Charting a Path for ambitious Sustainable Growth: SML Group’s Commitment to Innovation, Sustainability, and Community
The global retail industry employs over 150 million people and contributes approximately 9% of global GDP. However, data shows that the retail supply chain currently contributes 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). This staggering figure emphasizes the importance of retailers incorporating sustainable initiatives into their operations. For years, SML Group has worked to address these issues across our solutions, manufacturing processes, and wider supply chain.
Today we have published our 2022 Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Report, outlining our sustainability goals and highlighting significant environmental and social impact milestones. In a transformative year, has achieved remarkable milestones in innovation, sustainability, and community support. Through our ongoing commitment to digital identification, efforts to overcome sustainability challenges, and dedication to employee engagement and community development, we have laid a solid foundation for a brighter future.
The achievement of our 2022 Sustainability Goals is one of the most significant announcements within the report. Notably, despite a surge in overall production of our products, we were able to significantly reduce our carbon footprint. We have reduced our GHG emissions by 35%, whilst also achieving and maintaining 99% compliance in the procurement of chemicals that adhere to our environmental and social values. Furthermore, our use of FSC™ certified paper has increased by 149%.
SML has made considerable efforts to reduce its environmental impact, recycling 90.1% of our waste and demonstrating our commitment to promoting environmentally friendly practices throughout our operations. We prioritize workplace safety and ethical trading, with a total incident rate of only 0.44% in 2022, demonstrating our commitment to the safety and well-being of our employees. These milestones, combined with our extensive efforts to advance our ESG agenda, represent a significant stride toward sustainable business growth.
In our report, we have unveiled a set of ambitious 2030 Sustainability Goals, in keeping with the company’s long-term commitment. These goals have been carefully crafted in accordance with SML’s strategies to ensure they cover a wide range of areas where we can make a significant difference in addressing sustainability issues and driving progress. In order to outperform year-over-year progress, our sustainability strategy is closely aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These goals will serve as guiding principles for our team as we work to create effective solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable world.
In addition to our achievements and long-term sustainability objectives, the report details SML’s progress on other environmental and corporate programs, such as our innovative solutions to enable circular economies around the globe, community and employee-focused campaigns, and our climate initiative – Operation Green. The report also includes a brief overview of our commitment to business integrity, highlighting SML’s vision that ethical business culture is the cornerstone of a thriving and sustainable company.
Looking back at the transformative year, Ignatius K.C. Lau, CEO of SML Group, said, “The past year has been a true testament to our resilience and commitment to sustainability. Its integration into our business practices has been essential for driving our momentum and success, enabling us to pursue greater heights and create shared value for all our stakeholders, while leaving a lasting positive legacy for generations to come. I am immensely grateful to our employees, customers, and partners for their contributions to SML’s vision, and I am looking forward to working together on the sustainability journey ahead.”
