Recently, the 2024 Fortune China ESG Influence List was announced, and three companies in the fields of transportation, logistics and warehousing were on the list, namely SF Holding Co., Ltd., China COSCO Shipping Group Co., Ltd., and China Merchants Energy Transportation Co., Ltd.
ESG is a set of criteria for evaluating the non-financial performance of enterprises, focusing on the performance of enterprises in three dimensions: Environmental, Social and Governance. It emphasizes that while pursuing economic benefits, enterprises should assume environmental protection, social responsibility and good corporate governance structure.
The Fortune list points out that in a year of severe macroeconomic challenges, ESG has become an action guide for companies to temper their lasting competitiveness. The companies on this list have made exceptional efforts to improve the environment, protect their employees, and support their communities, and have achieved sustained and inclusive growth through economic cycles and earned the respect of the market. The inclusion on the list reaffirms the exemplary role of SF Express, COSCO Shipping, and China Merchants Shipping in promoting ESG practices and their adherence to corporate sustainability commitments.
SF Express, the largest integrated logistics company in Asia and the fourth largest in the world
As the largest integrated logistics company in Asia and the fourth largest in the world, SF Express has been shortlisted on the Fortune China ESG Influence List for three consecutive years, and is the only express delivery company on the list, not only that, but it has also been shortlisted in the Fortune Global 500 list for two consecutive years, jumping to 377th place in 2023, making it the only Chinese private express delivery company to enter the Fortune Global 500.
SF has compiled the 2023 ESG report in accordance with the Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI), the world's first sustainability reporting standard, and has been the highest standard used by A-share listed companies in the past few years, with the CSI 300 Index using 75% of the company.
SF's ESG report mainly focuses on corporate governance, environmental, social, service and climate disclosure.
In terms of corporate governance, in 2023, SF Express will conduct 20 offline anti-corruption trainings, with a 100% employee coverage rate and a total of 70,000 hours of anti-corruption education for employees.
In terms of the environment, SF Express has also shouldered the responsibility of being a leader in the industry. According to the "Carbon Emissions of China's Express Industry" released in June last year, the carbon emissions of China's express delivery industry have increased by more than 200% in five years, and the carbon emissions of the express delivery industry come from its entire operation, mainly including warehousing, packaging materials and transportation links, among which the transportation link is the largest source of carbon emissions in the industry, and it is also the link that needs the most urgent emission reduction.
SF's carbon reduction actions focus on reducing the carbon footprint of its parcel business, focusing on packaging, transportation, warehousing, etc., and achieving a 15% increase in carbon efficiency in 2023 compared with the target base year:
Transportation: Leading industry innovation by developing the first waybill-level carbon calculation model to accurately track the carbon footprint of each shipment. By the end of 2023, more than 31,000 new energy vehicles will be deployed in 243 cities, significantly reducing carbon emissions from transportation.
Warehousing: 14 industrial parks have successfully applied photovoltaic projects and used renewable energy.
Packaging: Reduction and standardization research and development of 8 categories of materials such as plastic bags, adhesive tape, stickers, seals, etc., reducing the use of base paper by 43,000 tons and plastic by 162,000 tons, reducing carbon emissions by a total of 164,000 tons, and successfully launching a pilot project of fully biodegradable woven bags.
In FY2023, SF Express reduced greenhouse gas emissions by about 540,000 tons through its green packaging strategy, demonstrating its firm commitment to environmental protection. In addition, SF joined the China ESG Alliance and SBTi, publicly committed to achieving "net zero greenhouse gas emissions" in the value chain by 2050, further strengthening its role in environmental governance.
In terms of social responsibility, SF Express also performs well:
At the employee level: Nearly 746,600 employees were employed, and more than 20,000 employees and their families were provided with assistance, with a cumulative amount of more than 11.61 million yuan.
Rural revitalization: Invested 3 million yuan in special funds to support regional brands and agricultural product sales, with a service network covering more than 2,700 counties and districts across the country, benefiting more than 6,000 kinds of special agricultural products in 226 categories.
Charity and public welfare: The annual public welfare expenditure was 106 million yuan, 155 public welfare activities were held, and the total volunteer service time was nearly 35,000 hours, the SF Lotus Student Aid Program funded 13,718 students and distributed 31.19 million yuan in scholarships and grants, and the SF Warm Heart Program helped 21,379 children and orphans with serious illnesses in distress, providing humanistic care for 35,000 people.
SF Express said that in the future, it will continue to adhere to the concept of long-termism and sustainable and healthy development, continue to promote the ecological construction of green and low-carbon supply chain, continuously improve employee welfare and care, practice social responsibility, and strive to become a benchmark enterprise that continues to create excellent social value and deliver lasting power for global sustainable development.
Container shipping leader - COSCO Shipping
COSCO SHIPPING is a large state-owned enterprise directly managed by the central government, with shipping, ports, logistics and other basic and core industries, and currently ranks fourth in the world in terms of container fleet size and first in Asia, and its total container terminal throughput ranks first in the world in 2023, which is also the third consecutive year that it has been on the list.
COSCO SHIPPING also refers to the GRI standards of the Global Sustainability Standards Committee GSSB, discloses environmental and social performance data, and compiles ESG reports.
In terms of corporate governance, COSCO SHIPPING has embedded anti-corruption into corporate governance and business processes, and established an integrity management mechanism that is coordinated by members of the company's leadership team and led by the Supervision and Audit Department.
In recent years, COSCO SHIPPING Group has anchored the goal of the vision of a world-class shipping technology enterprise, and has practiced the goal of high quality and green in its main business.
As the core artery of global trade, the shipping industry carries 80% of the world's total trade. The shipping industry currently accounts for about 3% of global CO2 emissions, but its share could climb to 50% by 2050, equivalent to around 5% of global emissions, unless emergency measures are taken.
In this regard, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has made clear the importance of urgent climate action and set up a blueprint for reducing emissions by 2050, requiring global ships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%. Given that ships typically have a service life of 20 to 25 years, to ensure that this ambitious emissions reduction target is met, the shipping industry must act decisively over the next decade to fully implement carbon-free solutions and technological innovations.
At present, COSCO SHIPPING is making every effort to lay out two new tracks, green and low-carbon and digital intelligence, and vigorously develop four strategic emerging industries: global digital supply chain, green and low-carbon intelligent ship development, marine new energy, and intelligent shipping industry. In order to accelerate the green transformation, COSCO SHIPPING has continuously collaborated through diversified explorations to build green flights, green fleets, and green ports:
Low-carbon fleet construction: In 2023, a total of 18 high-energy-consuming ships with 2,336,900 deadweight tons will be eliminated, 24,000 TEUs of methanol-powered ships will be independently developed, with an expected annual carbon reduction of 1.3 million tons, and the Yangtze River pure battery-powered ships will be launched, which will be rated as "the top ten heavyweights of central enterprises"; We have joined hands with various parties to launch the green methanol industry chain project, and completed the installation and application of distributed solar photovoltaic grid-connected power generation ships of the "COSCO Shengshi" and "COSCO Tengfei" ships, with an average annual power generation of 280,000 kWh and 210,000 kWh respectively, leading the application of new energy in shipping.
Smart zero-carbon port: Tianjin Port has built the first "smart zero-carbon" terminal, generating 74 million kWh of electricity per year and reducing carbon emissions by 42,000 tons.
ESG innovation in shipping finance: Reached the first ESG-linked syndicated loan agreement, setting a new benchmark in the industry.
Near-zero carbon demonstration zone: Participate in the construction of the Boao Demonstration Zone, which has been internationally recognized, achieved high-level carbon emission reduction, and established the "Boao Standard".
In 2023, COSCO SHIPPING will complete the signing of the donation agreement with the COSCO SHIPPING Group Charity Foundation, implement the donation of 25 million yuan of assistance funds, and purchase a total of 1.149 million yuan of products in the help area, exceeding the consumption assistance target.
It is understood that COSCO SHIPPING has also joined the ESG Alliance of Central Enterprises, which will benchmark the world's leading peers, study and establish an ESG evaluation system with the characteristics of China's shipping industry, better integrate ESG concepts into corporate operations and medium and long-term strategies, and promote the high-quality development of enterprises.
China Merchants Shipping, a large international shipping company under China Merchants Group
China Merchants Shipping is an international shipping company engaged in maritime transportation, with oil tankers (including LNG carriers) and dry bulk cargo as the dual core business, and containers, ro-ro transportation, special transportation and other related fleets as organic supplements. This is the first time that CMES Shipping has been included in the ESG Impact List.
In recent years, CMES Shipping has also continued to publish ESG reports, which are prepared in accordance with the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Guide of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and refer to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI-Standards) as the guiding principle for information disclosure.
In the face of the urgency of the shipping industry, CMES Shipping has also incorporated green and low-carbon into its overall development strategy, formulated the company's carbon emission reduction strategic goals at both the international and domestic levels, and adopted "inhibiting increments", "reducing stocks" and "control variables" as carbon emission reduction strategies, implementing carbon emission reduction in an all-round way and broadening the path of energy conservation and emission reduction.
It is understood that China Merchants Shipping is committed to the application of low-emission fuels, through the investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships and methanol dual-fuel power ro-ro ships, not only to achieve the goal of zero carbon emissions shipping has laid a solid foundation, but also actively tried to apply biodiesel on a number of ships, for the wide application of clean energy in the field of shipping has accumulated valuable practical experience. Last year, China Merchants Shipping ordered 2+4 9,000-berlot methanol dual-fuel powered ro-ro ships, and last year announced the purchase of the world's first methanol dual-fuel very large oil tanker (VLCC), with a net price of US$107.5 million per vessel.
These explorations are not only a positive response to the domestic dual carbon goals and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) emission reduction targets, but also an active exploration of China Merchants Energy's sustainable development path in the future.
In terms of human resource management, CMES Shipping emphasizes gender equality, designs personalized welfare plans for female employees, implements a 1:1 salary ratio for male and female employees for the same position, safeguards the legitimate rights and special interests of female employees, and practices the principle of fairness in the workplace.
In terms of social responsibility, CMES Shipping has continued to contribute to education, and has so far sponsored more than 600 students, with a total donation of more than RMB 60 million.
summary
At present, ESG is becoming an important reference system for the sustainable and high-quality development of Chinese enterprises. The active exploration and practice of SF Express, COSCO Shipping, China Merchants Shipping and other enterprises in the field of transportation, logistics and warehousing not only demonstrates the green competitiveness of Chinese enterprises on the international stage, but also contributes China's wisdom and strength to the global sustainable development goals.
It is worth noting that the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Beijing Stock Exchange have officially issued the guidelines for the sustainability reporting of listed companies in April this year, which will be implemented from May 1, 2024, requiring some listed companies, including the sample companies of the SSE 180 Index, the STAR 50 Index, the SZSE 100 Index and the ChiNext Index, to disclose their 2025 sustainability reports from 2026, while encouraging other listed companies to disclose independently, marking a new era of sustainable development information disclosure in China.
In the future, it is expected that more enterprises can join this green revolution and jointly promote the development of the industry in a more environmentally friendly, efficient and harmonious direction, and create a greener and more sustainable tomorrow.
PS: The discount counts down to 2 days, and the gold member will be given away from the purchase of the annual report!
Author | Logistics Mahjong Hu
Source | Rogo Net
This article is the author's personal opinion and does not represent the position of Rogo.com