Investor Relations

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Report


At Metro, we believe in caring for our workers, giving back to the community, and also being environmentally and socially responsible.

For the past year, we focused our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts in three key areas, mainly, engaging the elderly, support for education, as well as sustainability.

ENGAGING THE ELDERLY – CARING FOR THE GOLDEN GENERATION

Silver Bow Campaign, In Conjunction With The Lions Befrienders Service Association (Singapore)

In order to raise public awareness of the issue of social isolation among seniors, Metro teamed up with Lions Befrienders, a voluntary welfare organisation, to provide support for senior citizens and enrich their lives.

Alongside the official launch of Metro Christmas Magic event on 9 November 2016, Metro and Lion Befrienders jointly launched a ‘silver bow campaign’. This campaign, held from 9 November to 25 December 2016, was specially planned to raise awareness of elderly isolation, and also to inspire the community to show their support for the elderly. Having people take the step to wear the silver bow is significant because it acknowledges the uniqueness and individuality of every senior and advocates the community to take the lead, socialise and build rapport with them. At this campaign, Metro set a Singapore record of having the most number of people, a total of 227, who wore the silver bow, within two hours.

During the period, shoppers who made a minimum donation of $30 received a silver bow charm or brooch, and for a $40 donation, they received a set of silver bow cufflinks, all available exclusively at all Metro stores. A total count of 1,348 pledge cards were collected, with hashtag posts of 24, making a total of 1,372.

EQUIPPING THE NEXT GENERATION THROUGH EDUCATION

Shanghai Children’s Fund

Wanting youths to have the opportunity to participate in day care classes during the summer holidays, Metro supported the Shanghai Children’s Fund with donations of over RMB 1 million, and to-date has provided students the opportunity to participate in day care classes during the summer holidays.

At this summer camp, the youths had opportunities to participate in activities and programmes which impart important values and life skills.

To support this initiative and also allow it to be more accessible to more youths, a new round of donations amounting to a total of RMB 1 million has been earmarked for the period from 2016 to 2018.

Metro Scholarship

Metro believes that education is the key to a better future for all. In this regard, Metro contributes generously to students of the Xuhui district in Shanghai, through the Metro Scholarship. Initiated by the late Mr Jopie Ong (former Group Managing Director of Metro), the Metro scholarship donates RMB 100,000 each year to the scholarship programme.

Having started in 2005, this scholarship has since provided over 1,000 primary and secondary school students with the means to achieve their education aspirations.

Shanghai Xuhui District Education Development Fund

Having experienced and competent teaching professionals is important to cultivating youths and making a difference in their learning journey.

Metro recognises this and donated over RMB 450,000 in the last three years to the Shanghai Xuhui District Educational Development Fund, which continues to develop quality curriculum and reward outstanding teachers in the district. Going forward, Metro will renew its commitment to donate RMB 150,000 annually for the next three years, ending 2019.

Feng Yang Shanghai Metro Hope School

Over the years, our team from Shanghai Metro also made frequent visits to the Feng Yang Shanghai Metro Hope School to offer help and care for the students. In late 2016, volunteers from Metro visited the school to donate sports items, teaching equipment, and awarded scholarships to students with financial needs.

SUSTAINABILITY

In 2017, efforts to conserve the environment was a key part of our sustainability agenda.

Shanghai Energy-Saving And Environmental Protection

As part of our continued efforts to reduce energy consumption, Metro City in Shanghai has replaced its lights along the escalators with Light-Emitting Diodes (“LED”) tubes as the ordinary incandescent lamps that were used previously were high in energy-consumption and easily damaged.

To better protect the environment, the company also plans to spend RMB 300,000 to upgrade Metro City’s garbage disposal facilities and its auto-compression package equipment, to reduce pollution and the impact on the environment.

In 2017, for Metro Tower and Metro City, Metro also plans to replace its road lamps, wall lamps and lawn lights with LED tubes. After these replacements, there will be a 78% saving in electricity usage, equivalent to 4.51 tons of coal per year.

FULLY COMMITTED TO OUR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Cognisant of our role as a socially responsible business with diverse stakeholders across the world, Metro is committed to supporting the community and conserving the environment. The Group strives to leave a sustainable and positive long-term impact for the betterment of society to pave the way for a better world that future generations can benefit from.