Last month, while major domestic enterprises successively released their 2024 annual reports, they also issued their own ESG reports.

On April 8th, Tencent released its 2024 ESG report, which shows that in 2024, Tencent's total greenhouse gas emissions were 6,056,610.1 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, with a total greenhouse gas emissions of 9.2 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per million RMB per revenue unit. On April 9th, Bilibili stated in its 2024 ESG report that as a non-productive enterprise, Bilibili's greenhouse gas emissions mainly come from indirect emissions in the office operation process and member purchase business.

Meixue Ice City was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March 3rd. On April 23rd, Meixue Ice City released its first ESG report after going public, comprehensively reviewing the group's practices and achievements in ESG areas such as transparent governance, employee well-being, food safety management, public welfare assistance to farmers, and sustainable development. It is not difficult to see that domestic listed companies have been paying more and more attention to ESG.

ESG: The Inevitable path from seizing investment opportunities to the development of modern business civilization

ESG has gradually come into the public eye in recent years, and many entrepreneurs are no longer unfamiliar with this term. When it comes to the question of why we should attach importance to the ESG development of enterprises, we need to trace its origin. ESG originated in the investment field in its early days. In simple terms, it is because investors hope not only to consider the financial performance of an asset, but also to know whether this asset has the ability to manage risks and create long-term value. That is to say, the profitability of an enterprise is no longer the sole indicator for investors to examine.

Therefore, when assessing the long-term value creation ability and risk control ability of an asset, investors and fund management departments incorporate the impacts on the environment, society and corporate Governance into the calculation formula that originally only had an impact on financial analysis. In this way, when considering the investment value of an enterprise from the perspective of ESG, it becomes a kind of traction for the invested enterprise. Enterprises should not only consider performing well financially, but also find ways to demonstrate their stability and resilience in the fields of corporate governance, environmental protection and social development.

For Chinese enterprises, ESG is not only a test but also a requirement in the process of participating in global competition.

If we compare the specific performances of enterprises in different dimensions such as environment, society and corporate governance to water in different cups, ESG is like an invisible scale, which very meticulously quantifies the indicators of each dimension and provides a powerful tool for enterprises to move forward on the path of sustainable development.

During this process, we can not only create business value, including profits, cash flow and market share, but also make beneficial contributions to society and the environment. If society and the environment can develop healthily, it will in turn create a favorable business environment for the long-term development of enterprises, thus forming a positive cycle of sustainable development.

Dr. Lyu Jianzhong, deputy director of the Sustainable Development Management Committee of the Chinese Society of Management Science and deputy director of the ESG Committee of the All-China Environment Federation, said in an interview with reporters: In the evolution of ESG, the traditional economic model centers on maximizing shareholder interests, which easily neglects the demands of stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers, communities, regulatory authorities, media, consumers, supply chains, and the natural environment, leading to an imbalance in the economic and business activities of enterprises. Problems such as financial fraud, infringement of the rights and interests of consumers and workers, and environmental pollution have emerged. And these problems, in today's highly developed Internet era, will, in turn, directly deal a fatal blow to listed companies.

Therefore, the emergence of ESG is actually an inevitable product in the continuous development and evolution of business civilization.

Should non-listed small, medium and micro enterprises attach importance to ESG

Then, do non-listed enterprises and small, medium and micro enterprises not need to attach importance to and develop ESG?

At present, many managers of domestic enterprises still have no specific understanding and concept of development. No matter in which industry or field, every enterprise exists at one end of the upstream and downstream supply chain. On this complete industrial chain, any problem of any enterprise may eventually lead to product quality issues or cause negative social problems.

As small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain (such as those with two or three hundred employees), if their main products are supplied to large chain leader enterprises, their business performance will inevitably be affected by the requirements of the chain leader. In order to meet ESG indicators and obtain a good rating from a third party, the chain leader will force the downstream suppliers of the industrial chain to reach the corresponding level. Whether the product level of downstream supply chain enterprises can meet the standards directly determines whether the supplier can remain in the supply chain and become the supplier of the chain leader. Being able to stay means that the enterprise has a longer possibility of survival. Dr. Lyu Jianzhong said.

Therefore, although ESG seems to be a requirement for the performance of listed companies, it actually affects all upstream and downstream enterprises involved in the entire production cycle in an intangible way. In this regard, Meixue Ice City has delivered an "answer sheet" that reassures consumers.

Behind the expansion of its store scale, Meixue Ice City is increasingly deeply rooted in the upstream industry.

According to the "2024 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report" officially released by Meixue Group (02097.HK), as of now, Meixue Ice City's procurement network covers six continents and 38 countries around the world, conducting in-depth source procurement and selecting nearly 20 types of fruits. In December 2024, it joined hands with Junlebao to jointly build the "Snow King Ranch", continuously deepening its investment in core raw material production areas

By establishing a full-chain preservation management system, Meixue Ice City has rapidly expanded in towns, scenic spots, remote areas and overseas. At the same time, it has set up order-based planting bases for various fruits and agricultural products, and joined hands with hundreds of thousands of farmers to form a closed loop of "enterprise + base + farmers", protecting the income of farmers. Together with its partners, it supports and assists farmers. We promote agricultural industrialization and rural revitalization, and at the same time, we focus on quality from the source to further ensure the rights and interests of consumers.

It is not difficult to see that ESG affects enterprises throughout the entire product life cycle, from product research and development and design to raw materials, to the production process, to manufacturing, to products, to logistics, to sales, and to post-use recycling. For any enterprise along this complete industrial chain, if it fails to incorporate ESG into its corporate strategy and production and operation activities, it may face a difficult situation of losing projects, customers, markets, competitiveness and future development space in the future.

Dr. Lyu Jianzhong said that for enterprises to develop ESG in the future, they need to focus on enhancing four capabilities: First, enhance corporate governance (the "G" in ESG) capabilities, implement the ESG concept from top to bottom, and improve the board of directors' promotion and assessment mechanism; Second, enhance ESG professional capabilities, cultivate professional talents in key fields, and strengthen cross-departmental coordination; The third is the ability to find the right way to survive. Some enterprises neglect ESG because they have not found a suitable development model. Fourth, we should draw on external assistance and cooperate with professional institutions to deal with complex standards and regulations and enhance our response capabilities.

In the new business models of the future, corporate profits are not the ultimate goal of operation, but rather the natural outcome of positive business operations. Every enterprise that grows up in the industrial chain is closely linked to this positive outcome, sharing both honor and disgrace.