RAISING THE BAR FOR SUSTAINABILITY FOR HONG KONG F&B
Henderson Land Group, one of the city’s leading property developers
Henderson Land Group is wholeheartedly embracing sustainability. Recognising that food production is one of the largest sources of carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, the Group is actively engaging with its F&B tenants to reduce their carbon footprint. They invited Food Made Good HK to conduct sustainability audits for 13 of them, ranging from Michelin-star restaurants to quick service outlets and cocktail bars, forming part of a bespoke ‘Landlord-Tenant Engagement Programme’ which benchmarks their environmental, societal, and sourcing performance. Through this initiative, Henderson Land is encouraging its tenants to align with some of the same sustainability standards as the overall group.
HENDERSON LANDLORD-TENANT ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMME
The Programme is an extension of Henderson Land’s Value for People commitment to be a caring employer that looks after people and develops their potential through training. The sustainability audit for the 13 tenants identified key strengths and weaknesses as well as areas for improvement.
One of Henderson’s tenants is Treehouse, an award-winning restaurant that has pioneered eco-conscious eating and offers a wide selection of healthy local food, on its predominantly plant-based menu. Aside from ethical sourcing, Treehouse advocates sustainable waste management and encourages customers to return any packaging – which they then recycle into compost for local Hong Kong farmers and growers.
Award-winning restaurant Treehouse in Central
HENDERSON TENANTS SHINE IN 4 KEY SUSTAINABILITY AREAS
Each tenant was assessed according to Food Made Good’s three pillars: Sourcing, Society and Environment – and the audit revealed that all tenants performed very well in the Environment section and these key areas scored the highest:
1) Treat Staff fairly
2) Feed people well
3) Value Natural Resources
4) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Nearly 70% of the participating restaurants know which country their ingredients are sourced from, with 46% of them sourcing from within Hong Kong. An impressive 92% of restaurants actively monitor their gas, electricity and water and 85% train their staff on environmental issues.
Scoring highest in Treat Staff Fairly was Henderson tenant, The Mira Hotel which is an equal opportunities employer that hires staff with diversity in mind. Culinary Director Sheldon Fonseca was also inspired to set up a Sustainability Council inviting those interested to participate in regular meet-ups to focus on taking recommended actions. The hotel also performed well in the key area “Value Natural Resources” by regularly monitoring gas usage. To improve energy efficiency, all lighting in the hotel now uses LED bulbs. The Mira is ISO 14001 certified, the international standard for an effective environmental management system (EMS).
Sheldon Fonseca, Culinary Director at The Mira Hotel
INFLUENCING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE F&B INDUSTRY
Tenants were all very appreciative of Henderson Land for sponsoring the programme. According to one tenant, “I have a much better understanding of what we need to do across the board on sustainability. Knowing the source of our ingredients is certainly one area we’ve already improved in.”
To learn more about Henderson’s overall Sustainability Work, read their 2020 report: https://www.hld.com/en/pdf/investor/annual/2020/Sustainability.pdf
This content was created prior to our rebranding to Future Green, as of 28/11/22, when we were known as Food Made Good HK.
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