2017 Top Ten CSR Practices in China

A more open, confident China in new era faces new opportunities, challenges and new themes: what kind of wealth is the wealth with love? What kind of competitiveness is the more sustainable competitiveness? What kind of practical projects can really bring changes and improvements? ...
 
This is the current challenges for business operation in the new era. Fortunately, many enterprises with innovative and responsible philosophy have already begun to take actions before these changes occur. Under their leading and with their demonstration, a large number of CSR projects featuring responsibility and competitiveness have also been carried out in different fields. These enterprises fully leverage their own business characteristics, expertise and resources to find solutions to innovation problems.
 
As the first step in 2018, China WTO Tribune selected the 2017 top ten CSR practices (in chronological order) to review and solute all efforts in social responsibility development, and hopes to welcome a better 2018.
   
On March 3, 2017 German time, Mary Kay (China) Cosmetics worked with the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the China Women’s Development Foundation to launch a new cooperation project: building a SDGs demonstration village in Waipula, one of poverty villages in Yunnan Province, China. The innovative cooperation modes among community, public sector and business will provide capacity building for poverty-stricken people of Yi ethnic group, especially the women, and help to achieve local coordinated development of the economy, society and environment.
 
This is a close connection between SDGs and China’s targeted poverty alleviation strategy. It also fully demonstrates the new ideas that innovative exploration promotes to achieve targeted poverty alleviation and self-development in Chinese villages. The achievements and experience of the pilot action will help China to contribute to the realization of “No Poverty” in SDGs.
   
JD’s public goods fundraising platform was launched on March 24. The new mode of “donation with one click and direct delivery” brings new experience for “Internet+ Public welfare”. Users can see all kinds of public welfare projects and needed goods and materials on the platform, and they just need click the button of “I want to donate” to complete love transmission. The platform also covers the functions of new material donation and second-hand unused material recycling, relying on Blockchain Technology (BT) to achieve full logistics tracking.
 
Extensive participation, openness and high efficiency are the new energy of traditional public welfare from Internet. It will help improve the efficiency of charitable aid and enhance the professionalism of the entire public welfare sector, and transparent public donation will also enhance public confidence and recognition of public welfare undertakings. Above all, this is a useful attempt of “technology energizes public welfare”.
   
On April 18, Suning firstly introduced 10,000 “shared express boxes” in 8 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou, to replace common cartons with recyclable special express packaging. From the first try in April to the doubled quantity of boxes in market, then to the use of a smarter, greener, lighter version of the shared express box 2.0. The “little yellow box” is integrating into the shopping habits of consumers.
 
The rapid growth of the Internet economy and the “blasting warehouse” of the logistics garbage has undoubtedly become one of the important contradictions in the current e-commerce, and the delivery, unpacking and recycling of each parcel are the origin and source of wastes. As a crucial part directly facing the production and the consumer, e-commerce enterprises’ attempt and innovation to create a green shared packaging ecosystem by linking merchants, express delivery and users will also have an impact on the upstream and downstream industry chains.
   
On April 27, targeted at the characteristics of talents in the autism spectrum, German software group SAP, in collaboration with related organizations, launched Autism at Work program in China to create a system suitable for China, covering recruitment, training, hiring, induction and retention. At the same time, SAP is constantly exploring and customizing related support systems to fully mobilize the resources of employees and management teams, and actively help autism employees to better integrate into businesses and achieve long-term career development.
 
As the first technology company to launch an autism program in China, SAP believes that the foundations for innovation are the diversification of participants in the innovation process and the unique perspectives they bring to enterprises. For the relevant agencies that are currently exploring the employment of people with autism in China, this is a good attempt and breakthrough for cooperation. It is good for the entire community of people with autism and their families.
   
On May 23, China Southern Power Grid Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau held its 2017 CSR Day event at Guangzhou Canton Tower Station and released its annual social responsibility report. Guangzhou Canton Tower Station has been designed as a space with the theme of “Making Guangzhou Be Powerful”. The first theme metro of the CSR report was packed with blue grid elements, demonstrating the important information about 2016 Social Responsibility Report of Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau.
 
The release of CSR reports in the form of theme metro is the first try in China. Compared with conservative modes of dissemination featuring one-way publicity and lack of two-way communication and interaction, Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau initiates a new way of social responsibility communication, allowing social responsibility to integrate into professional fields and the public. Guangzhou Power Supply Bureau again proved that excellent social responsibility communication cannot do without innovation, creativity, and the courage to try.
   
Hosted by Ministry of Education of China, and organized by Intel Corporation, the finals of 2017 China-U.S. Young Maker Competition was held on August 7-11 in Beijing. 70 teams from China and the United States with nearly 300 young creators shared their creative ideas and deepened exchanges.
 
The 2017 China-U.S. Young Maker Competition is one of the highlights of Sino-American cultural exchanges. The competition promotes deep sharing in the field of innovation and the cultural exchanges between the youth of two countries. As a supporter of four consecutive China-U.S. Young Maker Competitions, Intel has made full use of its technological advantages, rich experience in international resources and industrial collaboration to inspire young makers to create, and help young makers make their ideas come true. Intel also enriches its innovation gene while promoting and accelerating the innovation of next generation, and stimulating the vitality of social innovation.
   
On August 31, Meituan.com, one of China’s leading group deals site, launched the “Qingshan Plan”. Meituan also set up a post of “Chief Environmental Officer”, and a team responsible for promoting the planning and implementation of the “Qingshan Plan”. Meituan pushes forward the settlement on environmental protection problems caused by take-out delivery industry by measures, such as setting a monthly “green take-out day”, adding the option of “do not need disposable dishware” on Meituan’s take-out APP, and inviting stakeholders to form a “green advisory group”.
 
When take-out brings convenience to our everyday life, it also encounters serious environmental protection challenges. Although the “Qingshan Plan” launched by Meituan.com needs improvement, we can also see the positive response from the enterprises to the environmental protection problems brought by take-out. It is true that the efforts of several enterprises are not enough, and the real solutions to the problems still needs “social co-governance”. Enterprises also need proactivity to find solution to the problems.
   
On September 5, during Alibaba’s public welfare week, Ant Forest announced to launch an open plan to open its science and technology platforms and product capabilities to the whole society, and nurture public innovation environment. On November 16, Ant Forest, in collaboration with science and technology partners—Gago Group and  XAIRCRAFT, launched functions of “satellite tree nursing and real-time monitoring” in some areas, enabling 230 million users to see the trees planted by themselves thousands of miles away with high-tech force.
 
When the green energy value that you have accumulated reach17.9 kilos, you can “exchange” a Saxaul and it will be planted in the desert. Ants Forest provides a more imaginative way for the green finance strategy. For more than a year, Ant Forests have transformed from a single corporate project into a public good for 230 million people. Opening-up has become the inevitable way. It is worth expecting that the engagement of cross-border partners from public welfare and science and technology will bring what new innovative experiments to Ants Forest.
   
On September 21-23, United Technologies Corporation (UTC), and China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development, together with Shenzhen Project Care office, jointly held the 2nd STEM Expo in Shenzhen. The expo, through innovative forms like forum, salon, workshop and interactive presentation, interpreted the relationship between STEM education and future occupation, the stimulation brought from inclusive diversified culture to innovation potential, and the breakthrough from interest cultivation to problem solving, etc.
 
Social development needs innovation, and innovation calls for innovative talents. UTC, a company that takes innovation as driving force, brings STEM to Shenzhen, a city born in innovation. It not only boosts the development of STEM education in China, but also inspires the cultivation of next generation of scientists, engineers and innovative talents. It even demonstrates that pushing ahead the world needs combine our passion for science and technology with the mission of making the world a better place. This is a corporate commitment that pays equal attention to corporate performance and social responsibility, and the key to the achievement of world sustainable development.
   
In the early morning of November 22 Beijing time, after flying about 12 hours, Hainan Airlines Flight 497 which took off from Beijing, was successfully landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 12:05 pm local time on Tuesday. Hainan Airlines, together with partners—China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group), Boeing, China National Aviation Fuel Group and United Technologies Corporation (UTC), jointly completed China’s first cross-ocean biofuel flight.
 
HNA brings sustainable ideas and awareness into every aspect of the flight journey, accumulating valuable experiences that can be replicated and popularized for the green route. It opens up a new era of sustainable flight. This is a pilot project of sustainable route for Green Aviation Initiatives & Networks (GAIN) co-sponsored by HNA Group and UTC in 2016. The fruitful achievements produced by cross-border cooperation among GAIN members and their concerted action are also the result of green aviation ecosystem.