Nature

Biodiversity and nature loss is among the top global risks. It is viewed as one of the fastest deteriorating risks over the next decade. Global wildlife populations are declining at pace, and without intervention, this is projected to continue.

To address the ongoing loss of terrestrial and marine biodiversity, 188 governments have agreed a new set of international goals for biodiversity. A key goal, ‘30 by 30’, aims to achieve the effective conservation and management of at least 30% of the world’s lands, inland waters, coastal areas, and oceans by 2030.

The ecosystem services that biodiversity provides, including crop pollination, water purification, carbon sequestration, and flood protection, are estimated to be worth up to USD140 trillion per year. Companies will be expected to monitor, assess, and disclose the impact on biodiversity of their operations, supply chains, and portfolios.

Nature and biodiversity are important considerations for the Group. Aspects of ecosystem protection are covered by our Group priorities – nature-based solutions to sequester carbon (see Climate), watershed protection and replenishment (see Water), sustainable procurement (see Supply Chain), and support for marine conservation (see Communities). Where nature and biodiversity are a material issue, our businesses have developed approaches relevant for what they do and where they are.

TNFD pillars		Related information
	Governance	Climate-related financial disclosures - Governance Nature - Our approach
	Strategy	Climate-related financial disclosures - Strategy Nature - Our approach
	Risk and impact management	ESG risk manangement Climate-related financial disclosures - Risk management Nature - Our actions
	Metrics and targets	Climate-related financial disclosures - Metrics and targets Nature - Our actions

In 2023, Swire Pacific used the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) to identify an initial 83 assets in high-priority water-withdrawal areas for site-level assessment. The findings from the initial biodiversity assessment revealed that up to 73% of sites require further assessment to confirm if they are conclusively located in close proximity to areas of critical biodiversity.

Further location-specific analysis was conducted in 2024, following TNFD’s recommended LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) approach, for Swire Coca-Cola and HAECO’s direct operations. With reference to the assets and activities identified through ENCORE and IBAT, we further enhanced our assessment using the WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter and international databases including RESOLVE, WRI Aqueduct, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, and the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). These were used to understand the nature interface for each of the sites. Through this process we pinpointed potential locations and activities pertinent to our nature risks and opportunities. Several of the activities identified are already covered under Water and Waste. Please see those sections for further details. These locations and activities will be verified via a materiality assessment to be undertaken by our operating companies.

In 2024, we also began assessing the implications of different nature scenarios. Our Sustainable Development Office and Group Risk Management are working together to assess the robustness of our nature strategy and the uncertainties associated with its execution. There are no internationally recognised scenarios yet for nature. Nonetheless, we have developed two distinct and plausible nature loss scenarios based on the latest science. These scenarios include a high nature loss scenario, equivalent to TNFD’s ‘#3: Sand in the Gears’, and a low nature loss scenario, equivalent to TNFD’s ‘#1: Ahead of the Game’, and incorporate Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets for 2030 and 2050. These scenarios analyse the effects of nature loss and degradation and policy development in our markets and for the industries where our companies operate, to stress test the resilience of our business and strategy to varying future operating environments. The scenarios are not intended to be predictions of the future; rather, they seek to stress-test our business against several plausible future states. The scenarios look at two time horizons, a short-medium term of 2030 and long-term of 2050.

Taikoo Square and Taikoo Garden feature more than 260 native and exotic species

Swire Properties is an Early Adopter of TNFD, and one of 40 TNFD Global Taskforce Members. The company is also involved in the initiative’s Infrastructure and Real Estate Working Group and the Supply Chain Working Group, helping to formulate the overall framework and contribute to collective nature-positive goals. As part of the Taskforce it was one of only three Hong Kong companies to pilot the TNFD beta framework and was featured as a WBCSD TNFD pilot use case, sharing its approach to driving positive impacts by incorporating nature-inclusive designs in its buildings.

Swire Properties has conducted a screening of its global portfolio using biodiversity indicators to define a priority list and nature profile, and explore its business impact and dependencies on nature. The priority sites identified were primarily located in the South China-Vietnam subtropical evergreen forests, Xi Yang freshwater ecoregion, and Southern China freshwater region. Additionally, a list of high-impact commodities, including cement, sand, timber, steel, livestock, and seafood, was compiled based on the Science Based Targets Network’s High Impact Commodities List and the UNEP-WCMC sectorial materiality tool.

In 2024, Swire Properties began piloting the LEAP approach at a new development in Xi’an, focusing on concrete and steel to understand their environmental interface. This study involved two key suppliers for concrete and one for steel, evaluating 31 raw material extraction and manufacturing sites. The assessment revealed that the value chain for these materials is concentrated in the Huang He Plain mixed forests, Central China Loess Plateau mixed forests, and the Lower Huanghe freshwater ecoregion. The analysis identified impacts and dependencies of the concrete and steel supply chains. The concrete supply chain relies on water provisioning and climate regulation, while the steel supply chain depends on water throughout the steelmaking process. Both supply chains were found to impact nature through changes in terrestrial ecosystems, water use, and emissions, including greenhouse gases and particulates, affecting air and water quality.

Swire Properties has guidelines to integrate biodiversity considerations into new developments and existing portfolios. These include examples and checklists that will help project teams and management offices with ways to enhance biodiversity in its properties and new projects. It enacted several transformational strategies to reach its 2030 SBTs, including adopting nature-based solutions that capture carbon emissions, benefit local communities and improve biodiversity. In support of this, an urban biodiversity study was carried out in partnership with a professor at the University of Hong Kong for its Taikoo Place redevelopment project.

Moving forward, findings will be integrated into future planning and operations across Swire Properties’ Hong Kong portfolio. They will also inform the uses of the Biodiversity Guidelines to define the importance of, and the company’s approach to, protecting biodiversity across its developments. Further, Swire Properties aims to engage with suppliers located near sensitive areas and enhance its procurement guidelines and supply chain ESG assessments. It plans to develop a Nature Transition Plan to establish a roadmap for its contributions to a nature-positive transition. 

Swire Coca-Cola collaborates with The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) on community and watershed protection projects to replenish water in the Chinese Mainland. TCCC has a target to replenish water of a volume equivalent to the volume of products it sells globally. All of Swire Coca-Cola’s bottling plants comply with local water quality regulations and meet the wastewater quality standards of TCCC and the World Health Organisation.

In 2022, Swire Pacific took ownership of a REDD+ project previously established by Swire Pacific Offshore. Further information is available in the Climate section.

Further information is available in the sustainability reports of our operating companies. Swire Properties has begun disclosing core TNFD metrics in their Sustainability Report 2024. Swire Coca-Cola reports metrics related to climate, water, and plastics use. Additionally, metrics on climate, water, and waste can be found in Performance data.