2022 Service Trade Fair Observation: ESG has become an inherent requirement for enterprise development, rules and standards need to be refined and characterized
Source: People’s Daily Online
People’s Daily Online, Beijing, September 3 (Reporter Li Tong) In recent years, the global market’s demand for corporate ESG information disclosure has continued to grow. Why do you need to disclose ESG information, what standards and guidelines should be followed for disclosure, and what characteristics do Chinese companies have in ESG disclosure?
“The ESG concept is in line with the trend of sustainable development, green development, and high-quality development in my country, and the disclosure of corporate ESG information also conforms to the inherent needs of my country’s capital market and the development of enterprises themselves.” At the recently held 2022 China International Service Trade Fair (hereinafter referred to as the “Service Trade Fair”), the participants said that ESG information disclosure is no longer an external requirement, but an enterprise’s own business needs, and relevant laws, regulations and guidelines need to be further refined.
ESG, short for Environmental, Social and Governance, is an investment philosophy and evaluation standard that focuses on the non-financial performance of companies.
At the 2022 Service Trade Fair, Ernst & Young released the “Research Report on ESG Strategies and Action Plans for Technology Enterprises” (hereinafter referred to as the “Report”), which shows that compared with large foreign technology companies, the time for Chinese technology companies to carry out ESG practices is relatively low. It is relatively short, and there is still room for improvement in the disclosure of ESG information.
According to the “Report” statistics, among the A-share listed companies in 2021, the computer and electronics industry ranks first in terms of the total number of ESG-related reports disclosed, but the disclosure rate is less than 20%, which is lower than the disclosure rate of technology companies in developed countries. The disclosure rate of environmental indicators in the ESG indicators of Chinese technology companies is relatively low, and there are problems such as few quantitative indicators and too many qualitative descriptions.
“It is worth noting that there are sharp differences in the indicators concerned by different technology sub-sectors, and it is necessary to pay attention to the characteristics of different industries and regions.” Some people in the industry said that the communication industry has a higher proportion of information disclosure on privacy and data security, and entertainment technology has a higher proportion of information disclosure. The industry attaches great importance to the protection of minors’ information, the electronic information technology and equipment industry focuses on employee health and safety, and new energy companies focus on disclosure of packaging materials and waste.
Some people in the industry said that the willingness to disclose ESG information of A-share listed companies in my country is gradually increasing, but the unified standard is still under construction. “Many listed companies are dissatisfied with the rating results given by international institutions and think the rating is low. But to a certain extent, it is because companies have not disclosed data and information to the outside world through ESG reports, resulting in information asymmetry and international Do not connect.”
“Enterprises in different sub-sectors and development stages have more detailed emphasis on ESG practices, information disclosure, etc.” Zhang Weixiong, partner of Ernst & Young China’s technology, media and telecommunications industry consulting service leader, told reporters that this reflects the detailed Different potential needs and work priorities of different industries in the field of ESG.
In order to further explore refined ESG disclosure indicators, the “Report” takes the field of technology companies as an example to explore, in which E, S, and G are 3 themes, there are 10 pillars under each theme, and there are 35 subdivisions under each pillar. issues, and gave 63 indicator suggestions. Under Pillar E, there are four topics: climate change, natural resources, pollution and waste, and environmental optimization; under Pillar S, there are four topics: human capital, product responsibility, supply chain management, and social optimization; under Pillar G, There are two topics of corporate governance and corporate behavior.
Zhang Weixiong said that in the future, regulators can steadily promote the ESG information disclosure system of technology companies, and set differentiated focus of disclosure for different industries; technology companies can, on the premise of complying with external requirements, expand the breadth and scope of disclosure content according to the characteristics of their own business fields. depth. Based on data and industry research, ESG research institutions in the technology industry can improve the indicator requirements and calculation methods for subdivided industries, and help the practical development of ESG in the industry.Return to Sohu, see more
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