Demonstrating the initiative and commitment of Chinese enterprises in climate action

Putting the world on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement will depend not only on the ambition and action of governments at COP28, but also on efforts and transformation made by the global business community. How to get more enterprises to engage in carbon reduction and how to empower other industries and the whole society to reduce carbon through market innovation, are critical issues for building a zero-carbon society in the future. On December 11, at the China Pavilion of COP 28, a side event on "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" was successful held. This side event is hosted by the China Enterprise Confederation and China Enterprise Directors Association, supported by China Enterprise Management Science Foundation, Rocky Mountain Institute, China Sustainability Tribune, BRI International Green Development Coalition, China Business Council for Sustainable Development and other institutions. Representatives of leading enterprises in green development, the International Organization of Employers, media, research institutes and NGOs participated in the discussions of the practices and experience of Chinese enterprises in addressing climate change, showcased the initiative and commitment of Chinese enterprises in climate action and called for more enterprises to take actions.
 

Mr. Zhu Hongren making keynote speech

 
Achieving carbon neutrality is not only an energy issue, but also requires a profound and systemic economic and social change, during which enterprises must follow the trend and take the initiative to change. Mr. Zhu Hongren, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of China Enterprise Confederation, pointed out in his speech that since the Chinese government put forward the goals of reaching carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, Chinese enterprises have been actively responding to relevant policy requirements, and a number of pioneering enterprises have been led by this strategy, combining green and low-carbon development with the planning of enterprise development, and made significant progress in exploring new technologies and new models. Enterprises should be more proactive with stronger commitment in the future, through technological innovation, management innovation, with new energy as a breakthrough, with recycling as the focus and services as the means, to make greater progress in advancing green low-carbon transition. Mr. Zhu Hongren said that the China Enterprise Confederation is willing to work with all parties to help enterprises fulfill their global emission reduction responsibilities and make greater contributions to tackling global climate change.
 

Ms. Rebecca Pimentel delivering a speech

 
Ms. Rebecca Pimentel, Senior Director of Corporate Partnership of the Rocky Mountain Institute, pointed out that immediate actions from all countries are required in order to achieve 1.5 ℃ climate target under a total global carbon budget of 400 billion tons. We must actively commit ourselves to carbon neutrality, integrate green and low-carbon actions deeply with corporate image and strategy. We must deepen technology innovation which will drive a declining cost of green and low-carbon products globally. Companies across the globe should actively deploy carbon-reducing technologies and strengthen carbon management, forming a trend of value chain synergy. Financial institutions should actively support green development of enterprises.

Mr. Robert Marinkovic delivering a speech

 
Mr. Robert Marinkovic, Advisor for Climate Change and Green Economy of International Organization of Employers participated in CEC’s side event. In his speech, he said the International Organization of Employers has participated in the UN Climate Change Conference for many times, actively focusing on the impact of climate change on the labor market and enterprise development, and helping enterprises to formulate response plans. He believes that Chinese enterprises have made remarkable achievements in addressing climate change and have played an important role in promoting enterprise and industrial transformation. The development of new technologies will bring challenges for enterprises to address climate change in the future. They hope Chinese enterprises would actively share best practices and jointly find solutions.
 
Representatives from China Railway International Group, Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company, LONGi Green Energy Technology Co.,Ltd., Shandong Chamtopper Carbon Minus Technology Co.,Ltd. and other enterprises shared their exploration experience and practices in making low-carbon transition.
 
Mr. Bi Yanchun, Chairman of China Railway International Group, introduced the four work measures of "addition, subtraction, multiplication and division" taken by the company to address climate change and the results of their implementation, expressed his hope to work closely with all parties to translate the beautiful vision of "dual carbon goals" into coordinated actions, and jointly build a beautiful, green, low-carbon and environment-friendly world with common prosperity.

Mr. Bi Yanchun speaking

 
Mr. Wang Yong, Director for Strategy of the Shandong Chamtopper Carbon Minus Technology Co.,Ltd., introduced his company which is engaged in energy and chemical industry, high-end manufacturing and the construction and operation of green, low-carbon and sustainable development projects. The company focuses on the research, application and promotion of negative carbon technology, and provides integrated solutions of carbon minus and solid waste treatment for high-emission industries.
 

Mr. Wang Yong speaking

 
Ms. Liu Ting, Marketing Director of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. in China, introduced LONGi's advanced experience in helping the world realize net-zero emissions through Green Power + Green Hydrogen and developing zero-carbon PV. She also presented LONGi's proactive actions in implementing the SDGs, following the ESG standards, and complying with the requirements of disclosure of information under the framework of the UN Global Compact.

Ms. Liu Ting speaking

 
Mr. Zou Yonggang, General Manager of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company said that the company has always adhered to the concept of green, low-carbon and sustainable development in the development and operation of China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone in Abu Dhabi. The Demonstration Zone is a major landmark project facilitating the economic transformation and development of the UAE and serving the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” Initiative by China and the UAE.
 

Mr. Zou Yonggang speaking

 
Mr. Li Yiren, Vice President of HBIS Group, through a written speech, introduced that in recent years, HBIS has been adhering to the development strategy of "high-end, green, and intelligent", achieved a large number of industrial green and low-carbon key technology breakthroughs, created a number of green and low-carbon model projects for the steel industry, and reached significant achievements in high-quality development of the enterprise.
 
At this side event, the results of four groundbreaking and demonstrative projects were released. Among them, 2023 Selected Cases of Excellent Practices of Green and Low-carbon Development of Chinese Enterprises (Chinese and English Edition) was released by Mr. Miao Rong, Secretary-General of the Working Committee for Promoting Enterprise Green and Low-carbon Development of China Enterprise Confederation and Director-General of China Enterprise Management Science Foundation. According to his presentation, this publication is the outcome of cooperation among China Enterprise Confederation, China Enterprise Management Science Foundation, Rocky Mountain Institute and China Sustainability Tribune. They jointly formed an editorial team who have selected 33 cases which were carefully edited and collated based on sectors and representativeness of practice areas and translated into English, reflecting to some extent the green development level of Chinese enterprises due to its extensiveness, diversity, and practicality.The authors hope that the publication of this book can effectively promote international exchanges on the green and low-carbon development of Chinese enterprises, and facilitate broader cooperation and action.
 

Mr. Miao Rong speaking

 

Corporate Carbon Neutrality: Strategic Options, Action Framework and Best Practices (The Case of Heavy Industry) was jointly released by Rocky Mountain Institute and China Enterprise Confederation. This report sorted out the carbon goals of leading enterprises in four key industrial fields, namely steel, petrochemicals and chemicals, cement and aluminum, and proposed an evaluation framework for corporate carbon actions to support international comparative research on corporate dual carbon goals and actions, with a view to analyze, compare and study representative enterprises at home and abroad, from the angle of performance, target, action and management and with a focus on steel, cement, petrochemicals and chemicals and aluminum industries, so as to provide references in respect of Chinese enterprises’ actions, policy support and industry guidance required.
 
Mr. Yu Zhihong from China Sustainability Tribune presented and released a research outline on "Climate reputation management". According to his presentation, climate reputation management provides a new perspective of observing and promoting corporate climate transition. This research will take a sample of large Chinese enterprises, starting from reputation, intensity and degree of dispersion, collect communication data, professional data and survey data of corporate climate actions for analysis and research. A research report on Climate Reputation Management of Enterprises and the Guide to Corporate Climate Reputation Management and other research results are planned to be released.
 

Mr. Yu Zhihong speaking

 
Ms. Liu Zhuohui, Academician of the International Academy for Quality, on behalf of the China Enterprise Association, released China's First social organization Standard on Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutral Management for Enterprises: General Requirements and Evaluation Guidelines for Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutral Management for Enterprises. The standard draws on the concept of PDCA (Plan, Do, Check and Act) cycle in the quality management system and the practices and experience of pioneering enterprises in dual-carbon management, systematically sorting out relevant requirements for enterprises to implement the national carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, and establishing a set of systematic, scientific and operative norms for enterprises to carry out dual-carbon management, so as to facilitate enterprises to carry out dual-carbon management work in a systematic, scientific and effective manner.
 

Ms. Liu Zhuohui speaking

 
The side event was moderated by Mr. Shi Xianghui, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of China Enterprise Confederation.

Mr. Shi Xianghui moderating the meeting