Source: Shangri-La

Shangri-La Group officially kicked off a China-wide CSR initiative "Race for Hope" (RFH) as part of the Group's environmental efforts to protect the planet. The RFH campaign will bring together all 50 Shangri-La, Kerry, Hotel Jen and Traders properties in Mainland China to join the social movement. It will also leverage China's leading digital platform - Ali Pay's Ant Forest programme - to engage its employees, guests and consumers to participate on this sustainability journey. The Shangri-La Group is the first international hotel company to work with Ali Pay on this innovative platform. The "Race for Hope" campaign aims to achieve 5,000 trees in two years when Shangri-La celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2021.

"Race for Hope" instils a sense of urgency to save our planet and it is also a competition for people to challenge themselves to change their behaviour and to convert a low carbon lifestyle into real tree planting. Shangri-La's guests and Ant Forest's users can easily support the RFH initiative by taking part in a variety of eco-friendly activities, for example, walking, jogging and using public transport to earn carbon points and water Shangri-La's online forest. All online participation will then turn into tangible results of real tree planting through Ant Forest and their NGO partners.

In addition to the Ant Forest online programme, Shangri-La Group will organize the National Grand Beginning Race event in Shanghai and the hotels in different cities will roll out offline activities in late October. Participants can join a family-friendly 5km race or sign up for a fun-run competition to raise awareness for environmental protection and as a call for action in the local community.

Everyone can do their part, everywhere, every day, to help protect the planet. Using Ali Pay's digital App, it only requires a few taps on the smart phone: open Alipay, scan "Shangri-La Ant Forest" QR code or search for "Shangri-La" on Ant Forest to access the Campaign and to begin the online tree planting.

For local race registration, check with respective hotels' WeChat channels for more information. Together, we can be a positive force and work together for a greener future.

About Ant Forest

Ant Forest is a green public welfare project on Alipay in China with 500 million active users. 122 million trees with over 1.4 million acres have been planted since its launch in 2016. The programme aims to encourage users to record their low-carbon footprint and turn virtual trees that they grow on the platform into real ones. In the process, users are contributing to tree-planting and vital moves in environmental protection.

About Shangri-La Group's CSR & Sustainability

Shangri-La Group is committed to operating in an economically, socially and environmentally responsible manner while balancing the interests of diverse stakeholders. We strive to be a leader in corporate citizenship and sustainable development and our CSR initiatives are focused on five key areas namely environment & biodiversity, community engagement, sustainable supply chain, employee development and health & safety. The two CSR programmes at the hotel levels - Embrace & Sanctuary - are aimed at promoting education and the environment. Embrace, Shangri-La's Care for People project, looks at the highest level of education and health support needed in under-privileged communities. Sanctuary, Shangri-La's Care for Nature project, promotes the conservation and restoration of biodiversity. For more information, please visit the group's CSR section on www.shangri-la.com.

About Shangri-La Group

Shangri-La Group is one of the world's premier developers, owners and managers of hotel and investment properties which comprises office buildings, commercial real estate and serviced apartments/residences. The Group's other principal activities include hotel management services as well as property development for sale. It currently owns and/or manages over 100 hotels globally in 78 destinations under the Shangri-La, Kerry, JEN and Traders brands. Prominently positioned in Asia, the Group has a substantial pipeline of upcoming hotel and mixed-use development projects in Australia, the Chinese mainland, Cambodia, and Japan. For more information, please visit https://www.shangri-la.com/group/.