HERA 2021 Written Winner’s Interview with VTech Holdings Limited
Interviewee: Shereen Tong
Position: Group Chief Financial Officer
- Congratulations on winning at HERA 2021. Please share your thoughts and what does that mean to the company?
2021 marks the 45th anniversary of VTech. Winning the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards at HERA 2021 is a great recognition of our past efforts to achieve our sustainability vision to create sustainable value for lives of people and protect the planet for future generations.
Our key achievements during the year included:
- Applying water-borne paint on electronic learning products (ELPs) and telecommunication products and their packaging to reduce Volatile Organic Compounds emissions;
- Developing eco-friendly products such as four new vehicles in the popular Go! Go! Smart Wheels® line made from plant-based plastic, the Sort & Recycle Ride-on Truck™ made from reclaimed plastic, and Choppin’ Fun Learning Pot™ with vegetables and accessories made from plant-based plastic;
- Sourcing materials from responsibly managed forests certified by Forest Stewardship Council® for two new wooden toys, Touch & Learn Nature ABC Board™ and Interactive Wooden Animal Puzzle™;
- Replacing fossil-based blisters with bio-based blisters for packaging of all new ELPs; and
- Engaging in post-consumer recycling programmes for our products and packaging, contributing our part in building a circular economy.
This award will continue to drive us forward in pursuing our long-term sustainability targets including replacing all fossil based plastics with sustainable alternatives by 2030.
- Amongst environmental, social, governance topics of ESG which one does your organization prioritise and why?
Environmental, social and governance topics are equally important to us. VTech’s sustainability mission is to integrate economic growth, environmental protection and social responsibility in our business strategies to design, manufacture and supply innovative and high quality products for the wellbeing of people and benefits of society, aiming to drive sustainable value for our stakeholders and the communities. We have also implemented a comprehensive corporate governance structure and organized our sustainability approach into five pillars in order to ensure that our sustainability strategies could be carried out effectively and consistently throughout the company. These include Governance and Business Ethics, Product Responsibilities and Value Chain Management, Environment, Our People and Society.
- How well do you believe your industry has embraced ESG and what more do you believe your industry needs to do?
Our industry has been putting increasing focus on environmental, social and governance topics. Embedding sustainability concept into the entire value chain will be the next prominent step towards a sustainable value chain.
VTech, as a responsible corporate citizen, is grasping every opportunity to embed sustainability concept into the value chain. It starts from design of products, sourcing of materials, manufacturing and logistics, up to the end-of-life products recycling. Our sustainable value chain focuses on increasing the use of sustainable materials in our products, recycling our products in a responsible way, increasing the use of renewable energy, reducing the natural resources consumption in our production process, as well as using more eco-friendly transportation modes in our supply chain management.
With our strong sustainability commitment and dedicated resources, we will continuously engage with our stakeholders including customers, suppliers, business partners, employees, shareholders, investors and the communities to foster a sustainability culture not just within our company, but also the industry in which we operate.
