Chinese enterprises showcase their initiative and commitment in climate action at COP28

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 held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

This side event was 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.

Zhu Hongren, executive vice president and secretary-general of China Enterprise Confederation delivers a keynote speech at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

Achieving carbon neutrality is an energy issue, but also requires a profound and systemic economic and social change, during which enterprises have to follow the trend and take initiatives to change. 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 achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, many Chinese enterprises have been combining green and low-carbon development concept with their future plans, and have 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. Zhu 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.

Rebecca Pimentel, senior director of corporate partnership of the Rocky Mountain Institute, delivers a speech at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

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°C climate target under a total global carbon budget of 400 billion tons. We must commit ourselves to carbon neutrality, integrate green and low-carbon actions deeply with corporate image and strategy. We must promote technology innovation which will drive a declining cost of green and low-carbon products globally. Companies across the globe should deploy carbon-reducing technologies and strengthen carbon management, forming a trend of value chain synergy. Financial institutions should actively support green development of enterprises.

Robert Marinkovic, advisor for Climate Change and Green Economy of International Organization of Employers, delivers a speech at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

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, focusing on the impact of climate change on the labor market and enterprise development, and helping enterprises to formulate response plans. He said 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 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 also shared their exploration experience and practices in making low-carbon transition at the event.

Bi Yanchun, chairman of China Railway International Group, delivers a speech at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

Bi Yanchun, chairman of China Railway International Group, introduced the company’s four work measures, "addition, subtraction, multiplication and division," to address climate change and the results of their implementation to the audience. He also 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.

Wang Yong, director for Strategy of the Shandong Chamtopper Carbon Minus Technology Co., Ltd., delivers a speech at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

Wang Yong, director for Strategy of the Shandong Chamtopper Carbon Minus Technology Co., Ltd., introduced his company at the event. The company is engaged in energy and chemical industry, high-end manufacturing and the construction and operation of green, low-carbon and sustainable development projects. It 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.

Liu Ting, marketing director of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. in China, delivers a speech at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

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.

Zou Yonggang, general manager of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company, delivers a speech at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

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.

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." It has made a large number of industrial green and low-carbon key technology breakthroughs, created many green and low-carbon model projects for the steel industry, and achieved significant achievements in high-quality development of the enterprise.

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, releases 2023 Selected Cases of Excellent Practices of Green and Low-carbon Development of Chinese Enterprises at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

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 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. He disclosed that 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 selected 33 cases which were compiled 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. It is hoped 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.

Yu Zhihong, president and editor-in-chief of China Sustainability Tribune, delivers a speech at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

Yu Zhihong, president and editor-in-chief of China Sustainability Tribune presented and released a research outline on "Climate reputation management." He pointed out that 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 also expected to be released.

Liu Zhuohui, academician of the International Academy for Quality, releases 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 at the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

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.

Shi Xianghui, executive deputy secretary-general of China Enterprise Confederation, moderates the "Accelerating Green Transition, Shaping Low-Carbon Leadership of Chinese Enterprises" event on December 11, 2023.

The side event was moderated by Shi Xianghui, executive deputy secretary-general of China Enterprise Confederation.