ESG News in Brief (1/11/2022 - 5/11/2022)

Demostic Policies

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China: accelerate the construction of green low-carbon technology system and green manufacturing support system

Ministry of Ecology and Environment: do a good job in the quota allocation of the national carbon market in 2021 and 2022

Chairman of the Chinese Nuclear Society: It is estimated that China will maintain the approved commencement rhythm of 6-8 nuclear power units every year in the next five years, and the nuclear power generation will also increase significantly

China Forum of Business Leaders Held in Beijing

Hong Kong Exchange announces the launch of a new international carbon market

International Policies 

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Egypt

British Prime Minister Sunak plans to levy a windfall profit tax of nearly 40 billion pounds on the oil and gas industry by 2028

The European Council recommends that all EU buildings achieve zero emissions by 2050

The EU actively formulates more perfect global sustainable development rules

International Enterprise

Amazon promises to invest $53 million to accelerate women's climate innovation and gender equality progress

Domestic Enterprises

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited: comprehensively promoting the layout of battery technologies such as sodium ion, all solid state and rare metal free batteries

BMW Group Holds the Second China Sustainable Development Summit

Master Kang released the first carbon neutral tea drink in China

Mars Food Company announced to change the packaging of KIND stick, which will reduce the use of original plastic by 25%

According to the news on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China on November 3, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently held a forum on green and low-carbon industrial development in 2022. The meeting stressed that it is necessary to adhere to active, prudent and planned steps to promote the implementation of carbon peak action in the industrial field, and to integrate the vision of carbon peak and carbon neutralization into all aspects and the whole process of industrial production, so as to accelerate the green transformation of the development mode. We should stick to two pronged efforts, accelerate the construction of a green low-carbon technology system and a green manufacturing support system, take the full implementation of green manufacturing as an important starting point for the dual carbon" work in the industrial and information fields, and comprehensively improve the green development capacity of enterprises. We need to find the right direction and focus, and comprehensively promote the "six transformations" of high-end industrial structure, low-carbon energy consumption, recycling of resource utilization, cleaner production process, green product supply, and digital production mode. We should take multiple measures and work together to strengthen the promotion and application of advanced technology and equipment, give full play to the role of pilot demonstration, actively innovate industrial management and service means, and constantly improve the policy measures and standard system. "

According to the news on the website of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on November 3, in order to further play the important role of the market mechanism in controlling greenhouse gas emissions and reducing the cost of reducing emissions in the whole society, and effectively do a good job in the quota allocation in 2021 and 2022 of the national carbon emission trading market (hereinafter referred to as the national carbon market), the Ministry of Ecology and Environment organized the preparation of the Implementation Plan for the Setting and Allocation of the Total Amount of National Carbon Emission Trading Quotas in 2021 and 2022 (Draft for Comments), It is now open for comments. 

According to the Science and Technology Daily, Wang Shoujun, president of the Chinese Nuclear Society, introduced at the 23rd Pacific Nuclear Energy Conference held on the 1st that as of June 2022, China had 53 nuclear power generating units in operation, 23 nuclear power generating units under construction, and the number of nuclear power generating units under construction was the first in the world. This year, 10 nuclear power units have been approved. It is expected that in the next five years, China will further accelerate the expansion of installed capacity, maintain the approved commencement rhythm of 6-8 nuclear power units every year, and the nuclear power generation will also increase significantly. It is estimated that by 2035, China's nuclear power will account for about 10% of the total power generation. 

The APEC Business Leaders' China Forum in 2022 was held in Beijing on November 3. With the theme of Towards a Green Economy", it discussed how to explore a win-win development path of economic prosperity, ecological civilization and inclusive growth in the process of promoting green transformation and high-quality development, and spread China's experience and model of green growth to the international business community. "

On October 28, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced the launch of the new international carbon market Core Climate, which is committed to connecting capital with climate related products and opportunities in Hong Kong, China, the mainland, Asia and the world. Core Climate supports the market to conduct efficient and transparent trading of carbon credit products and tools and helps promote the global net zero transformation. Participants can obtain product information, hold, trade, deliver and cancel voluntary carbon credit products through the platform. The carbon credit products on the platform come from internationally certified carbon projects around the world, including carbon avoidance, carbon reduction and carbon elimination projects. All projects listed in Core Climate have been certified and conform to international standards, such as Verra's Certified Carbon Standard (VCS).

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is committed to developing Core Climate into a comprehensive carbon market to meet the needs of market participants and project owners throughout the value chain.

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Egypt

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) will be held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, from November 6 to 18. This discussion will focus on the global energy crisis, record breaking floods, deadly heat waves and other extreme weather events. Analysts predict that representatives of various countries may not make major new commitments, and it is expected that COP27 will focus on whether countries will fulfill the commitments made last year.

British Prime Minister Sunak plans to levy a windfall profit tax of nearly 40 billion pounds on the oil and gas industry by 2028

The Times reported on November 2 that British Prime Minister Sunak and Chancellor of the Exchequer Hunte planned to expand the levy of windfall profits tax on oil and gas enterprises, which is expected to levy nearly 40 billion pounds within five years. According to the report, Sunak and Hunter hope to increase the tax rate from 25% to 30% and extend it to 2028. The plan will be extended to include power generators. 

According to CCTV News, the European Council reached an agreement on the 25th local time, suggesting that all new buildings in the EU should achieve zero emissions by 2030, and all buildings in the EU should achieve zero emissions by 2050. In order to achieve this goal, the European Council has set a phased threshold for the transformation of existing buildings. The European Council will then consult with the European Parliament on this proposal and publish it for implementation after reaching an agreement. Zero emission buildings refer to buildings with zero annual net energy consumption or carbon emissions, which can operate independently on the grid and rely on renewable energy such as solar energy or wind power. 

On November 3, EU regulators issued a warning on the differentiation of capital markets and will seek to align their sustainability disclosure rules with the global initiative. The EU is finalizing mandatory ESG disclosure for about 50,000 companies across the EU to help prevent "green washing" or exaggerated climate friendly statements to attract investors. The International Standards Board for Sustainable Development (ISSB) is preparing a baseline standard for global corporate climate information disclosure for use by non-EU countries such as the United Kingdom, while the United States is developing its own rules for information disclosure.

European Union Financial Services Commissioner Mairead McGuinness said that they are cooperating with the European Banking Authority to study what measures need to be taken to promote the growth of green loans and green mortgages.

Recently, Amazon promised to invest $53 million to help accelerate women's climate solutions, including providing $3 million to USAID partners, becoming the founding partner of USAID's Climate Gender Equality Fund, and providing $50 million to Amazon's climate technology companies that directly invest in women. With a global focus, the Climate Gender Equality Fund will provide grants to enterprises, non-governmental organizations, accelerators, incubators and grass-roots organizations committed to women led climate solutions. It will also fund efforts to help women gain access to networks and technical skills to accelerate the development of their climate change technologies.

On November 3, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited said on the interactive platform of Shenzhen Stock Exchange that the company is a world leading new energy innovation technology company, constantly building core competitiveness in the market, products, manufacturing and other aspects in three strategic development directions and four innovation systems, and adhering to leading technology, excellent operation and excellent service. The company has been leading the international frontier research. The company has formed a product series including high energy density ternary high nickel batteries and cost-effective lithium iron phosphate batteries. At present, it is comprehensively promoting the battery technology layout of sodium ion, M3P, condensed state, cobalt free batteries, all solid state, rare metal free batteries, etc.

In addition, the company is still actively communicating with the local government about the Leshan battery project. The company will carry out investment and construction in due time according to the supply of production factors and market demand in the later period. At present, the Wuhu Battery Project has obtained the project filing certificate, determined the project land, and the energy assessment and environmental assessment are being handled. The construction is expected to start in the middle of November. "

On November 1, BMW Group held the second China Sustainable Development Summit, demonstrating its recent green development achievements, and put forward new thinking and new measures for carbon reduction in the automotive industry chain. The summit put forward the concept of 360 degree carbon reduction through recycling". Gao Le, President and CEO of BMW Group in Greater China, said that only when the initial resource exploitation and the final vehicle recycling are sustainable, can carbon emissions be fundamentally reduced. The long-term vision of BMW Group is to establish a sustainable value chain that can reduce carbon in the long run and achieve a circular economy. "

Master Kang officially held the "China's first carbon neutral path practice achievement sharing meeting for tea drinks" in Shanghai on October 26 and released the first tea beverage in China to truly achieve carbon neutrality - "pure zero sugar original tea drink". In addition to releasing new drinks, it also released two group standards based on the methodology summary of past carbon neutral practices. They are respectively the first carbon footprint accounting standard for tea beverages in China, the Technical Specifications for Carbon Footprint Assessment of Tea Beverages, and the first carbon neutralization evaluation standard for tea beverages in China, the Technical Specifications for Carbon Neutralization Assessment of Tea Beverages. These two group standards were jointly developed and launched by Master Kang and other drafting units, both of which are the first in China.

On the basis of comprehensive carbon inventory, Master Kang has subsequently formulated carbon reduction targets and carbon reduction path targets. In 2025, comprehensive energy consumption per million yuan of income will be reduced by 12%, water intake will be reduced by 8%, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 18%, and the recovery rate of productive raw material wastes will not be less than 97%.

Mars Food Company has reached a new milestone in circular economy. The new KIND snack bar package contains recyclable ingredients made by advanced recycling technology to achieve maximum recycling and is produced by recycling used mixed plastics. This means it is eligible to recycle in the UK and join the roadside recycling program in Ireland.   

The vision sets a new goal of reducing the use of new primary plastics by 25%, incorporating 30% of recyclable ingredients into plastic packaging, and redesigning more than 12000 packaging components in the diversified product portfolio to adapt to the recycling infrastructure that may exist today or in the future.