On 23 September, hosted by Sina Finance and with Securities Daily as the media for strategic cooperation, 2022 Sina Finance Overseas Investment Summit Forum was grandly opened. The forum was honored to invite representatives of institutes including NASDAQ, Singapore Exchange Limited and Hong Kong Trade Development Council to deliver a speech. It also invited world-renowned scholars and economists such as Shen Minggao, Xiao Geng, Han Zhu, Tao Dong, Yao Yuan, Zhang Yidong, Liang Wentao and Huanh Liang to gather in this forum and share their views on the global situation, follow closely to the market pulse and discuss the opportunities in the Greater Bay Area, which crashed sparks of wisdom, and offered a feast of wealth to investors. 

Chairman of the Board of Directors of CR Cement, Ji Youhong delivered a keynote speech during the forum. He mentioned that CR Cement was a Hong Kong listed company under China Resources Group. Its business focused on business fields including basic building materials, structural building materials, functional building materials and new materials. The Company was a large scale and competitive supplier of cement, clinker and concrete producer in Southern China, and was ranked third in the Comprehensive Strength Ranking of China Cement Listed Companies in 2021. Throughout the years, CR Cement had paid strong emphasis on responsibilities to shareholders, employees, the environment and the public. We strived to contribute to the society with practical actions while pursuing corporate values and shared our achievement with the public. We set an example of ESG works in the Chinese building materials industry and was ranked second in the Corporate Social Responsibility Index of Chinese Corporations in 2021. In our "Fourteenth Five-Year" plan, we had written the motto, "Determined to create a better life for the people" in our Corporate DNA and "Actively promote green development" in our development mission. 

Below is the full presentation:

Dear Leaders, Guests and Friends,

It is such a great pleasure to be invited to participate in the Sina Finance Overseas Investment Summit Forum. I would also like to express my gratitude to Sina Finance for honoring CR Cement with the "Best ESG Performance Award". It is not only a recognition to the past results of CR Cement, but also a driving force for the Company's continuous improvement in ESG management level in the future. 

I would like to briefly share with you the ESG value concept of CR Cement in the following. 

CR Cement is a Hong Kong listed company under the China Resources Group with businesses focusing on fields such as basic building materials, structural building materials, functional building materials and new materials. CR Cement is a large scale and competitive supplier of cement, clinker and concrete in Southern China. We were ranked third in the Comprehensive Strength Ranking of China Cement Listed Companies in 2021. Throughout the years, we attached great importance to responsibilities to shareholders, employees, the environment and the public. We contribute to the society with practical actions whilst pursuing corporate values, and share our development results with the public. We have set a benchmark in ESG works for the Chinese building materials industry and have ranked second in the 2021 Social Responsibility Development Index of Chinese Corporations. In CR Cement's "Fourteenth Five-Year" Plan, we have written "Determined to create a better life for the people" in our corporate DNA, and "Actively promote green development" in our development mission.

There are three reasons why CR Cement has placed strong emphasis on ESG development concept. 

First of all, it is required by the Country. China had made a series of major deployments in ESG over the years. In terms of the environment, the "Ecological Civilization Construction of the 'Fourteenth Five-Year'" has clearly specified targets on green development and transformation which includes continuous reduction in total emissions of major pollutants and continuous improvement in ecological environment. In terms of corporate governance, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council promulgated a series of policies and guidelines on optimizing corporate governance structure of state-owned enterprises and work regulations on the Board of Directors, which formulated corporate and political system with Chinese characteristics. As a subsidiary of a central enterprise, CR Cement must accurately grasp the national requirements and take the lead in establishing examples and contributing to the effective linkage of environmental strategies. 

Apart from that, it is also required by the industry. According to Digital Cement, the carbon emission of the cement industry in 2020 was approximately 1.37 billion tons, which accounts for approximately 13.5% of the national total emissions. Thus, green and carbon reduction in the cement industry is an important means to achieve carbon neutrality. The current demand in the cement industry remains weak but the national cement production maintains at a high level, posing challenges to national strategies of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. In light of this situation, China Building Materials Federation issued the "Implementation Opinions on the Development of the Building Materials Industry in the 'Fourteenth Five-Year'", requiring the cement industry to realize carbon peaking by 2023. The specific indices for the "Fourteenth Five-Year" include reducing the total production capacity of cement and clinker from 2 billion tons to 1.8 billion tons or below and completing clean production transformation on 850 million tons of clinker. The industry also continues to invoke the inclusion of cement industry in the carbon trading market and adopt stricter allocation standard on carbon emission quota. 

CR Cement resolutely supports all requirements and measures of the industry association. This not only accelerates the supply-side reform of the cement industry, but is also beneficial to the high-quality development and transformation of cement enterprises.  

Moreover, there were requirements from shareholders.

First and foremost, China Resources Group has set out requirements for ESG. China Resources is a responsible enterprise with dreams and devotion. Social responsibility management has already become an important dimension to reflect the core competitiveness of China Resources. The Chairman of CR Group, Wang Xiangming has emphasized in multiple occasions about sustainable development and ESG. He has made a series of requirements with regard to the matters.

China Resources Group has occupied the first spot in Social Responsibility Development Index of Chinese Corporations over the years, and was honored with the highest specification of charity awards in China, the China Charity Award.

Second, it is required by investors. As global investors are more concerned about sustainable development, ESG standards have now been recognized by increasing number of investors and has been considered as one of the crucial decisive factors for investment. Not long ago, we received an investment letter on behalf of 48 funds, which requested us to participate in an ESG rating. ESG is not a dispensable influencing factor, but a force majeure that we must actively embrace. Hence, we participated in the international MSCI ESG rating and achieved a satisfactory rating of "BB".

Now let's talk about how CR Cement promotes ESG development. I will talk about three "together", "live together with the environment", "share together with the society" and "advance together with our employees". 

CR Cement persists in living together with the environment and is determined to develop in green. The Company always adheres to the philosophy of ecological priority and green development, actively engages in businesses of energy saving and emission reduction as well as reduction in pollutants and carbon reduction. We pursue the balanced development between enterprises and ecological environment so as to create a beautiful and vibrant China with ever-green mountains. 

In terms of management improvement, we continuously optimize our management system, actively construct green factories and build new and green functions. We currently have 17 production plants being included as green factories in the registers of national-level or provincial-level Green Factories.

In terms of energy consumption reduction, the Company continues to strengthen energy saving and resources management. We have saved power consumption through the technology of highly effective fans and reduced coal consumption through grinding aids of raw materials and alternative fuels. In the first half of the year, our standard coal consumption decreased to 100.8 kg per ton of clinker, which has reached the leading standard of the industry.

Regarding the comprehensive utilization of resources, during the mining process of mines, CR Cement adopts low and non-waste technologies and optimizes continuously the formulation of raw materials during the research and development process of cement. 

In terms of co-processing, we comprehensively promote the co-processing of municipal solid waste, urban sludge and industrial hazardous waste. The Company has 10 co-processing projects currently with annual processing capacity reaching 1.71 million tons. Regarding the application of emission reduction technologies, we proactively introduced advanced emission reduction technologies and equipment to continuously improve the performance of pollutant emissions. 

Moreover, CR Cement persists in sharing together with the society and advancing together with employees so as to fulfill the responsibilities of a central enterprise. The Company adheres to the concept of China Resources Group. We enthusiastically devote ourselves in charity and public welfare to bring blissfulness to the people and strives to build an enterprise that makes employees happy, enables partners to develop and fills the society with warmth. In terms of talent recruitment, CR Cement always upholds the talent philosophy of "respecting one's values, developing one's potentials and sublimating one's spirit" such that the legitimate rights and occupational health of employees can be guaranteed. Also, we help employees to realize self-development through diversified and systematic training system.  

Let me mention a few numbers here. 20.7% of our employees are ethnic minorities, 12% of the senior managerial staff are female and the overall employee turnover rate is 7%. The total duration of online and offline training was approximately 92,000 hours and 110,000 hours respectively. All these indicators are at the leading position in the industry. 

Regarding to social responsibility, CR Cement practices philanthropy. For example, after the earthquake happened in Yunnan and surrounded places in 2021, the Company devoted full effort to allocate resources to help the stricken regions to rebuild houses, while actively responding to the national strategy of rural revitalization. We promoted the optimization of rural infrastructure construction in places such as Haiyuan County, Fushan County and Longyan City.

(Source of content: https://www.dcement.com/article/202209/202106.html )