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ABOUT THIS REPORT
We are pleased to present TeleChoice International Limited's (“TeleChoice” or “the Group”) annual Sustainability Report which covers our environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) performance for the financial year from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021 (“FY2021”).

This report includes our ESG performance for the Group's business operations in Singapore and excludes overseas operations unless stated otherwise. Singapore operations contributed the majority of our revenue at 77% while our overseas operations contributed 23% in FY2021. In terms of staff strength, Singapore operations accounted for 68% while our overseas operations accounted for 32% in FY2021. We will gradually expand the scope of our reporting to include our overseas entities and to include more comprehensive information and data in future reports

BOARD STATEMENT
The TeleChoice Board of Directors (“the Board”) has ultimate responsibility for this report, including its due compliance with the SGX-ST guidelines on corporate governance and sustainability reporting.

The Board has the overall responsibility for directing the management in the development of sustainability strategy formulation and identifying and endorsing the material ESG factors to be included in the Sustainability Report.

Apart from determining the material ESG factors as set out in this report, the Board also provides oversight of the management and monitoring of these material ESG factors through regular reporting of the key performance indicators, and determines the Group's response to the attendant risks and opportunities.

Sustainability Governance And Reporting Process

At TeleChoice, the Board provides strategic direction for addressing sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities. The Board's Executive Committee (“EC”) is responsible for reviewing and considering material ESG factors to support sustainable growth of the business. The EC also provides views and recommendations on sustainability strategies and sustainability reporting for the Board's review and approval. Responsibilities of the EC include determining and reviewing ESG targets and overseeing the management and monitoring of material ESG factors.

The Sustainability Management Committee (“SMC”), chaired by the President & CEO and represented by senior executives, is responsible for formulating and implementing sustainability strategies, establishing targets, reviewing ESG performance and providing direction for the preparation of sustainability reports. The SMC also provided directions concerning the report content, priorities of issues, reporting scope and boundary. The SMC is assisted by a sustainability reporting project coordinator who leads a project team in collecting, verifying, assessing the ESG performance data and information in preparation of this report.

REPORTING FRAMEWORK
This report has been prepared in accordance with the 2016 Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”) standards: Core option and also complies with the SGX-ST Listing Rules (711A and 711B) and the SGX Sustainability Reporting Guide. We have included a GRI Content Index at the end of the report.

We have chosen the GRI standards given its wide and internationally accepted use and its applicability in terms of material topics and measurements to our various businesses. The GRI standards also align with widely recognised international protocols and instruments for responsible business behaviour.

The GRI Standards are regularly updated, and the latest GRI Standards 2021 comes into effect on/after 1 January 2023. In February 2019, the Global Sustainability Standards Board (“GSSB”) approved the GRI Sector Program to improve clarity and consistency in sustainability reporting. The aim of the Sector Program is to develop GRI Sector Standards for 40 to 45 high-impact sectors. We intend to progressively adopt the latest Standards and to incorporate elements of the relevant Sector Standards when they are available in due course so as to report according to best practices

REPORT CONTENT AND QUALITY
We had considered the significance of material ESG topics, concerns and expectations of our stakeholders, ESG risks and opportunities and general sustainability trends in our sector in determining the content of our report in FY2021. We have reviewed those materiality issues in light of the existing business landscape, industry trends and prevailing regulations.

We have used the GRI Standards defining report quality by applying the principles of accuracy, balance, clarity,comparability, reliability and timeliness.

Data provided in the report has been mainly derived from official records to ensure reasonable accuracy and consistency. We have used internationally accepted measurement units for presenting ESG data. Financial figures are in Singapore dollars unless specified otherwise. Additionally, we have applied the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard for measuring and reporting our carbon emissions footprint.

RESTATEMENTS
We have made a restatement to our General Waste data for Paper and Plastic for FY2020 to 2,830 kg from 1,540 kg. The increase in waste was attributed to a backlog in FY2020 as a result of the circuit breaker measures which curtailed our business operations. Please refer to the Environment, Waste Management section of this report for more information.

ASSURANCE
We did not obtain external assurance for this Sustainability Report. We have relied on internal verification mechanisms to ensure the accuracy of information. Our ESG performance data is reported in good faith and to the best of our knowledge. ESG data is verified using an internal mechanism and checks. Financial statements included in the Annual Report, however, have been audited by independent auditors.

We intend to seek independent assurance in a phased approach going forward in compliance with external assurance becoming a reporting requirement in the future.

AVAILABILITY
This report is published as a part of our Annual Report which is available for download on our website at www.telechoice.com.sg

FEEDBACK
We welcome stakeholders' views and questions regarding this report. Contact us at sustainability@telechoice.com.sg

CHAIRMAN AND CEO STATEMENT
Having experienced the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we focused our efforts in 2021 in regaining our business momentum and redoubling our efforts at accelerating our business transformation journey through diversification in our consumer and enterprise offerings. We also continued to keep our employees health and safety as a priority in our business continuity plans as we strove to normalise operations gradually while being in strict compliance with COVID-19 safety measures.

While we have had to adapt and adjust on many fronts, one thing that has remained a constant, is our attention to enhancing our ESG practices. It is our belief that sustainable practices in these areas are the foundation and impetus for continued value creation for the organisation and our stakeholders. It is also the key to building resilience in the organisation to withstand shocks, navigate disruptions and harness trends for continued long-term growth. On this front, we are proud that our efforts have been recognised through the conferment of the Corporate Excellence and Resilience Award for listed companies with market capitalisation of $300 million and below at the Singapore Corporate Awards Special Edition 2020/2021. We will continue to move forward with our corporate sustainability programme and improve in those areas which require attention while bettering our performance in those which have yielded positive results.

In late August 2021, SGX, in two consultation papers, proposed enhancements to transparency and accountability on sustainability issues. Among these is a common set of 27 core ESG metrics which are currently being reported by issuers. Having done a comparison of these core metrics with our current report, we are pleased to note that we are reporting on these core metrics which are applicable to us. We are continuing to align fully with the proposed manner of reporting on the stated metrics. We will also ensure compliance with any future SGX proposed enhancements and other new initiatives that may be introduced by relevant authorities should they be applicable

In closing, we would like to thank our stakeholders in supporting us in our sustainability journey. In particular, our appreciation goes out to our staff for their hardwork and perseverance despite these challenging times.

RONALD SEAH VINCENT LIM

Chairman

President & CEO



Notes:

  1. Energy intensity pertains to purchased electricity
  2. Includes Scope-1 and Scope-2 emissions
  3. Waste refers to waste generated from resources and materials used in the course of business as defined in GRI 301 standards
  4. Included in total expenses

Our Stakeholders

We are committed to creating long-term value for all of our stakeholders.

We deal with a diverse range of stakeholders across our business divisions. These include our customers, business partners, suppliers and contractors, investors, regulators and government agencies, communities and employees.

Our approach is to proactively engage with our primary stakeholders who may be impacted by our business operations or who have the potential to affect our business. We believe building trusted relationships with stakeholders is key to sustainable business growth. Through our business policies and strategies, we endeavour to create value for all stakeholders.

Our engagement approaches involve both formal and ongoing methods. Examples of our engagements include employee engagement surveys, customer satisfaction surveys and suggestion boxes. We also gained invaluable insights into our stakeholders’ expectations and concerns through our routine interactions with them. We use these learnings to make informed management decisions.

A summary of our stakeholders and how we engage with them is presented below.

Engaging Associations
We actively engage with industry associations relevant to our business interests through memberships and by sharing our experience. Some of our association memberships include:

  • Singapore Computer Society
  • Singapore Business Federation

Material Factors


Our approach to sustainability centres on the management of the environmental, social and economic impacts of our business operations and their potential effect on our stakeholders. Our strategy is to manage our most significant sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities with the aim of creating long-term value for all stakeholders.

Materiality Methodology We identified the material ESG factors using the Global Reporting Initiative's GRI Standards for Sustainability Reporting which includes guidance for materiality analysis for our inaugural report in FY2017. We have reviewed the material EGG factors using the same methodology for this year's report.

The following steps were undertaken to arrive at the list of material factors for reporting:

Materiality Assessment TeleChoice management team reviewed the material ESG factors based on their knowledge of respective business areas, potential impacts of the Group’s business operations, insights from their day-to-day engagement with a range of stakeholders, common challenges facing the ICT industry and the prevailing business and regulatory environment. The team also considered the Group’s long-established values and long-term business goals to align these with sustainability strategies.

For this report, we did not engage external stakeholders explicitly to elicit their views on the identified ESG factors. However, the internal stakeholders including the senior management have used their experience in dealing with respective stakeholders and their understanding of stakeholder expectations and concerns in prioritising material factors for reporting.

Board Approval
The senior management extensively discussed the identified list of material factors and then presented them to the Board. The Board reviewed and approved the material factors for sustainability reporting.

Presented below is a summary of our material factors and their boundaries.

Customers

TeleChoice adopts a customer-centric approach aimed at ensuring an excellent customer experience.

As a leading regional provider of distribution, fulfilment and retail managed services to major mobile device manufacturers and operators, it is critical for us to ensure excellent customer experience at our retail stores, call centres and other touchpoints. Our ability to serve customers efficiently is paramount to growing our business with brands that rely on us for serving their customers.

High-quality customer service is equally important for our enterprise customers to whom we offer ICT and network engineering services. Offering trusted and reliable solutions and high standards of service support are at the core of our customer-centric approach.

We have implemented stringent quality control measures across our businesses to enhance the customer experience.

Ongoing engagement and seeking regular feedback are part of our efforts to deliver superior customer service.

Customer Experience
We measure customer experience at our retail stores through the Net Promoter Score (“NPS”) management tool. NPS allows us to measure our customers’ overall perception of our service. Based on responses, NPS groups customers into three categories of Promoters (score 9-10), Passives (score 7-8) and Detractors (score 0-6). The Net Promoter Score is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters. A score of 9 to 10 indicates that a customer is highly likely to recommend a brand to their friends and family.

In 2021, the NPS for the Planet Retail stores was 9.30, reflecting an improved and good customer experience. Each of the five Planet Platinum stores covered by NPS maintained a score of more than 9.53 in 2021 as compared to 9.50 in 2020.

Customer Compliments:

Managing Customer Experience Through Mystery Shopping
Our Planet EP stores participate in a third-party Mystery Shopping Programme (“MSP”). The programme enables us to enhance employees' skills based on the service gaps identified through MSP.

Privacy and Data Protection
We are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers and employees in accordance with the local laws and regulations where we operate our business.

In Singapore, we comply with the Personal Data Protection Act (“PDPA”) that governs the collection, use and disclosure of personal data by all private organisations. We have designated individuals to be Data Protection Officers responsible for ensuring that the Group complies with the PDPA and have implemented a personal data protection policy. Our personal data protection policy is set out on our website.

Customer' and employee' data are handled, stored and where applicable, disposed of, with stringent access and security measures to ensure electronic and physical protection from unauthorised use. New employees must read, understand and endorse the personal data protection policy.

There were no substantiated complaints concerning breaches of privacy or loss of data in this reporting period.

Rewarding Employees for Service Quality
We have implemented recognition schemes to reward employees for exceptional customer service. For example, Hooray programme at our Platinum stores provides rewards to employees for every customer compliment. Commission schemes have been revised to include NPS as a further incentive for staff to provide good customer service

Due to COVID-19 measures the Singapore's National Excellent Service Award which is managed by six industry-led bodies was suspended.

Ensuring Quality Standards
We adopt the highest industry quality standards to provide exceptional customer service. Our quality policy aims for continuous improvement in our management processes. Our subsidiaries, NexWave Technologies Pte Ltd, S & I Systems Pte Ltd and PT NexWave, are ISO9001:2015 Quality Management Systems certified, which allows them to perform at the highest level of our customers’ expectations.

NxGen Communications was awarded BizSAFE Level 3 certification. Our overseas subsidiary, N-Wave Technologies (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, obtained the ISO 9001:2105 Quality Management System and ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems certification.

Awards and Recognitions

Our dedication to customer service, quality, efficiency and excellence has won the Group several accolades and recognitions over the years. Some of the more recent awards are listed here.

Received in 2021

  • Avaya - Diamond Partner 2021
  • Avaya - Partner Forum Special Recognitions Award 2021
  • Avaya - Top Performing Enterprise Value Added Reseller 2021
  • ASC - Recording Cloud Gold Partner 2021
  • Genesys - Bronze Partner 2021
  • Huawei Indonesia - Best Partner Project Manager Award
  • Huawei Indonesia - Best Quality Award 2021
  • Huawei Indonesia - Heroes of the Pandemic Award 2021
  • Huawei Malaysia - Annual Contribution Award for RF 2021
  • IBM - Innovation Award (Service) 2021
  • IBM - Top Performing Business Partner (Storage) 2021
  • IBM - Top Performing Business Partner (Systems) 2021
  • NSFocus APAC - Excellent Performance Partner 2021
  • Singapore Corporate Awards - Corporate Excellence and Resilience Award 2020/2021

Received in 2020

  • Avaya - Diamond Partner 2020
  • Avaya - 2020 Top Performing Enterprise Value-Added-Reseller for Singapore
  • Genesys Bronze Partner of the year 2020
  • Huawei - Top Potential Partner 2020, S & I Systems
  • Huawei - Best QC Support, PT NexWave 2020
  • Smartmatic APAC Strategic Partner of the Year
  • Smartfren - Support and Outstanding Contribution to Smartfren Project
  • StarHub SmartSupport “Relaunch” Sales contest - Champion
  • StarHub SmartSupport “Abundant Prosperity” Contest for Q1 2020 - Champion
  • 45 retail staff awarded the Excellent Service Award from SPRING Singapore and Singapore Retailers Association (14 Star awards, 12 Gold awards and 18 Silver awards)

Received in 2019

  • Avaya - Diamond Partner 2019
  • Avaya - 2019 Top Enterprise Value-Added Reseller for Singapore
  • Ericsson - Certificate of Recognition in Honor of Support & Services to PT. Ericsson
  • Huawei - 2019 National Excellent Quality and 2019 Best Project Manager, for Indonesia
  • Huawei - 2019 Regional Best Collaboration Award for Philippines
  • Huawei - 2019 Regional Excellent Quality Award for Malaysia
  • IBM - Top Performing Business Partner (Systems)
  • Nokia - Most Preferred Partner Award for Singapore and the region
  • Narada - 2019 Million Dollar Sales Award for Indonesia
  • Project Management Institute Singapore Chapter - First prize winner for Project of the Year 2018-19 (Business & Information Systems category) for Energy Market Authority Microsoft CRM project
  • Smartmatic - APAC Partner Award for 1st strategic win of a smart government project in Singapore
  • SES – Q2 Best Retail Store Environment
  • SES – Q3 Best Retail Store Environment
  • Q3 Galaxy Service Star Award - Bedok Mall
  • StarHub Exclusive Partner (EP) - Best VAS Attachment
  • StarHub Platinum Shop - Best VAS Attachment
  • StarHub Platinum Shop - Top NPS
  • StarHub Platinum Shop - Top Sales (E&S)
  • StarHub Platinum Shop - Top Sales (Mobile)
  • StarHub - Recognition Award for SRAN Project in 2019
  • StarHub Top EP - VAS Attachment
  • Top Prepaid Distributor (WOW plan take-up and activation)
  • TechData - IBM 2019 Best Overall Partner
  • 45 retail staff awarded the Excellent Service Award from SPRING Singapore and Singapore Retailers Association (10 Star awards, 23 Gold awards and 12 Silver awards)

The complete list of awards for prior years is available at www.telechoice.com.sg/awards.html.

People

Our approach is to attract and retain the best talent, invest in the development of our people and ensure their well-being.

It is vital for us to develop a vibrant workplace where our people can look forward to personal development, career growth, job satisfaction and fulfilment. Our human resource policies are centered around our employees’ well-being and the work environment which are built based on mutual respect, trust, teamwork and open communication. We continue to invest in our people through training and coaching to improve their skills and productivity.

In attracting and retaining the best talent, we are committed to creating an inclusive workforce, investing in employee development, engaging our employees and reviewing our practices and policies regularly.

Employee Profile
We employed 322 full-time employees as at the end of 2021. Permanent employees accounted for 89% of our workforce. The average age of our employees was 41 years.

Supporting Diversity
We respect diversity and are committed to promoting an inclusive workforce. Women represented 40% of full time employees. The proportion of managerial roles held by women was 40%. Women accounted for 40% of the total Head of Department positions.

Our workforce represents diverse age groups. We are proud of our racially diverse workforce which includes 10 nationalities

In Singapore, we support the government's policy of rehiring retiring employees to keep them economically active. In 2021, we rehired 4 retiring employees including 2 female employees.

Please refer to the charts under People Performance section of this report for more information.

Hiring
Our goal is to attract and retain the best talent to serve our customers efficiently. Our policy is to hire based on merit and ability. In 2021, we recruited 73 new employees; 28 of them were women. Of the new hires, 21 were less than 30 years of age, 40 were in the age group of 30 to 50 years, and the remaining 12 were more than 50 years old.

Developing Talent
Talent management is a crucial strategy for us to retain, develop and manage the best people to support our business growth.

We have implemented a comprehensive talent management programme which includes succession planning and a talent review process. Our Talent Management Committee, comprising the President & CEO, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Human Resource and the business division heads, oversees the programme.

Our Talent Management Framework identifies high potential employees within the Group and provides them with developmental opportunities to sharpen their technical and management skills. Development plans include acquiring new technical skills and knowledge, leading special projects, managing teams and ad-hoc additional responsibilities to prepare them for bigger roles.

Succession planning is an integral part of our talent management programme. We have put in place initiatives to help build the succession pipeline.

Building Skills Through Training
Employee training and education is a crucial part of our people management. New employees attend an orientation programme to understand the organisation and its corporate values. All employees have access to ongoing opportunities to learn new skills through instructor-led training, online e-learning and on-the-job training and mentoring. Employees are kept up to date on learning resources through regular learning and development e-newsletters.

Due to our business needs, product training and certification, advanced technical skills acquisition and certification are featured regularly in our yearly training programme.

We equipped our people managers with supervisory and management skills to better manage their teams. In addition, we conduct training on Talent Selection and Appraisal Management to further enhance their management skills.

In 2021, our average training hours per employee was 13.2 hours which was an increase from the previous year. Our training expenditure has also increased from $53.45 per employee in 2020 to $60.50 in 2021. The increase corresponded with the need for skills in emerging technologies and also regulatory requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. Most training carried out during this period was through e-learning or virtual classroom settings. Employee training was restricted to business-critical areas of info-comm certifications and other emerging skillsets such as digital marketing. In addition, selected employees attended training to ensure proper management of safety measures at worksites.

Managing Performance
Through a comprehensive performance management programme, we enable our employees to meet their business and personal development goals consistently. Our performance management system covers all permanent employees. As part of the process, managers hold discussions with their staff at the beginning of the year to establish goals. A formal performance appraisal takes place at the end of the year. Managers are encouraged to have ongoing discussions with their employees to review progress and provide coaching and guidance.

Engaging Employees
To ensure continuing engagement with employees, regular virtual communication sessions were held with employees at the corporate level and also amongst the business groups. Various feedback surveys were conducted to garner feedback on how employees were coping with changes in the work environment and the support needed during the pandemic. The results obtained help to provide insights for decision-making to cope with the changing business environment during this period.

Providing Benefits
We offer competitive wages and benefits to our employees. Our full-time staff members are eligible for several employment benefits which are not available to temporary or part-time employees. Some of the benefits include:

  1. Specialist Consultation and Treatment claim;
  2. Flexi-Benefit with limit for Optical, General Medical, Dental, Mobile Phone and Health Screening;
  3. Bonding Funds;
  4. Marriage/Family Care/Examination Leave(s)/Shared Parental Leave/Paternity Leave;
  5. Executive Health Screening for employees aged 35 years old and above; and
  6. Hospitalisation & Surgery/Personal Accident/Term Life Insurance.

Human Rights
We support internationally accepted human rights principles and local regulations. Our policies ban discrimination, forced labour and child labour.

There were no incidents of discrimination, forced labour or child labour in the reporting period.

Freedom of Association
We respect our employees’ right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. We work closely with the Singapore Industrial & Services Employees Union (“SISEU”) and have signed a memorandum of understanding with SISEU to ensure the well-being of our employees.

As at the end of 2021, 70 employees were active members of SISEU.

Caring for Employees
We have implemented several measures to ensure the well-being of our employees. A Fruit Day is observed once a month, and fresh fruits are provided to employees to encourage a healthy diet. Fruits are also sent off-site to our employees working at our Platinum shops. We offer on-site health screening for early detection of diseases such as hypertension, heart ailments, diabetes and cancer. The basic mass health screening is a Group-paid annual initiative to provide employees the convenience of having their health checked via taking blood samples for laboratory investigation, with optional add-on packages (payable by employees) for more detailed tests. Employees who cannot attend the health screening on the scheduled dates were able to obtain a medical chit to visit the health screening centre directly on their own arrangement, within a specific timeframe. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in full compliance with the Government’s advisory on work-from-home and social distancing initiatives, we have temporarily suspended some of these initiatives.

A portable air purifier QUAIR Plasma Mini was given to all employees to offer additional protection against COVID-19 infection. Employees, especially those who are customer-facing, are encouraged to wear the device while they are at work.

To strengthen cultural bonding, we give Hongbao to our employees to celebrate the Chinese New Year. We also observed early release from work on the eves of the four major public holidays in Singapore.

Ensuring Safety and Health
The safety and well-being of our employees remain our priority. Safety is a material topic for all our Business Divisions and we pay particular attention to safety measures and proactively manage potential hazards. We have implemented measures to promote safe work practices, assessed health and safety risks in our operations and adopted the necessary preventive measures. We regularly monitor and review health and safety performance and comply strictly with prevailing rules and regulations concerning incident reporting should they occur. Workplace health and safety training is provided where applicable, and we are in strict compliance with the Workplace Safety and Health Act (2006).

TeleChoice has obtained bizSAFE Level Three certification in Singapore from the Workplace Safety and Health Council which reflects our commitment to ensuring safety at the workplace. There were no recordable incidents of fatalities, injuries, and occupational diseases in our Singapore operations.

However, COVID-19 with its multiple variants has posed many disruptions, challenges and health concerns to all our employees, locally and overseas. We were saddened by the loss of three staff in Indonesia who succumbed to the virus in 2021. Infected staff were rendered the necessary support and time to recover before returning to work.

As we transit to living with the pandemic, the health and well-being of our employees remain as our topmost priority. To this end, we constantly update and adjust our business continuity plans according to government health advisories and inform staff on changes to safety management protocols. We are advocates of the vaccination programme and have achieved a high vaccination rate among our staff. As governments continue to manage community and workplace restrictions, our workforce segregation, remote working and split shift arrangements remain flexible in an evolving environment. We remain vigilant to protect the safety and health of our employees.

OUR PEOPLE PERFORMANCE

Environment

We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of our business through resource efficiency and conservation.

Electricity, fuel and waste are our primary environmental impacts. The retail stores we manage for our customers use power for lighting and air-conditioning. Vehicles deployed for our engineering and maintenance services consume fuel. We also generate waste mostly from packaging in our stores and warehouses. Our environmental efforts are focused on energy efficiency, waste reduction, recycling and efficient use of resources.

Energy
We measure and monitor our energy consumption and calculate associated carbon emissions to manage our footprint. In 2021, our electricity consumption intensity was 98 kWh/m2 against 110 kWh/m2 the year before. The decline was due to the decrease in the number of staff working in the office as a result of the COVID-19 containment measures.

Greenhouse Gas ("GHG") Emissions
We monitor Carbon Dioxide (“CO2”) emissions from the use of electricity and fuel consumption. Our combined CO2 emission from fuel consumption (Scope-1) and purchased electricity (Scope-2) in 2021 was 340 tonnes as compared with 341 tonnes in 2020. Carbon Dioxide emission from purchased electricity accounted for 87% of our total emission, as compared to 88% in 2020.

We switched to energy efficient LED lighting in our stores in a progressive manner. We use store renovations as an opportunity to replace older lights with LED lights. We have limited or no control over air-conditioning in our retail operations as we lease store space in commercial buildings with centralised systems controlled by the landlords.

We encourage our employees through awareness campaigns to minimise the use of non-essential lighting in the office and to make efforts to conserve water and recycle paper.

Waste Management
Our approach is to make efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. In our retail business, paper, plastic and wooden pallets are the main types of waste generated. Our electronic waste (“e-waste”) consists of decommissioned office equipment such as personal computers, notebooks, monitors and servers.

In line with StarHub’s support towards conserving the environment, our Platinum and EP shops also support the Earth Hour initiative. All shops will dim or turn off non-essential lights during this hour. For example, ePosters, TV screens and lights at handset display sections, will be dimmed or turned off.

In addition, we have discontinued using paper bags to reduce our environmental footprint. Instead, we now provide reusable non-woven shopping bags. We also give customers a choice of electronic receipts to save paper. In our offices, we encourage double-sided printing to minimise the use of paper.

We dispose of our waste through licensed waste management contractors. In FY2020, the waste management contractor engaged for pallet disposal will ensure that all pallets are recycled for reuse, such as producing furniture or other wood products. Pallets will no longer be incinerated.

In FY2021, our waste disposal related to Paper and Plastics decreased to 1,320 kg, from 2,830 kg in FY2020. There was a restatement for Paper and Plastic waste in FY2020 to 2,830 kg from 1,540 kg. The increase in waste was attributed to a backlog in FY2020 as a result of the circuit breaker measures which curtailed our business operations. We registered an increase in Wooden Pallets waste in FY2021 compared to FY2020 due to an accumulation of these waste materials during the circuit breaker period, and the resumption of business activities with the further easing of COVID safety restrictions also contributed to the increase in the waste disposal accordingly.

Compliance
We are committed to complying with applicable environmental regulations. There were no incidents of non-compliance with environmental laws in the reported period.

As required by the Resource Sustainability Act (“RSA”) recently introduced by the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, our processes are compliant and we ensure the proper collection and treatment of electrical and e-waste.

E-waste bins are placed in all StarHub Platinum shops as required by RSA for retailer premises with a floor area of more than 300 sqm. The e-waste is then collected and disposed of by an NEA licensed operator.

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
Note: Figures may not add due to rounding.

Community

We are committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and contributing to community development.

We started our social outreach programme in 2015. Since then, we have reached out to various service user groups including the elderly and disadvantaged hawkers through a three-year partnership with Dignity Kitchen, Dorcas, Lions Befrienders, MINDS Towner Gardens School and Metta School through Community Chest’s FUDAI and HeartStrings Walk.

For the fifth consecutive year, TeleChoice supported Community Chest and its partners in the annual FUDAI 2021. The event is a collaboration between the private and public sectors to share the Lunar New Year festive joy with the less fortunate through the donation and distribution of FUDAI or fortune goodie bags. Our staff volunteers packed and delivered over 50 FUDAI which contained essential food items to beneficiaries staying in the Bedok and Chai Chee estate.

Economic Performance

We are committed to creating sustainable value for our shareholders and stakeholders

For a detailed description of our financial performance, please refer to the Group Financial Review section of the Annual Report. A summarised version of the economic value generated is presented here in line with the GRI Standards.

Financial Assistance from Government
In 2020, the Singapore government launched the COVID-19 grants and relief measures to support companies impacted by the pandemic. In 2021, we received a total of $3.3 million in grants, comprising of $2.15 million from the Job Support Scheme (“JSS”), $595,000 from the Rental Support Scheme (“RSS”), $359,000 from the Jobs Growth Incentive (“JGI”) and $111,000 from the Wage Credit Scheme (“WCS”).

Anti-corruption
Our corporate governance policies cover areas of Fraud, Whistleblowing, Document Retention and Conflict of Interest to facilitate the development of controls that will aid in the detection and prevention of any fraud, misappropriations and other irregularities. To further emphasise the importance of corporate governance, we introduced an Anti-Corruption Policy in October 2018.

All new employees are required to read, understand and be assessed on these policies as part of the onboarding process. In addition, the Anti-Corruption Policy is sent out to all staff on a yearly basis as a reminder and to emphasise our zero tolerance towards corruption.

We also sent out our copy of our anti-corruption policy to our business partners in 2021.

Compliance
The Group is committed to complying with applicable laws where we operate. We regularly review the local legislation to keep our policies updated. There were no incidents of violations of social or economic regulations in the reported period.

GRI Content Index