Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels : 150 Years of Giving Back to the Community

THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI HOTELS, LIMITED

CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF PHILANTHROPY AND COMMUNITY RESPONSIBILITY

The Kadoories have always been well known for their philanthropic nature. They contributed to the establishment of hospitals, elderly homes and community centres, and Ellis Kadoorie founded the Ellis Kadoorie Chinese Schools Society in China at the turn of the 20th Century, which established six non-denominational free schools for Chinese and supported the University of Hong Kong. He was instrumental in establishing Hong Kong's Helena May Institute for women living and working away from home. He contributed towards a new school for the colony's Indian children and endowed scholarships for underprivileged Indian children. He also assisted the building fund for a European YMCA, and when World War I broke out, he spearheaded support for a War Fund appeal to buy planes.

In his will, Elly arranged for his fortune to be divided into three parts - one third to the British Government for funding schools in "Palestine or Mesopotamia", one third to the Anglo-Jewish Association, and the final third to his brother Ellis. This bequest was the foundation of many important charitable institutions across the globe.

Known in his day as the "Prince of Philanthropists", Elly Kadoorie once commented that his own experiences with poverty had led him to the firm belief that "wealth is a sacred trust to be administered for the good of society". He made a pact with his brother by which he was to focus on philanthropy abroad. As an early supporter of women's rights, Elly was among the first to provide educational facilities for women in many parts of the Middle East, and went on to build schools and hospitals across the world.

In 1927, Elly's older son Lawrence (The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie's father) became a partner in the company, and he also shared his family's interest in the promotion of education and relief work in all parts of the world. Together with his brother Horace, he was responsible for founding the New Territories Benevolent Society, which established small hospitals and clinics in Hong Kong's rural districts.

The Kadoorie philosophy was to "help people to help themselves", and Lawrence and Horace Kadoorie decided to help destitute refugees become self-supporting and independent and to help them regain their dignity and find security in their new lives in Hong Kong.

An ambitious agricultural aid project was conceived, and in 1951 the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association (KAAA) was formed by the Kadoorie brothers, together with Norman Wright and Woo Ting Sang.

Village houses and thousands of farm animals and farming materials were donated by the KAAA to the needy. The Association also distributed large sums of money for feed, as well as cash grants for medicine, clothes and blankets.

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, Marble Hall, the palatial home of Sir Elly Kadoorie and his sons Horace and Lawrence - described as the "most beautiful of all" among Shanghai's 'stately homes' and its grounds were made available to any charitable society, of any nationality or creed, for any worthy moneymaking purpose. Sir Elly would take care of all costs, including food and beverage, on condition that such organisations made a reasonable profit for themselves.

These business and charitable works grow and thrive today under the direction of Sir Michael Kadoorie, Lord Lawrence Kadoorie's son, with the support and commitment of the other members of the family.

The history of the Kadoorie Family is part of the history of Hong Kong. The family, their businesses and their charitable works have been a common witness, alongside Hong Kong's people, to a dramatic century of colonialism, war, industrialisation and reunification with China. The characteristics of the family businesses have meant that they have both mirrored and supported the growth of Hong Kong.

The family has been welcomed in Hong Kong and given an opportunity to prosper. The family has always believed in making a contribution to the social and economic wellbeing of their fellow citizens in return for this great opportunity.

In recent years, Sir Michael, again with the backing of the family, became increasingly aware of the need for active steps to preserve Hong Kong's heritage for the benefit of all members of the community. Against this background, Sir Michael initiated the Hong Kong History Project (HKHP) to acquire, collate and make available to the public, documents, photographs, film and testimony relating to the history of the Kadoorie Family, its businesses and charitable work in Hong Kong and elsewhere. The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels provides financial support to the project. (www.hongkongheritage.org).

Today, The Kadoorie philanthropic spirit permeates through the heart of the family businesses and The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels places a great emphasis on sustainability and community responsibility efforts.

The Group's CEO Mr Clement Kwok leads the group's Sustainable Luxury Vision 2020, which sets out over 50 economic, social and environmental goals that HSH is committed to achieving by the year 2020.

Mr Kwok, who personally chairs the Group's Sustainability Committee, commented: "Looking back at our history, our group has always been a very responsible corporate citizen. Even before we put a formal group-wide strategy in place, the hotels and operations were already doing a great deal of work; they had energy saving plans, they were recycling waste, and they have been involved charity and community service. But the efforts were doing more at an individual proxy level, and we felt that what we needed was a more consistent group-wide policy." Vision 2020, established roughly eight years ago, puts sustainability at the heart of the company's business model and brand, focusing on seven areas that cover all divisions of the business; from governance and management to guest experience, employees, operation, new build and fit, supply chain and community.

"This is not just about policies," said Mr Kwok. "The most important thing is that we have made a great deal of progress in terms of changing and influencing the hearts and minds of people. Part of what our group policy has managed to do is reinforce the importance of this topic of sustainability, in a way that people now live and breathe it within their operations, and I am really pleased to see that."

Under the umbrella of Sustainable Luxury Vision 2020, HSH has organized a number of "giving back to the community" efforts throughout 2016, particularly focusing on the month of November.

Hong Kong community initiatives include:

• A children's carnival will be held at The Repulse Bay on 10 and 11 December, working with more than 80 partner charities to provide a memorable experience for more than 1,000 underprivileged children and those with special needs.

• With the assistance of the Sovereign Art Foundation, a series of art workshops were organised for disadvantaged children, enabling them to learn various artwork creation techniques

• The Asian Youth Orchestra held a charity concert on August 4 to honour HSH's long- term relationship with the Orchestra

• The Peninsula Hong Kong worked with the EQ Ambassador Society Ltd to organise heritage hotel tours for underprivileged elderly people and children, as well as a movie screening of the group's award-winning documentary Tradition Well Served and a heritage Scavenger Hunt

• The Peak Complex will produce 150 umbrellas for the homeless and promote special offers to children and the elderly during November

• The Peninsula Boutique will give away 15,000 delicacies to the Hong Kong public including hampers, chocolates and pastries on its website. This link will be available from 25 November 2016 until 11 December 2016. hsh150.peninsulaboutique.com

• With the help of the Salvation Army, Tai Pan Laundry will prepare and distribute lunchboxes to the elderly living in the Tai Wo Hau Estate

• HSH Head Office will partner with New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association and Kadoorie Farm to farm fresh produce and bake organic cookies for underprivileged elderly people