The Group has interests in 13 countries and territories, operates over 10,600 outlets, and employs more than 216,000 team members. DFI has recently launched a new edition of their corporate social responsibilities report, which covers their efforts made on the environment and the community.

Benefitting the communities they serve

In detailing the multitude and magnitude of their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) in 2022, DFI’s CSR report adopts a framework as a guiding principle to provide the communities they serve with benefits that help them and the environment.

It consists of three main focus areas - serving communities; sustaining the planet; and sourcing responsibly. Under these headings are ten priorities, the goals of which range from reducing hunger, the cost of living, plastic and energy usage and food waste; to eliminating harmful refrigerants; improving human, animal and land welfare; and raising self esteem. These core beliefs have been incorporated into DFI’s daily operation, in order to serve their customers and the communities in a sustainable fashion.

What’s more, DFI has, for the first time, added performance indicators to the report to provide transparency on their progress in helping the environment and society. For example, it shows that the company’s total GHG emissions in Scope 1 and Scope 2 have been reduced by 10% from 2021 to 2022. Such indicator proves that the company is setting the right pace in achieving their targets, which is to reduce carbon emission by 50% by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Addressing the hunger crisis

As a leading food retailer in Asia, DFI aspires to raise public awareness on the world’s hunger crisis. As many as 349 million people in 79 countries are teetering on the brink of famine, with Asia being especially vulnerable, where over a billion people do not have access to adequate food. In addressing the issue, DFI has launched several food donation programmes with their NGO partners, namely ‘Sik Tak Fan La’ (meaning ‘The meal is ready to serve’ in Cantonese) through 7-Eleven with Pei Ho Counterparts, and ‘Sik Jor Fan Mei’ (meaning ‘have you eaten?’ in Cantonese) through Wellcome with Foodlink respectively, lending a helping hand to the less fortunate.

With such initiatives, Wellcome has hit the one-year target of raising HK$5 million in less than six months, which is equivalent to providing 16 million bowls of rice. With its ongoing effort, the 7-Eleven programme is anticipated to raise HK$2 million, which is equivalent to providing over 80,000 meal boxes and 5 months’ worth of food assistance to those in need.

“The donations raised by ‘Sik Tak Fan La’ charity programme will be an important, stable and ongoing source of support for our daily operations and enable us to give greater help to the community,” Mr Chan Cheuk-ming, founder of Pei Ho Counterparts remarks. “I am incredibly grateful for 7-Eleven’s continuous support of our work and their hands-on involvement at every stage. I am sure that their passion and care have touched the hearts of many.”

Responsible sourcing

On another pillar of the Group’s belief, which is to source responsibly, DFI is acutely aware that nearly one-third of the world’s fish stock is harvested at biologically unsustainable levels, as well as egg-laying hens being housed in cages that are as small as a shoe box. To make a difference, DFI has carried out several initiatives to improve animal welfare. For example, their brand Meadows has launched its own cage-free eggs coming from hens that are allowed with more room to move around and thus are healthier, as well as a sustainable canned tuna product which adheres to the standards set by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a third-party organisation that sets the best practices for sustainable fishing.

In addition, 7-Eleven’s own brand 7CAFÉ is now committed to serving only 100% Rainforest Alliance Certificated Arabica Coffee Beans, with paper cups and lids made of materials that are more sustainable to the environment.

Spreading the cheer

Hong Kong is not the only community where DFI serves. Among their CSR work launched in Hong Kong, some of them have been adapted and embraced in other markets in Southeast Asia. For instance, two hunger-reducing initiatives similar to the ‘Sik Jor Fan Mei’ campaign are carried out respectively in Singapore as the ‘Have you eaten?’ campaign, and in Malaysia as the ‘Sudah Makan’ campaigns, with both aiming to provide food supplies to those in hardship.

DFI also launched programmes such as senior citizen discount and the “Low Prices Locked” campaign in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia to help reduce the communities’ cost of living, thus protecting them against price fluctuations.

DFI Retail Group has always taken corporate social responsibilities seriously and has strived to create environmental and social progress in ways that could simultaneously strengthen their business and also benefit the community at large.

“Compared with Western countries we are coming from a long way behind,” says Ian McLeod, Chief Executive of DFI Retail Group. “But we have made tremendous progress in recent years. We have a plan that we can commit to as an organisation, one that is well thought out and is achievable.”

To read DFI’s full CSR Report 2022, please visit: https://csr.dfiretailgroup.com/2022/