This is our last Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Report. Next year I look forward to welcoming you to our inaugural sustainability report.

This year we are delighted to acknowledge the thoughtful feedback which we have received from the many stakeholders who helped in its preparation. More than anything, this has reaffirmed our commitment to sustainable development.

Swire Properties is a rapidly growing property development and investment company with a track record for excellence, that is second to none. But how good? Conscious of this, we undertook a 'Best in Class' exercise so as to benchmark ourselves against peer companies in Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The results were gratifying and proved that our energy practices were industry leading. However, there never being room for complacency, we now plan to expand our benchmarking and knowledge sharing to companies in other jurisdictions, including North America and Australia.

A notable milestone has also been our collaboration with the Tsinghua University in Beijing; this on a pilot scheme which has identified ways of improving the efficiencies of our operating plant and equipment. Such research, allied with practical, on-site application, is hastening the progress we are making in energy conservation and emission reductions.

Another has been in continuing education, not only in setting ourselves the targets and measurables which you see here published, but in the concentrated effort which we devote to the purpose. Training expended on Health and Safety issues alone amounted to 3,850 hours last year, while our volunteer activities involved more than 3,250 hours of selfless service. I am grateful to all who have contributed to these initiatives.

We remain steadfast in achieving our environmental, social and economic objectives and look forward to creating lasting value for the generations ahead.

Keith G. Kerr Chairman