Sustainability Strategy and Goals

Our stakeholders play a vital role in helping us continually identify and inform ourselves about sustainability issues.

We engage them through our materiality assessment process to identify issues that are material and relevant to our business, helping us prioritise, focus and integrate these into our activities.

Business as Mutual

By aligning the efforts of multiple stakeholders, we are better prepared to identify and address contemporary challenges. We apply the Business as Mutual mindset when addressing local topics such as waste management to global challenges like climate change. This enables more informed decision making and strategic feedback to provide better solutions and greater ecosystem-wide shared value.

Sustainability Focus Areas

By setting long term targets and working on improvements and initiatives under each of our sustainability focus areas namely Environmental (E), Social (S), Governance (G), we strive to make positive impact on society and the environment.

Target Status Achieved On Track Lagging Behind Not Commenced

Climate Resilience and Decarbonisation Green Buildings Resource Management Stakeholder Engagement Innovation Accountability and Transparency

Environment

Climate Resilience and Decarbonisation

We recognise and support the global goal to limit temperature rise and to prepare our portfolio in the face of physical and transitional risks.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
25% reduction in carbon emissions intensity (Scope 1 & 2) across our portfolio by 2025/2026 (compared to 2018/2019 baseline)		Carbon intensity (Scope 1 & 2): 14.6% reduction compared to 2018/2019 re-baseline Received approval from SBTi for our near- and long-term emissions reduction targets in line with SBTi Net-Zero standard in September 2023 Expanded our EV charging points to 1,796, on track to reaching our target of 3,000 by end of 2024 6 assets utilising renewable energy
Net Zero carbon emissions (Scope 1 & 2) by 2035
Set Science-Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) approved net zero carbon emissions targets (Scope 1, 2 & 3) by 2024/2025
100% renewable energy adoption across our portfolio by 2035⁽¹⁾

Climate Resilience and Adaptation

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
Conduct climate risk assessments across our portfolio and develop corresponding climate resilience strategies		Conducted a deep dive into physical climate risks and financial impacts for high-income properties Updated flood/storm resilience plan for Hong Kong portfolio in response to flooding at Temple Mall Completed a climate risk assessment for our community mall development project in Hong Kong with adaptation measures incorporated into building design
Engage with investors and/or regional-level policymakers each year to communicate and/or review comprehensive climate resilience strategies

Notes:

⁽¹⁾To cover our electricity footprint via renewable energy on-site generation and off-site procurement, purchase of renewable energy certificates and direct investments in renewable energy.

Environment

Green Buildings

Owning and operating buildings is our business, and it is through continuous improvement of the sustainability performance of our buildings as well as our management processes that we can reduce our environmental footprint and create positive impact.

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
100% green building certification coverage across our portfolio by 2025/2026⁽²⁾		Reached 97.7% green building certification coverage, compared to 97.3% in 2022/2023 Maintained publicly available asset-level sustainability factsheets on our corporate website
Develop minimum sustainability performance standards for each property type and meet these standards by 2025/2026

Notes:

⁽²⁾Green building certification includes environmental, health and well-being related building certification schemes. Portfolio includes retail, office and logistics assets, but excludes retail <40,000 sq ft by IFA and car park properties. Newly acquired/developed assets without green building certification to be excluded from calculation for up to 24 months.

Environment

Resource Management

We are committed to support a sustainable planet by improving resource management in our buildings and operations which consume natural resources.

Energy Efficiency

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
5% and 30% reduction in electricity intensity across our portfolio by 2025/2026 and 2035 respectively (compared to 2018/2019 baseline)		1.3% reduction in electricity intensity compared to 2018/2019 re-baseline

Waste Management

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
>50% general waste recovered/recycled by 2035⁽³⁾		21.8% general waste recovered/recycled, compared to 15.5% in 2022/2023 2,675 tonnes of organic waste recovered 50 properties in Hong Kong providing organic waste diversion services, compared to 36 in 2022/2023
Zero organic waste to landfill: 100% of fresh market and retail properties in Hong Kong⁽⁴⁾ to provide organic waste diversion service by 2026/2027
Zero single-use plastics generated by Link by 2025/2026

Water Management

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
Reduce general water use intensity (per sq m) by 10% by 2035 (compared to 2018/2019 baseline)⁽⁵⁾		0.6% increase in general water use intensity compared to baseline

Biodiversity

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
100% of new developments and redevelopments to conduct biodiversity assessments		Biodiversity risk assessment for community mall development project in Hong Kong completed. Native species being incorporated into landscape design 71.4% of our horticulture investment sum was used for planting native flora
Maintain >70% of our horticulture investment sum in planting native flora

Notes:

⁽³⁾General waste includes organic, inorganic and recyclable waste (including any tenant waste) handled by Link at properties where Link has operational control. Excludes construction waste and hazardous waste.

⁽⁴⁾Excludes properties <50,000 sq ft by IFA.

⁽⁵⁾Including water for cleansing, flushing, potable uses, irrigation and other minor uses but excluding cooling tower water.

Social

Stakeholder Engagement

Understanding the needs and expectations of our stakeholders and engaging with them on our sustainability journey is key to maximising value creation.

Talent Management

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
Build a diverse workforce that represents the communities we operate in (considering skill-set, industry expertise and experience, background, ethnicity, age and gender)		Initiated a culture review to articulate the alignment of Linkers’ day-to-day work with corporate strategic objectives 16% employees were promoted and took on expanded roles Introduced flexible work arrangements with remote working days and variable work hours Reported on our regrettable turnover for the Group: 14.2% Conducted employee survey with 95% response rate and score of 3.8 out of 5 Achieve average of 23.9 hours of training per staff
Ensure and maintain equal opportunities for career advancement
Pursue zero fatalities, zero staff injury incidents and zero prosecutions related to OHS Regulations across all of Link’s daily operations
Conduct employee survey at minimum every 2 years, targeting 85% or greater response rate and engagement score of 3.5 or greater
Maintain >16 hours of training per year for all staff

Tenant Engagement

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
50% green lease adoption in Hong Kong and Mainland China by 2026/2027		Achieved 42% green lease adoption in Hong Kong and Mainland China portfolio Hosted 3 tea gatherings to raise tenant awareness on single-use plastic tableware ban and facilitated supplier discounts to accelerate tenant transition

Supply Chain

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
100% implementation of Supplier Code of Conduct and Procurement Policy		Completed environmental and social review of 89 top suppliers – no major violations found
Environmental and social compliance review of top suppliers in each business unit annually

Community

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
Maintain >80 customer satisfaction score		Completed Mystery Shopper Assessment with 88.0 out of 100 customer satisfaction score Local employment initiative on hold due to low unemployment rate in Hong Kong Link Together Initiatives committed HK$18M over the year supporting nine community projects and 220 students under Link University Scholarship
>10% housekeeping and security staff hired locally from underprivileged groups by 2026/2027 in Hong Kong
Contribute an amount of up to 0.25% of net property income to charity and community engagement
Engage cross-sector stakeholders each year

Social

Innovation

We support innovation inside and outside of our business operations by being continually open-minded to new ways of doing business.

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
Investigate and invest in new technologies, materials, processes and business models each year		Invested in artificial intelligence and data analytics to improve energy efficiency and to drive business insights Collaborated with waste sector NGOs MilMill and Greeners Alliance to expand recycling services Collaborated with Urban Land Institute on Placemaking project, engaging local residents, artists and community groups
Collaborate with NGOs and startups each year to achieve sustainability targets

Governance

Accountability and Transparency

We are committed to adhering to industry corporate and sustainability governance standards and best practices and to ensure open and objective reporting across all our practices.

Corporate and Sustainability Governance

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
Maintain an independent and diverse Board (considering skill-set, industry expertise and experience, background, ethnicity, age and gender) and target minimum 20% of either gender on the Board		Maintained a diverse Board with 27% female directors

Sustainable Finance and Responsible Investment

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
100% sustainability-linked finance transactions to include E, S, G KPIs		100% sustainability-linked loans with E, S, G KPIs Updated Responsible Investment Policy to define transition period for sustainability matters in the case of change in equity stake or other investment arrangements
Be an advocate of sustainable finance, striving to grow sustainable finance by contributing to industrial forums/events each year and to publish a green bond report annually for outstanding transaction
Maintain 100% implementation of Responsible Investment Policy

Reporting

Key Sustainability Target	Status	2023/2024 Progress
Strengthen climate disclosures by aligning to TCFD recommendations		Climate disclosures in full compliance with TCFD recommendations and with mapping to ISSB IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures