On 13 November 2024, the group standard "Evaluation specification for environmental, social and governance (ESG) of manufacturing enterprises" was successfully released and implemented. Center for Responsible Business and Innovation (CRBI) of the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), Expert Committee of Ningbo Intelligent Manufacturing Association, Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables Co. Ltd., and Ningbo Zhedong Environment and Energy Exchange (ZDEAEE) jointly formed a standard compilation team. This group standard is under the jurisdiction of Ningbo Energy Conservation Association and Ningbo Intelligent Manufacturing Association, which are also responsible for its implementation.
ESG, which stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, is an investment philosophy and corporate evaluation standard that focuses on corporate environmental, social and governance performance rather than financial performance. The ESG concept encourages companies to actively commit to environmental protection and fulfill social responsibilities while pursuing economic benefits, and to operate the company in a diversified, fair and inclusive management manner, so as to achieve comprehensive sustainable development. ESG evaluation effectively alleviates the information asymmetry problem between investors and invested companies, helps investors identify the ESG risks and ESG values of potential investment targets, and greatly reduces the cost of investment decision-making.
The group standard "Evaluation specification for environmental, social and governance (ESG) of manufacturing enterprises" is based on national laws, regulations and other national standards, as well as refers to international standards and evaluation systems. It constructs an ESG evaluation guide from the three dimensions of environment, society and governance that is both in line with international standards and suitable for the actual practices of my country's manufacturing enterprises.
Preparation and Development Process of this group standard
January - April 2024
CRBI of UNNC, Expert Committee of Ningbo Intelligent Manufacturing Association, Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables Co. Ltd., and ZDEAEE established a standards-drafting group. They clarified the needs of the standard-setting project, determined the work plan for standard compilation, investigated and collected basic information, and analyzed the necessity and feasibility of standard formulation.
May - September 2024
To gain a deeper understanding of the current state, opportunities, and challenges faced by domestic manufacturing enterprises in sustainable transformation and ESG development, Professor Jing Dai, Director of CRBI, Dr Steven Zhou, Deputy Director of CRBI, and Dr Jin'an Shao, CRBI member, conducted on-site visits and inspections to several companies, including Ningbo Orient Wires & Cables Co., Ltd., Kashion Industry Co., Ltd., Ningbo Jintian Copper (Group) Co.,Ltd., Geely Automobile Group Co., Ltd., Ningbo Intelligent Manufacturing Association, Sunny Optical Technology (Group) Co., Ltd., and so on. Their field trips ensure that the content of the group standard is truly relevant to the current domestic industry situation and can truly benefit all manufacturing companies.
28 May 2024
The project evaluation meeting for "Evaluation specification for environmental, social and governance (ESG) of manufacturing enterprises" was successfully held at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. The meeting had an in-depth discussion on the necessity, normativity, innovation, and operability of the standard. The expert group for assessment unanimously agreed to initiate the standard, defining its strategic objectives, main scope, standardization subjects, and the basic framework. This marked a solid step in the formulation of the group standard, providing overall guidance for the subsequent detailed standard drafting work.
June 2024
Based on the expert opinions on project assessment, the standard drafting group studied existing international and domestic standards related to ESG, systematically organized the collected materials, conducted research and combined corporate practical experience, and carried out standards preparation in accordance with GB/T 1.1—2020 to form a working discussion draft.
Early July 2024
The standard drafting group organized four companies to conduct a trial evaluation, focusing on discussing the scientific nature, completeness, operability, and comparability of the evaluation index system, evaluation methods, evaluation levels, and finally reached a consensus.
26 July 2024
The Centre for Responsible Business and Innovation successfully hosted the "Seminar on ESG Trends and Practice Innovation in Manufacturing Industry". This event invited multiple enterprises to solicit opinions on the revision of the group standard, striving to absorb more effective local suggestions, and tailor a scientific, reasonable, and easy-to-operate ESG evaluation framework for Chinese manufacturing enterprises that aligns with international standards while reflecting Chinese characteristics.
July - Early September 2024
Through the association's official website, public opinions were solicited. The drafting group organized and analyzed the collected feedback, revised the standard draft for comments, and formed a review draft.
14 September 2024
The group standard review meeting for "Evaluation specification for environmental, social and governance (ESG) of manufacturing enterprises" was held at UNNC. During the meeting, Professor Kok Wei Khong, Dean of Nottingham University Business School China and initiator of CRBI, stated that Sustainable Development has always been an important strategy that the University of Nottingham responds to. Advancing the formulation and implementation of this group standard aligns with the vision and mission of Nottingham University Business School China in the field of sustainable development. The Centre for Responsible Business and Innovation also hopes to join forces with the group to strengthen regional ESG practices. The expert reviewers group listened to reports about this group standard revision and conducted inquiries, forming constructive opinions. Finally, this standards revisions and reviews were unanimously approved. This meeting essentially determined the standard final information draft for approval, marking a critical step in the standard preparation.
13 November 2024
The group standard "Evaluation specification for environmental, social and governance (ESG) of manufacturing enterprises" was approved and officially released. According to the National Group Standard Information Platform, it is the first ESG group standard for manufacturing enterprises in the Chinese mainland!