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On December 12th, The 17th International Conference on Sustainability Disclosure (Greater Bay Area), jointly organized by GoldenBee ThinkTank and Caijing Magazine, convened in Shenzhen.

China Resources Group and the China Sustainability Tribune served  as strategic partners for the conference, while the ESG Research  Institute of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law provided academic  support. GoldenBee (Beijing) Management Consulting Co., Ltd offered  comprehensive professional support for the international conference.

The  participating guests engaged in depth discussions on global trends in  sustainability disclosure, as well as the practice of corporate  sustainability disclosure and management. During the conference, the GoldenBee 2024 Research Report on the sustainability Disclosure in the Greater Bay Area and the “GoldenBee 2024 Sustainability Reports Honor Roll of Listed Companies in Greater Bay Area” were released simultaneously.

Trend Insights
Interpreting New Global Requirements for Sustainability Disclosure

With the successive introduction of sustainability disclosure standards across various regions globally, the requirements for such disclosure are converging towards uniformity. Domestic companies are facing new requirements and challenges in sustainability disclosure, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is embracing new development opportunities amidst the ESG wave.

Zhang Qi

Zhang Qi, Dean of the Shenzhen Financial Stability & Development Institute and a Ph.D. from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, pointed out in her speech that sustainable development has become an indispensable part of global economic development. As one of the core regions of China’s economic development, the GBA possesses unique geographical advantages and resource endowments. It is more of a crucial carrier for promoting ESG practices and achieving sustainable development than an engine for economic development. Implementing ESG practices in the GBA is not only a requirement for companies to fulfill their social responsibilities but also a strategic choice to enhance their competitiveness.

Lu Ling

Lu Ling, Assistant Editor-in-Chief of Caijing Magazine and  Director of the Hong Kong Center of Caijing Reading, stated in her  speech that sustainability disclosure is a top priority in the ESG field. With the successive release of sustainability disclosure guidelines both domestically and internationally, the significance of  this conference lies in promoting the better application of these guidelines. She looks forward to the in-depth exchanges during the  conference to jointly drive the in-depth practice of ESG concepts in China and assist companies in achieving their sustainable development  goals.

With  the release and implementation of sustainability reporting guidelines for listed companies by the three major exchanges, the sustainability disclosure by listed companies has been standardized.

Hu Jianxin

Hu Jianxin, former Chief Sustainability Officer of China Merchants Shekou Holdings, Vice President of China Merchants Property Development Co., Ltd., and Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Low-Carbon Development Promotion Association, shared his thoughts on sustainability disclosure under the new trend. He believes that standardized sustainability disclosure will help companies continuously improve their responsibility fulfillment capabilities and sustainable development management levels. It is an important path for listed companies to reshape their capital market value and a new way to contribute to China's high-quality development.

Measuring  the environmental and social impacts of corporate activities in a  monetized manner can provide companies and investors with a more  intuitive perspective on sustainability.

Guan Zhusun

Guan Zhusun, Co-President of GoldenBee Consulting, interpreted the 2024 ESG Value Accounting Report for Chinese Listed Companies at  the conference and shared key findings on ESG value accounting for  listed companies. He pointed out that the number of A-share listed companies creating ESG net positive impacts is increasing annually, with over 40% of companies having ESG opportunity value exposures. Besides  being applied in the investment field, ESG value accounting can also  serve as a quantitative analysis tool to assist companies in conducting dual materiality analysis and better identifying and managing key issues.

Shi Han

Shi  Han, Academic Advisor and Visiting Associate Professor at the ESG  Center of the HKU Institute for Chinese Business, shared the latest  trends in the standardization of ESG information disclosure and the challenges faced by companies. He stated that in the past 20 years, corporate sustainability disclosure has experienced unprecedented global  development. Companies are facing the challenge of transitioning from  voluntary to mandatory sustainability disclosure. At the same time, new  disclosure standards have set higher requirements for the assessment methods and disclosure content of material issues. Companies can  integrate digital transformation with ESG practices to quantify and  monetize ESG risks and opportunities to better address new challenges.

The  increasingly stringent EU ESG regulations pose significant challenges  to Chinese companies, particularly the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), known as the "strictest" sustainability regulation in history.

Fredré Ferreira

Fredré  Ferreira, Leader on Governance, Value Chain and NESRS at the European  Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), shared the status of  sustainability disclosure in the EU amidst changing landscapes and  interpreted the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and CSRD and their important roles. She specifically mentioned that the CSRD  is a directive aimed at corporate social responsibility, intended to establish a second pillar of corporate reporting that is as important as  financial reporting. She recommended that Chinese companies follow these regulations on sustainability disclosure as much as possible to ensure compliance and competitiveness in the EU market.

As  the global focus on sustainable development continues to grow, Chinese companies are facing increasingly stringent ESG regulatory requirements and the resulting foreign barriers when “going global.”

Wu Leming

Wu  Leming, a lawyer with the High Court of the Hong Kong Special  Administrative Region, analyzed the reasons why Chinese companies face ESG disclosure risks when going global, shared ESG cases related to Chinese companies’ overseas expansion, and provided suggestions on how Chinese companies can respond to ESG disclosure risks. He pointed out that companies going global should integrate ESG into their core strategies, strengthen internal management and top-level promotion, enhance data management capabilities by adopting ESG management tools and digital systems, benchmark international standards in the disclosure process, and start from practical actions to disclose information truly  and objectively.

Professional Discussion
Sharing Sustainability Disclosure and Management Practices

As  a professional communication platform in the field of corporate  sustainable development, the conference on the GBA session continues its  professional characteristics, with guests focusing on hot topics in  sustainable development management and information disclosure, and  conducting in-depth discussions.

With  the trend of ESG investment philosophy becoming mainstream, the capital market’s attention to ESG ratings is continuously increasing. In the special dialogue “Improving the Sustainability Disclosure Quality from the Rating Perspective,” guests fully exchanged ideas on how listed companies can improve their ESG ratings through sustainability disclosure.

For the development of corporate sustainability, information disclosure  occupies an important position. How to balance the active and passive  aspects of sustainability disclosure has become a new issue faced by companies. In the special dialogue “Active or Passive? — Corporate Sustainability Disclosure Strategy,” guests shared the main highlights  and characteristics of their own ESG reports, as well as their thoughts  on how the company can continue to improve the quality of sustainability  disclosure in the future.

Women’s leadership is becoming an increasingly prominent topic of discussion worldwide, and the need for businesses to increase the number of women leaders is becoming a consensus. In the special dialogue “ESG and Women’s Leadership,” guests shared research findings from the “ESG and Women’s Leadership Research Report” and their experiences and thoughts on how companies can enhance women’s ESG leadership and build an empowering workplace environment for women’s growth.

Setting Benchmarks
43 Listed Companies in the Greater Bay Area Make the Honor Roll

As  a pioneer in the practice of ESG in China, the concept of ESG has  accumulated momentum in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and has been deeply integrated with corporate operations and development, showing strong resilience and deep potential.

Zhang Lijun, Vice President of GoldenBee Consulting, released the GoldenBee 2024 Research Report on the sustainability Disclosure in the Greater Bay Area at the meeting. According to the “GoldenBee Chinese Enterprise Sustainability Report Assessment System 2024,” the report conducted a detailed assessment and analysis of 697 sustainability reports (CSR/ESG  reports) of listed companies in the GBA, studied their disclosure situation and main characteristics, and put forward targeted suggestions to provide reference and support for listed companies in the GBA to better carry out sustainable development management work.

Subsequently, the meeting released the “GoldenBee 2024 Sustainability Reports Honor  Roll of Listed Companies in Greater Bay Area,” and finally, 43 reports from listed companies in the GBA stood out from 697 reports and were honored with this award.

As  the earliest professional event focusing on sustainability disclosure  in the field of Chinese corporate social responsibility and sustainable  development, the “GoldenBee Excellent Enterprise Sustainability Reports” selection activity has assessed more than 20,000 reports, becoming a comprehensive platform for showcasing excellent corporate sustainability reports and corporate expertise, effectively promoting  the quantity and quality of corporate sustainability reports in China.

For 17 years, the International Conference on Sustainability Disclosure has adhered to the concept of “Responsible Communication Creates Value,” continuously releasing studies on CSR/sustainability reporting, highlighting professionalism and internationalization, and discussing issues and trends in standards, preparation, management, communication, and other related fields of CSR/sustainability reporting. In 2024, the seminar established a GBA sub-venue for the first time, using professional insights and discussions to help enterprises in the Greater Bay Area grasp the new wave of ESG, and to enhance corporate information disclosure and management levels, playing an active role in achieving sustainable development goals.