The Guidance jointly published by more than 80 ESG pioneers in China (including but not limited to sub-committees of government authorities (e.g. State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce); industry associations, enterprises (e.g. Ant Group, Ping An Bank, universities and so forth) on 1 June 2022, draws inspiration from international best practices, and heavily references the latest existing Chinese standards, laws, and regulations related to ESG issues, such as the country’s labour law, environmental protection law, and production safety law.
The Guidance includes a corporate ESG disclosure indicator system with three dimensions of each element of environmental, social and governance (ESG) and provides a basic framework for ESG disclosure.
The Guidance lists a total of 118 metrics, spanning 35 tertiary indicators and 10 secondary indicators under the 3 primary indicators of environmental, social, and governance
In addition, definitions within the Guidance are also adopted from official Chinese national standards, namely a set of GB and GB/T standards which stand for mandatory standards and recommended standards, respectively. ISO standards are referenced to fill the remaining gaps in Chinese standards, namely the ISO 14090:2019 on adaptation to climate change, and ISO 37301:2021 on compliance management systems. As a result, the final product is a set of ESG metrics coherent with the country’s existing regulatory framework.
The Guidance notably offers additions and adjustments to ESG issues within the Chinese context, such as the concept of “workers’ conference”, (a form of labour organization in China’s public enterprises) and social insurance and housing funds (which are features in China’s social welfare system).