store

The Xian Glorious Plaza Flagship Store perfectly integrates green concepts into modern building design, showing the harmonious coexistence of people and buildings.

The building has reused nearly half of the existing façade panels and rearranged the old façade from horizontal to vertical, which can be opened at different angles, allowing more natural lighting. The design not only presents a highly modern appearance, but also saves construction costs. It also significantly reduces initial embodied energy consumption and waste disposal, which aligns with the green concepts.

In addition, vertical green walls are installed at the junction of the facades of the building. Local non-invasive species that can absorb volatile organic compounds are selected to improve the ambient air quality and reduce carbon emissions incurred from transportation. By reconnecting with the nature, the green wall not only offers aesthetic pleasure, but also helps bring environmental efficiency by reducing summer heat gain.

The integration of the modern design and green concepts enable the Xian Glorious Plaza Flagship Store to win the “Asia Pacific Property Awards 2020-2021 Best Retail Architecture China 5-Star Winner” in the International Property Awards and be successfully shortlisted as the “2024 Green Sustainable ESG Case TOP 100” in the first Green Sustainable ESG Case.

Optimise Daily Operations and Production Process

To enhance the energy efficiency of daily operations, we optimise various management and production processes from procurement, production, logistics to sales to drive low-carbon operations, creating values for sustainable development.

Procurement
We actively increase the proportion of recycled gold as raw materials for jewellery making to reduce the energy used for mining, showing our respect and cherishment for the environment. By re-purchasing gold from customers and collecting gold scraps from our factories, the ratio of recycled gold was close to 40% in 2023, successfully reducing our Scope 3 GHG emissions by more than 20% compared to 2021.

Production
We work on many aspects of the production processes to alleviate the burden on the environment.

Energy management	The Foshan Production Centre has adopted central smart group-controlling air-conditioning systems to effectively control the terminal temperature and chilled water temperature, reducing the energy consumption of the chillers. The Foshan Production Centre makes use of workshop planning and layout to separate the furnace and other heat sources and exhaust equipment to reduce the need for cooling. Each factory adopts control measures such as adjusting circuit switches and setting equipment operating loads to effectively control and optimise the energy demand of existing equipment and reduce unnecessary energy use.
Water management	The factories in Foshan and Hong Kong are equipped with wastewater treatment systems to treat domestic sewage and production rinsing water through processes such as degradation, sedimentation, filtration, and neutralisation, ensuring that the wastewater discharged meets legal requirement and relieve the burden on the environment. The Foshan Production Centre completed the upgrade project of water pipes diversion and design optimisation in 2016, greatly reducing water consumption per piece of product manufactured. We replace deionised water with tap water in part of rinsing processes for gold electroforming and its acidic cleaning to reduce the regeneration frequency of deionised water system.
Hazardous waste	Our factories are equipped with exhaust gas treatment systems which meet local environmental standards to treat the exhaust gas via neutralisation and purification, which ensure that the treated gas discharged into the atmosphere complies with the regulations of local regulatory authorities. Our factories use non-cyanide chemicals for the hard gold electroforming process. Despite the cost of the project, it effectively reduced the impact of toxic waste on the environment.

Logistics

Intelligent and automated distribution systems	The Intelligent Fulfilment Centre (IFC) in the Foshan Production Centre has introduced intelligent and automated systems and equipment to improve operational efficiency and reduce energy consumption.
Electronic customs	Regarding overseas orders, we have submitted electronic customs declaration forms through the online platforms of the third-party logistics companies, introduced thinner paper for delivery orders, and replaced sales orders and insurance policies with QR codes to reduce paper consumption since June 2022.
Green express packaging	To alleviate the impacts of express packaging on the environment, we use express boxes made of FSC-certified paper since 2022.

Sales
Our stores have gradually adopted LED lighting systems and shortened the operating time of the outdoor signboards. We have also joined in the “Charter on External Lighting” organised by the Hong Kong Environment and Ecology. Some stores in Hong Kong have installed timers to reduce power consumption and impacts on nearby residents during non-business hours.

Support Renewable Energy

We actively explore carbon reduction opportunities, strive to reduce emissions from the source, and promote renewable energy.

We have installed solar panels in the Foshan Production Centre to supply the staff dormitories and canteens with clean energy. In 2024, we installed more solar panels, covering a total of around 2,000 square meters of the 2nd phase building roof, reducing carbon emissions directly. In addition, solar panels have been installed in self-owned properties to provide daily electricity for our stores.

We pay great attention to the use of renewable energy in shopping malls and take this into consideration when selecting store locations.

Environment-themed Stores to create a Green Shopping Environment

Chow Sang Sang develops a variety of creative green-themed stores, which not only shows the aesthetics of jewellery, but also creates a diversified experience for customers.

The Group opened the first marine-themed jewellery concept store in Harbour City Hong Kong, inviting the public to join in caring for the marine ecosystem and enabling nature to develop sustainably and perpetually. To advocate this, Chow Sang Sang became the first retail brand in Hong Kong to collaborate with local start-up company archiREEF and carry out the “Harbour of Love” coral restoration project. Utilising patented technology, we carry out a “Coral Restoration Program” using artificial coral reefs. We also invite customers to adopt corals for free, taking action to support the care of marine ecology.

Customers can book online to visit the store and experience the special marine-themed design. Our staff have been trained as “Coral Conservation Ambassadors” to share with customers the importance of coral conservation for the natural ecosystem and provide environmental protection insights. We also regularly update customers on the condition of the corals over the next three years, strengthening customer engagement.

In our preparations for new store openings, we also actively integrate environmental protection concepts into the design. Many of our stores in mainland China and Hong Kong have adopted “Green vitality” as our design concept, using green elements and the “Tree of Life” concept to create a comfortable shopping environment infused with natural vibe, while promoting sustainable consumption to more customers.

Promote our Sustainability Vision to Customers

Organising Environment-themed Workshops
We organised a series of eco-themed workshops, such as coffee grounds ornament planting workshop, pyrography eco-friendly bags DIY, environmental-friendly twisted flowers, etc., to engage more customers and stimulate their interests in environmental protection. The “Coffee Grounds Recycling Plan” event held by Guangzhou (Guangzhou Merchandise) Branch was selected as one of the funded programs under the “Funding Scheme for Climate Actions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” supported by the Guangzhou Carbon Emission Exchange. This reflects that the customer-oriented environmental activities organised by the Group have been recognised by the public.

Advocating for Minimal Packaging and Digital Receipts
In addition to activities, we also actively encourage and assist customers to reduce carbon emissions caused by purchasing jewellery. We promote simple packaging and encourage customers to reduce and recycle packaging materials. Since 2018, we have started to implement an e-receipts system, encouraging customers to use electronic receipts and warranty cards instead of paper copies. E-receipts not only facilitate customers to check their transaction records, but also reduce the need for printing.

Cooperate with Non-Profit Organisations and Actively Participate in Environmental Volunteer Activities

The Group actively explores opportunities to cooperate with Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) to jointly carry out various environmental programs, and encourages employees to participate in environmental volunteer activities.

“Chow Sang Sang Charity Forest”, build a green future together
We launched the “Chow Sang Sang Charity Forest” campaign via the Ant Forest online platform where we encouraged our staff to perform low-carbon activities. These activities would then be converted into green energy for watering “virtual tree” online. Once the “virtual tree” has fully grown, Ant Forest would plant a real tree in desertified areas in Mainland China. The cumulative irrigation amount can plant more than 150 Mongolian Scots pines since the event was launched.

Employee volunteer months with the theme of “Go green, keep going (綠色同行，步履不停) ” have been held for many years, and tree planting activities are strongly promoted in mainland China. The Southern China region, with the theme of “Plant a tree, reduce carbon emissions in thousands of places (植下一棵樹 減碳千百處) ”, broke through three historical records: the largest area covered, the most people participated, and the most saplings planted. During the Group’s 90th anniversary this year, about 450 employees participated in the “生生不息九秩林” tree planting public welfare activity, and planted 90 trees at the Wuhan Forest Farm, recognised by the Wuhan Municipal Jiangxia District Forestry Bureau.

“減碳減塑 你消費我捐款” coastal cleanup campaign
Taiwan 點睛品 collaborated with the “RE-THINK Environmental Education Association” to launch the “減碳減塑 你消費我捐款” campaign. 點睛品 donated NT$50 from each transaction of our customers to support the coastal cleanup of the NGO, making Taiwan a clean and vibrant island.

Actively participate in the circular material matching program
Our Taiwan branch collects paper bags and excessive packaging materials, and matches environmentally friendly merchants with shared philosophy on the “Ubag二手袋循環計劃資訊平台”. Then our staff will distribute them in person to reduce wasting resources.