A Leapfrog Moment for China in ESG Reporting
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
In collaboration with PwC China A Leapfrog Moment for China in ESG Reporting WHITE PAPER MARCH 2021 Cover: Getty/Miemo Penttinen Inside: Getty/Ansonmiao, Getty/Chunyip Wong, Getty/ispyfriend, Reuters/Aly Song, Getty/WangAnQi Contents 3 Foreword 4 Letter from Chinese business leaders 5 1 Introduction and executive summary 6 Why is ESG reporting important in China? 6 Insights from the ESG journey in China 6 What is driving corporate ESG reporting in China? 7 Q&A with Sylvia Ng, General Manager, Corporate Strategy, MTR 9 2 Insights from the ESG journey in China 10 1. Board-level commitment 10 2. Long-term growth and stakeholder interests 10 3. Beyond traditional CSR 11 4. Materiality – the relevance of ESG to achieving strategic goals 12 5. Capacity-building and coordination 12 6. Sustainability in supply chains 13 Practical steps for corporates on the ESG journey 14 Q&A with Richard Sheng, Secretary of Board of Directors, Ping An Insurance Group 16 3 Regulators: how they are driving ESG reporting 17 ESG reporting in Hong Kong 17 ESG reporting in mainland China 18 Other major listing locations of Chinese companies 19 Q&A with Alex Xiang, Vice-President International Business, Xiaomi 21 4 Investors: how they are driving ESG reporting 22 Shareholder types in Chinese companies’ major listing locations 22 State-owned enterprises (SOEs) 23 Public-sector investment funds 23 Domestic asset owners and asset managers 24 International asset owners and asset managers 25 Global indices and ESG ratings in China 25 Retail investors 26 Q&A with Amy Fong, Chief Operating Officer and ESG Leader, FountainVest Partners 27 5 China’s 2060 carbon neutral goal: ESG reporting can set a strong foundation for climate transition 28 Transformation and funding requirements 29 Q&A with Zhou Jiangong, Vice-President, Envision Energy 30 Conclusion 31 Appendix – Overview of HKEX ESG disclosure requirements 33 Contributors 36 Endnotes © 2021 World Economic Forum. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system. A Leapfrog Moment for China in ESG Reporting 2 March 2021 A Leapfrog Moment for China in ESG Reporting Foreword David Aikman, Raymund Chao, Chief Representative Officer, Asia Pacific Chairman, China China, World Economic Forum Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, PwC During the World Economic Forum’s first virtual communicate their non-financial performance more Davos Agenda in January 2021, more than 60 effectively to domestic and global stakeholders. business leaders, including members of the Forum and its International Business Council (IBC), The findings presented in this paper reflect committed to a set of Stakeholder Capitalism discussions at three Forum-convened workshops Metrics – universal, comparable disclosures focused during the autumn of 2020, including a workshop on people, planet, prosperity and governance on held at the Forum’s China Business Roundtable, which companies can report, regardless of industry expert interviews and desk research. Experts or region. These common metrics were developed representing more than 30 businesses in China in collaboration with the “big four” global accounting participated in these activities. Building on its firms to identify a set of universal, material ESG support for the global common metrics work and metrics and recommended disclosures that could reflecting its expertise in China, PwC collaborated be reflected in the mainstream annual reports of with the Forum in the preparation of workshops and companies on a consistent basis. Following a six- interviews and in putting together this publication. month open consultation process, the metrics were first published by the Forum in September 2020 in China has been leading the economic rebuilding the white paper Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism: needed as a result of COVID-19, and the impact Towards Common Metrics and Consistent of decisions and the strategic direction taken by its Reporting of Sustainable Value Creation. business leaders will be felt not only domestically but also globally. Policy-makers, regulators, investors Recognizing the importance of this work, the and other stakeholders will increasingly demand that group of chief executive officers and chairpersons corporates disclose their non-financial performance convened by the Forum in the China Action Group and footprint. China’s commitment to become carbon (CAG) asked the Forum to lead an exploration neutral by 2060 will only accelerate these dynamics. of the state of ESG understanding, thinking During the Forum-led discussions, participants and preparedness in China to benchmark how highlighted, however, that business leaders should developments in China align with global trends further develop the Chinese ESG ecosystem beyond and best practices. This white paper helps to stakeholder expectations or regulatory requirements. outline how companies in China have been rapidly They saw an opportunity for a leapfrog moment for developing their understanding of ESG concepts ESG value creation and reporting in China. and frameworks and have built capacity to capture and report their ESG performance. In addition, The Forum and PwC are delighted to work with it assesses the landscape and main drivers for all businesses participating in this initiative and ESG reporting in China and highlights several encourage Chinese business leaders to embrace characteristics that are important for local and this opportunity for progress. We hope this white global stakeholders to recognize. paper establishes a starting position from which all stakeholders can jointly embark and we look More importantly, this white paper provides a call forward to your thoughts on this publication. And, to action for business leaders in China to further of course, we invite more business leaders to enhance their ESG reporting capabilities and become part of this initiative. A Leapfrog Moment for China in ESG Reporting 3 Letter from Chinese business leaders Business leaders everywhere understand the China Action Group, a community of Chinese importance of measuring corporate performance CEOs and chairpersons who are engaged in the not merely in the form of financial statements activities of the World Economic Forum, asked but equally by examining and reporting on the Forum to explore the state of ESG environmental, social and governance (ESG) understanding, thinking and application in metrics. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted China. This report provides an important the central role businesses play in creating stocktake, highlighting promising opportunities more prosperous, fulfilled societies and a more and the remaining challenges. sustainable relationship with our planet. We call on all of our peers in China to study this Thoughtful and sophisticated metrics help publication and join us in becoming Chinese ESG businesses measure and demonstrate their champions. As a global community, we will not contributions. We therefore applaud the work that make significant progress towards realizing the the World Economic Forum has facilitated globally Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without on advancing common metrics and consistent meaningful contributions from Chinese business. reporting of sustainable value creation. As Chinese business leaders, we are aligned with the global We also ask the Forum to continue working with the effort put forward by the Forum. China Action Group to further develop the China ESG champions community and, over the coming We also understand the need to broaden the base months, to develop a roadmap that guides Chinese of business leaders committed to advancing the businesses in their ESG journey. sophistication and application of ESG reporting standards and believe that China will play an Together, we have a compelling story to tell. Let us important role in this process. This is why the embrace this opportunity. China Action Group (members are listed in the Acknowledgments) A Leapfrog Moment for China in ESG Reporting 4 1 Introduction and executive summary Why is ESG reporting important in China? Driving one of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies, China’s enterprises have a leading role to play in delivering environmentally friendly and socially responsible prosperity, both domestically and around the world. Quality reporting of corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics can guide capital flows, help regulators make timely policy decisions and enable customers to make informed supply- chain management decisions that foster sustainable growth. China’s ambition to reach peak carbon before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 will require companies to act now to transform, to various extents, to a lower-carbon business model. ESG reporting, including making emissions data visible and comparable, is a key ingredient in this transition. A Leapfrog Moment for China in ESG Reporting 5 Insights from the ESG journey in China We have highlighted six key insights about the 4. Successful companies focus their ESG efforts on ESG journey for Chinese companies. These arose the issues that are most relevant to their business from discussions with ESG practitioners from more as identified in their materiality assessment. than 30 companies across various industry sectors in workshops convened by the World Economic 5. As Chinese companies ramp up their ESG Forum in China over the past six months. reporting, they often find a shortage