2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report

Sustainable Products

M&G's sustainable product concept is being gradually integrated into every stage of the product lifecycle. While strictly adhering to mandatory national standards such as "Request in Common Use of Security for Student's Articles," the Company also refers to international standards such as the European Standard "Safety of toys — Part 3: Migration of certain elements" (EN71-3). Focusing on the four major elements of green design, sustainable raw materials, green product packaging, and concept advocacy, the Company has formed its definition of sustainable products and implemented them in various product series designs.

    丨Green Design

● Green Design

● Simplify design

● Extend product life

Case: Increasing pen writing length, reducing plastic waste

M&G Stationery innovatively develops pen products with increased writing length by upgrading to larger diameter thin-walled ink tubes, achieving a larger ink volume with the same outer diameter. The product line features specially developed durable pen tips, with writing lengths of over 600 meters, exceeding the 400-meter writing length requirement for 0.5mm gel pens according to the "Gel Ink Ballpoint Pens and Refills" (GB/T 37853-2019) national standard. This improves the pen's writing utilization rate and reduces plastic waste. In 2022, the Company further developed a new product with a writing length of over 1,700 meters, significantly optimizing the lifespan of the gel pen.

Gel pens with writing length over 1,700 meters

    丨Sustainable Raw Materials

● Using recycled plastics

● Chemical Safety

Case: Use of safer and harmless materials

M&G Stationery's easy-to-wash watercolor pens, antibacterial super-light clay, and food-grade oil painting pastels are art and stationery products mainly for young children, that meet China's mandatory safety standards. Some related products also comply with the European standard "Safety of toys — Part 3: Migration of certain elements" (EN71-3). Some colored pencil products use water-based paint to create healthier and more environmentally friendly products. Meanwhile, crayons and markers use food-grade materials, expanding the food-grade art painting product portfolio.

New product made from EU standard compliant food-grade materials: Easy-to-wash watercolor pens

    丨Green Packaging

● Simplify packaging

● Replace plastic packaging with paper packaging

● Recycle materials

M&G Stationery applies the concepts of simplicity and practicality, avoiding excessive packaging in the design of multiple product series. M&G Stationery’s subsidiary Axus Stationery established a packaging database, standardizing the structure, size, materials, and printing processes of packaging materials for various categories, to avoid excessive packaging and resource waste. Beckmann, another subsidiary of M&G, removes individual plastic packaging from backpack products to reduce plastic usage. The Company actively develops and promotes the application of degradable packaging materials, such as the replacement of plastic packaging boxes with starch foam packaging and renewable paper pulp packaging.

    丨Concept Advocacy

● M&G incorporates sustainable development principles into its product design

● Empowering Employees and Communities

Case: "Endangered Animals" marine series of stationery products promoting biodiversity

The Company has launched the "Endangered Animals" marine product line, featuring packaging boxes that serve multiple purposes. Not only do these boxes function as external packaging for stationery items, but they can also be repurposed as pencil cases or storage containers for everyday use by consumers. The inspiration for this stationery series originated from the desire to preserve biodiversity and working collaboratively to write a better future. By applying innovative product packaging design styles like "Realistic Naturalism" and "2D Vector," the series speaks for endangered marine animals, calling attention to biodiversity issues, and raising environmental awareness.

"Endangered Animals" marine series of stationery products