The report on climate action and environmental performance of China’s retail e-commerce (2021) (hereinafter referred to as the report) released by Greenpeace, an international environmental protection agency, on the 6th rated the objectives and actions of seven leading retail e-commerce enterprises in addressing climate change and environmental governance.
Based on the principles of industry influence and market competitiveness, the report selects seven enterprises with retail e-commerce business, including Alibaba, jd.com, pinduoduo, Suning.Com Co.Ltd(002024) , Netease, vipshop and Xiaomi, from the aspects of setting objectives related to climate change and environment, climate change and environmental performance, climate change and environmental information disclosure Platform user sustainable management and other four dimensions to evaluate the climate action and environmental performance of enterprises.
The rating results show that only two of the seven enterprises have scored above the pass line, which means that China’s mainstream e-commerce enterprises still have a lot of room to improve in climate and environmental governance. Among them, Alibaba ranked first in the list due to its relatively comprehensive carbon neutralization plan at the group operation level and taking the lead in putting forward the concept of being responsible for the climate impact of the platform’s ecological partners; In contrast, pinduoduo ranked last because it hardly disclosed any information on climate change response and environmental governance.
In this regard, Tang Damin, director of the enterprise environmental responsibility project of Greenpeace platform, said that climate action and environmental governance have become the key arena for the leaders of China’s retail e-commerce industry. Alibaba and JD are expected to make up for their shortcomings on the existing basis, make persistent efforts, and use their great influence to lead the Chinese public to actively respond to climate change and contribute to China’s move towards carbon neutrality as soon as possible. In addition, pinduoduo lags far behind its peers in terms of environment, from goal to action, and needs to catch up.
The report calls on Chinese retail e-commerce enterprises to set climate change and environmental targets covering the whole value chain as soon as possible, and clarify the path and timeline of enterprise emission reduction. Strengthen environmental information disclosure and regularly communicate with the public, investors and other stakeholders on the progress of environmental governance. Establish a merchant review and access mechanism specifically for environmental performance (such as the management of toxic and harmful substances, wildlife with trade restrictions, etc.), and continuously monitor and improve it, while providing consumers with richer green options.
(Shanghai Securities News · China Securities Network)
