Rising frequency and severity of extreme weather events pose material risks to real estate. Strengthening resilience is essential to protect asset value, maintain insurability and manage future valuation impacts in a changing climate.
We have established a strategic climate resilience framework focused on:
To enable transparent, consistent, comparable, and verifiable climate-related information, the following disclosures align with the latest version of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and have taken reference to the IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures released by the ISSB in June 2023.
Conduct climate risk assessments across our portfolio and develop corresponding climate resilience strategies
Engage with investors and regional-level policymakers to develop comprehensive climate resilience strategies
The Quayside
Anticipating physical risk is essential to protecting value. This work gives us a more granular understanding of our exposures and helps the Board evaluate how capital, insurance and resilience strategies are evolving across the portfolio.
In 2023, we undertook a comprehensive review of physical climate risks across our Hong Kong portfolio. Using a combination of asset-level data, flood mapping, drainage assessments and past event analysis, we identified flooding as one of the most material and immediate threats to asset resilience.
Rather than rely on standard industry responses such as insurance claims and reactive repairs, we chose a proactive path. For one of our highest-exposure properties, we made a targeted HK$5 million investment in flood resilience upgrades. These included structural reinforcements, realtime water detection sensors, drainage enhancement and emergency power supply systems. A summary of measures across sites is shown in the accompanying chart.
For detailed results from our previous climate risk assessments, please refer to the Properties section of our past Sustainability Compendiums.
Chai Wan Car Service Centre
Temple Mall
In September 2023, Hong Kong suffered one of the most extreme rainfall events in over 140 years. Due to the heavy rain and the failure of Wong Tai Sin’s drainage system after Typhoon Saola, the basement level of Temple Mall North was flooded, affecting 8 tenants.
Link engaged 40 cleaners to help with overnight clearing of the water, assisted by 6 pump trucks and 15 sump pumps. Within 24 hours, all floodwater was cleared while another 24 hours was needed to clear the remaining mud and debris. In the end, the lower ground floor was reopened in just 54 days.