Independent Assurance Opinion Statement

The British Standards Institution is independent to the Drainage Services Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (hereafter referred to as “DSD” in this statement) and has no financial interest in the operation of the DSD other than for the assessment and assurance of the DSD Sustainability Report 2019-20 (“Report”).

This independent assurance opinion statement has been prepared for the DSD only for the purposes of assuring its statements relating to the Report, more particularly described in the Scope below. It was not prepared for any other purpose. The British Standards Institution will not, in providing this independent assurance opinion statement, accept or assume responsibility (legal or otherwise) or accept liability for or in connection with any other purpose for which it may be used, or to any person by whom the independent assurance opinion statement may be read. This statement is intended to be used by stakeholders & management of the DSD.

This independent assurance opinion statement is prepared on the basis of review by the British Standards Institution of information presented to it by the DSD. The review does not extend beyond such information and is solely based on it. In performing such review, the British Standards Institution has assumed that all such information is complete and accurate.

Any queries that may arise by virtue of this independent assurance opinion statement or matters relating to it should be addressed to the DSD only.

Scope

The scope of engagement agreed upon with the DSD includes the following:

1. The assurance covers the whole Report, and focuses on systems and activities of the DSD during the period from 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2020. The Report is prepared in accordance with the Core option of GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (“GRI Standards”).

2. Type 1 Moderate Level of Assurance evaluates of the nature and extent of the DSD's adherence to three reporting principles, which include Inclusivity, Materiality and Responsiveness. The specified sustainability performance information/data disclosed in the Report has been evaluated.

Opinion Statement

We conclude that the Report provides a fair view of the DSD's sustainability programmes and performances in the reporting year. We believe that the economic, social and environmental performance indicators are fairly represented in the Report, in which the DSD's efforts being made to pursue sustainable development are widely recognised by its stakeholders.

Our work was carried out by a team of sustainability report assurors. We planned and performed this part of our work to obtain the necessary information and explanations. We considered the DSD has provided sufficient evidence that the DSD's self-declaration of compliance with the Core option of GRI Standards were fairly stated.

Methodology

Our work was designed to gather evidence on which to base our conclusion. We undertook the following activities:

• A top level review of issues raised by external parties that could be relevant to the DSD's policies to provide a check on the appropriateness of statements made in the Report

• Discussion with senior executives on the DSD's approach to stakeholder engagement. We had no direct contact with external stakeholders

• Interview with staff involved in sustainability management, report preparation and provision of report information were carried out

• Review of key organisational developments

• Review of supporting evidence for claims made in the Report

• Assessment of the organisation's reporting and management processes concerning this reporting against the principles of Inclusivity, Materiality, Responsiveness and GRI Standards.

Conclusions

A detailed review against the principles of Inclusivity, Materiality and Responsiveness, and in accordance with the GRI Standards (Core Option) is set out below:

Inclusivity

The Report has reflected a fact that the DSD is seeking the engagement of its stakeholders through numerous channels such as consultation platform, seminars, workshops, questionnaires and surveys. Surveys have been systematically recorded and evaluated.

The DSD's operation involves various methods of engaging its stakeholders on daily basis. The Report covers economic, social and environmental aspects concerned by its stakeholder with a fair level of disclosures. In our professional opinion, the DSD adheres to the principle of Inclusivity. Our view in area for enhancement to the Report was adopted by the DSD before issue of this opinion statement.

Materiality

The DSD publishes sustainability information that enables its stakeholders to make informed judgments about the organisation's management and performance. The stakeholder issues have been identified and evaluated through materiality assessment, including employee surveys, contractor's surveys, focus group meetings, questionnaire surveys, customer satisfaction index and various feedback mechanism. The topics considered material are covered in the report includes ranges from economic, environmental, and social impacts.

In our professional opinion, the Report adheres to the principle of Materiality and identifies the DSD's material topics by using appropriate method of materiality assessment and demonstrating material topics in a matrix form. Area for enhancement to the Report was adopted by the DSD before issue of this opinion statement.

Responsiveness

Being a government department, the DSD has a public mission and sustainability is embedded in their operation strategy. They respond to the internal and external needs, therefore, they have been actively promoting initiatives around energy efficiency, health and safety, community engagement, and local procurement. The use of internet, social media platform, and workshop-type activities further enhance the interaction with their stakeholders. The DSD adequately communicates these responses in the Sustainability Report and demonstrate what it has decided to do in response to specific stakeholder concerns and interests, and also provide adequate indicators of associated changes in Sustainability Performance.

GRI Standards Reporting

The DSD provided us with their self-declaration of compliance with GRI Standards “In Accordance” – Core option. Based on our verification review, we are able to confirm that social responsibility and sustainable development disclosures in all three categories (Environmental, Social and Economic) are reported with reference to “In accordance” with the GRI Standards – Core option.

In our professional opinion the report covers the DSD's social responsibility and issues. Areas for enhancement of the Report were adopted by the DSD before the issue of this opinion statement.

Assurance Level

The Type 1 Moderate Level of Assurance provided in our review is defined by the scope and methodology described in this statement.

Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the DSD's senior management to ensure the information being presented in the Report is accurate. Our responsibility is to provide an independent assurance opinion statement to stakeholders giving our professional opinion based on the scope and methodology described.

Competency and Independence

The assurance team was composed of Lead Assuror, who are experienced in public services sector, and trained in a range of sustainability, environmental and social standards including GRI G3, GRI G3.1, GRI G4, GRI Standards, AA1000, HKEX ESG Guide, UNGC's Ten Principles, ISO 10002, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 45001 and ISO 9001, etc. British Standards Institution is a leading global standards and assessment body founded in 1901. The assurance is carried out in line with the BSI Fair Trading Code of Practice.

For and on behalf of BSI:

Chris Cheung

Regional Technical & Compliance Director

Verifier of the Report

Wilfred Chan

Lead Assuror

Hong Kong

24th Nov 2020

This statement was prepared in English and translated into Chinese for reference only.