China Everbright Water : Everbright Water Clinches Multiple Influential Awards for Its Excellence in Corporate Governance and Environmental, Social and Governance

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Everbright Water Clinches Multiple Influential Awards for Its Excellence in Corporate Governance and Environmental, Social and Governance

Singapore and Hong Kong, 13 December 2021 - China Everbright Water Limited ("Everbright Water" or the "Company"; stock codes: U9E.SG and 1857.HK) (中國光大水務有限公司) is pleased to announce that the Company's continuous efforts in promoting and implementing good corporate governance and environmental, social and governance ("ESG") practices have been recognised with the Award of Excellence in Corporate Governance and the Award of Excellence in ESG under the category for newly-listed companies in the Hong Kong Corporate Governance and ESG Excellence Awards 2021 (the "Excellence Awards"), which is jointly organised by the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies and the Centre for Corporate Governance and Financial Policy of Hong Kong Baptist University. In addition, Everbright Water has also received A Special Mention for ESG in the Non-Hang Seng Index (Small Market Capitalisation) Category in the Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards 2021 organised by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("HKICPA"). These awards demonstrate that Everbright Water's efforts and achievements in corporate governance and ESG are widely recognised across industries.

The judging panel of the Excellence Awards said in the judges' comments: Everbright Water records strong business performance. That was the result of a conscientious business approach that is deep-rooted in a sound corporate governance culture where board independence, accountability and a commitment to transparency are emphasised. In addition to having independent-led board committees, a Management Committee and sub-committees are in place to oversee company operations, with clear reporting lines and checks-and-balances. An Environmental, Safety, Health and Social Responsibility Management System monitors related activities at company and project levels, covers the entire supply chain, upholds business integrity. Additionally, Everbright Water spares no expenses in improving its technology and heavy research and development investments are made. As a result, there is great enhancement of its waste water treatment capacity, process efficiency and energy conservation, making further contribution to the environment and livelihood. The Company also puts emphasis in community outreach. Efforts are made to popularise the scientific concept behind waste water treatment through educational activities to the public. This helps raise the environmental protection awareness of the society for the long term. This year, Everbright Water is the only company that has received honors from both award categories of the Excellence Awards.

According to HKICPA's comments in the judges' report for the awards, Everbright Water has established a sustainable corporate governance structure to ensure that the vision and missions of sustainable development are integrated into its operations. The Company understands the importance of stakeholder engagement in forming the Company's sustainability strategy, and commissions an independent sustainability consultant to conduct a materiality assessment to review the Company's impact on economic, environmental and social aspects on an annual basis. The Company also analyzes climate-related risks and opportunities in accordance with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") framework and recommendations. Additionally, it provides employees with an official whistleblowing channel to contact the chairman of the audit committee and the CEO of the Company directly.

Mr. Hu Yanguo, Executive Director and the Chairman of Board of Everbright Water, said: "Everbright Water received multiple corporate governance and ESG awards within one week. They are not only significant honors for Everbright Water, but also represent the capital market's expectations for us. As a company dedicated to environmental protection business, Everbright Water focuses on water environment management. We attach great importance to building good corporate governance awareness and practices to ensure compliance and transparency throughout our operations. By providing long-term and quality water environment services, we strive to promote simultaneous enhancements in economic, environmental and social benefits across various regions, in the pursuit of our core value of 'Creating Better Investment Value and Undertaking More Social Responsibility' and our corporate mission of being 'Devoted to Ecology and Environment for a Beautiful China'. Moving forward, we will maintain the high-quality and sustainable development mindset. As a staunch supporter and active participant in sustainability, we will continue creating excellent value for our shareholders and other stakeholders."

The Excellence Awards, previously known as The Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards, was inaugurated in 2007. It was designed to encourage improvement in corporate governance and ESG of listed companies in Hong Kong. The awards program adopted its present name this year to reflect the increasing importance of ESG to listed companies and the investing public. The awards provide recognition and prestige for listed companies in achieving outstanding commitment and accomplishments related to shareholder rights, compliance, integrity, fairness, responsibility, accountability, transparency, board independence and leadership, as well as ESG. This year, the awards offer two categories, the "Excellence in Corporate Governance" and the "Excellence in ESG". Under the respective category, there are six assessment sub-groups, such as the Hang Seng Index constituent companies and the newly-listed companies. A total of 18 companies received the awards, including Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited, New World Development Company Limited, Xiaomi Corporation, and Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited.

The Best Corporate Governance and ESG Awards (formerly known as The Best Corporate Governance Awards) were first organised in 2000. As one of the most prestigious corporate governance awards in Hong Kong, the awards have been renamed to its present name this year, to reflect the increasing importance of ESG reporting and practices for listed companies and public sector/not-for-profit organisations, and their investors and stakeholders. The revamped awards aim to encourage companies and organisations to integrate corporate governance and ESG practices in their performance. This year, the awards set three main award types, the Most Sustainable Companies/Organisations Awards, the Corporate Governance Awards and the ESG Awards, in addition to the Commendations for Website Corporate Governance Information and the Self-Nomination Awards for Good Corporate Governance/ESG Practices. A total of 29 companies received the awards, including ten awardees for the ESG Awards, such as the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, Swire Properties Limited, China Everbright Greentech Limited, China Resources Power Holdings Company Limited, and the Drainage Services Department of the HKSAR.

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