The 14th International Conference on CSR Reporting in China held online

Mr. Zhai Qi introduced that ESG has received extensive attention from the government, business, and society in recent years. The Report of China Corporate Sustainability Index showed that the overall sustainable development of Chinese companies is characterized by a steady increase. Most companies are in the stage of qualified sustainable development. The proportion of companies that have changed from "qualified" to "good" has continued to increase, and the quality of disclosure has also continued to improve. The 14th Five-Year Plan is a critical period for China to achieve its goal of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Enterprises should start carbon management as soon as possible and contribute to the realization of "30·60 Decarbonization Goal". 

In 2021, Sweden ranked second in the UN Sustainable Development Report and the Global Innovation Index. According to Mr. Filip Sandén, sustainability is deeply entrenched in Swedish traditions, from society to business and individual citizens. The Swedish Government has a clear expectation for its companies to follow international standards, to develop and execute a strategy and to be transparent. The legislation states that all companies with more than 250 employees must submit a sustainability report every year. Sweden has taken it one step further and more than 1600 Swedish companies now produce a sustainability report.

In Europe, CSR has also seen new developments with the launch of the European Green Deal. Mr. Jan Noterdaeme introduced that the EU Taxonomy has been published in 2020, as far as possible to encourage institutional investors and private capital to carry out sustainable financial investment. In April 2021, the European Commission issued the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), to strengthen the extent of sustainability reporting in the EU over the coming years, requiring all large companies and all companies listed on EU regulated markets to apply the EU sustainability reporting standards, which will make profound impact on the development of sustainability reporting in Europe and the world.

According to Ms. Verna Lin, GRI has issued updated GRI Universal Standards and GRI Sector Standards. The Double Materiality proposed by the European Commission encourages companies to consider importance from two materialities. One is to assess the company's direct and indirect impact on the environment, society and people, which is also the purpose of the GRI Standards; the other is to understand how these topics affect the company values and incorporate them into the financial system. 

As global challenges such as climate change and inequality become increasingly severe, and the existing economic system fails to recognize the dependence on nature and society, value accounting provides a good solution. Ms. Martine van Weelden, a project manager from Capitals Coalition, mentioned that if a company wants to achieve a real success, it must incorporate financial capital, social capital, natural capital, and human capital into strategic decision-making. 

Ms. Li Xuemei said that the contribution of enterprises to carbon neutrality is not only to respond to national strategies, but also to take the initiative in the development of the industry. Companies should first set a deadline for the committed target. In addition, they should regularly conduct carbon inspections, verify product carbon footprint, purchase carbon emission indicators, and improve carbon management systems. This is an important way to achieve the "30·60 Goal". 

2021 is the opening year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan and will also start a new stage of China's economic development. At this significant and historic time, Chinese companies have shown a dynamic motivation for progress and good. This is a positive signal found in the GoldenBee Index on Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting in China 2021 released at this conference. GoldenBee Consulting has conducted a systematic analysis of 1,802 CSR reports collected in China and found the following characteristics: 

The Report recommends that companies should

(1) strengthen the understanding and action that make social responsibility help enterprises achieve high-quality development;

(2) be guided by strategies and the concept of stakeholders to strengthen the disclosure of CSR strategy, governance and management;  

(3) maintain the comparative advantages in readability and materiality of the reports, and further the communication with stakeholders to improve the comparability and credibility of the reports;

(4) closely follow the trend, pay attention to the development and changes of core ESG issues;

(5) accelerate the application of a series of national standards on social responsibility to jointly promote the improvement of CSR information disclosure in China.

During the conference, Herbalife China released its 2020-2021 Sustainability Report. According to Ms. Dong Ruiping, Vice President of Corporate Affairs for Herbalife China, fulfilling social responsibility is Herbalife China's long-term mission. Starting from health, business, nature and society, the report comprehensively demonstrated Herbalife China's efforts and achievements in product innovation, compliance management, digital transformation, happy workplace, green operation and community development in the past year.

As a professional communication platform for CSR reporting, the conference has continued its professionalism and facilitated in-depth discussions on hotspot issues including carbon neutrality, corporate ESG disclosure, and report communication.

2021 is the first year of China's journey towards "carbon neutrality". From the central ministries and commissions, local governments to industry enterprises, China has showed its determination and action. During the 4th Symposium on Carbon Neutrality and Corporate Green Development, guests from Beijing Normal University, China National Nuclear Power Co., Ltd, Signify and S&P Global shared their insights in the development of corporate carbon management system and new growth opportunities under "30·60 Goal" in nuclear power, lighting, and financial industries.

Similarly, in the context of "30·60 Goal", ESG has increasingly become a critical criterion for deciding whether an enterprise has the development potential of sustainable finance. During "Discover the Hidden Value of ESG Reports" session, guests from GoldenBee Consulting, MSCI (an American company for index compiling) and Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd., discussed the ESG management in listed state-owned enterprises, ESG rating model and ESG practices of pharmaceutical companies, respectively. They all agreed that ESG disclosure can help companies improve management capabilities, sort out liability risks, meet stakeholders' demands, and enhance corporate image and influence.

During the Release Ceremony of GoldenBee CSR Report Honor Roll 2021, 100 enterprises stood out from over 1,800 candidates to be listed in the honor roll for "Leading Enterprise", "Growing Enterprise", "Foreign-Invested and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-Invested Enterprise", "First Time Report Award", "Special CSR Report Award", and "Evergreen Award", etc. 

Up to now, over 17,000 reports have registered for the evaluation and more than 800 CSR reports released by nearly 300 enterprises have been listed in the "GoldenBee CSR Report Honor Roll". The event has provided a professional platform for brilliant enterprises and outstanding CSR reports to manifest their advantages, and also indicates the increasing number and quality of outstanding CSR reports in China.

As one of the earliest international event on CSR reporting in China, for 14 years, the conference adheres to the concept of "CSR Communication Creates Value", highlights professionalism and internationality, discusses the issues and trends of social responsibility reports in related fields such as standards, preparation, management, and dissemination, witnesses and promotes CSR reports to a higher level. It also plays a positive role for improving the quality of CSR reports, enhancing corporate transparency, improving the information disclosure and innovating in stakeholder communication.

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