Looking back at 2024, the ESG field at home and abroad has undergone tremendous changes, with a series of major events not only reshaping the strategic planning landscape of enterprises, but also having a profound impact on the global economic and environmental policy landscape. This article selects the top ten ESG focal events of the year and beyond, taking you through a time tunnel to gain insight into the past and foresee the future.
1. Action Plan of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Construction of a Beautiful China
Date: January 11th
Document: Action Plan of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Deepening the Construction of a Beautiful China
Key points: In the deepening chapter of Article 24 of the reform, it is explicitly emphasized to deepen the reform of the mechanism for disclosing environmental information in accordance with the law, and to explore the implementation of a comprehensive evaluation system for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).
2. The ESG Action Blueprint for Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu has been released
Time node: March 2024
Dynamic: Shanghai, Beijing, and Suzhou have released ESG action plans intensively.
Core content: All three regions are committed to building ESG ecosystems, deeply integrating ESG concepts into the "dual carbon" goals and high-quality development strategies, and strengthening the importance of information disclosure and rating systems.
Meaning: This move not only conforms to the inherent logic of "dual carbon" and high-quality development, but also concerns urban economic growth, employment stability, and social harmony. The actions of the three regions will stimulate the ESG potential of enterprises, promote sustainable development of society, and open up new growth paths for related enterprises, injecting strong impetus into the overall high-quality development of the region.
3. Seven ministries jointly issue document, incorporating ESG into credit evaluation system for the first time
Date: April 10, 2024
Event: The People's Bank of China, together with six ministries and commissions, issued the Guiding Opinions on Deepening Green Finance to Support Green Low Carbon Transformation.
Core: Aim to build a world leading green finance support system and achieve synergistic and efficient economic and financial policies in the field of green and low-carbon by 2035. Financial institutions need to implement carbon footprint accounting, environmental information disclosure, establish unified green finance standards, and incorporate ESG into their credit evaluation system.
Impact: This move is expected to prompt financial institutions to increase their emphasis on green investment, optimize resource allocation, enhance market demand for green financial products, promote green and low-carbon economy, and achieve harmonious coexistence between economy and environment.
4. The EU's Due Diligence Act on Corporate Sustainability has been approved
Date: May 24th, 2024
Event: The European Council has officially passed the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Act (CSDDD).
Bill content: CSDDD will be applied in stages to enterprises of different sizes, regardless of whether they are members of the European Union. Starting from 2027, strict regulations will be implemented for large multinational enterprises, gradually expanding to medium-sized enterprises. Enterprises need to establish and implement due diligence procedures to prevent, terminate, or mitigate negative impacts on human rights and the environment, and publicly disclose the effectiveness of due diligence.
5. ISO releases the world's first ESG international standard framework
name: ISO ESG IWA 48: 2024 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Implementation Principles Framework
Release date: November 2024
Content Overview: This standard provides a comprehensive ESG implementation framework and guiding principles for various organizations worldwide, covering the three major areas of environment, society, and governance. It provides high-level principles and practical guidance for enterprises to identify, assess, and manage ESG related risks and opportunities.
6. The State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) has released the "New Era Central Enterprise Social Responsibility High Standard Action Guidelines"
Date: June 4th, 2024
Document: "Guidelines for High Standard Action of Central Enterprise Social Responsibility in the New Era" issued by the State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
Content: The "Guidelines" define the connotation of central enterprises fulfilling social responsibilities with high standards from four dimensions, aiming to strengthen the foundation of high-quality development of enterprises, enhance their ability to serve economic and social development and people's living standards, and cultivate new international competitive advantages.
Impact: Encourage the exploration of social responsibility management models with corporate characteristics, empower social responsibility practices with digital technology, integrate social responsibility concepts into supply chain management systems, and build a social responsibility ecosystem network.
7. The Beijing Stock Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange have released draft guidelines for sustainable development reports for soliciting opinions
Date: November 6th, 2024
Event: The three major stock exchanges in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing publicly solicited opinions on the guidelines for preparing sustainable development reports for listed companies, and launched two guidelines: "Overall Requirements and Disclosure Framework" and "Coping with Climate Change".
Content: As an authoritative reference for sustainable development reports of listed companies, the "Guidelines" provide specific guidance rather than mandatory requirements, covering key elements such as governance, strategy, risk and opportunity management, and indicator setting.
Impact: With the implementation of ESG disclosure guidelines, it is expected that the quantity and quality of ESG reports from listed companies will significantly increase, which will help guide listed companies to accurately understand and implement ESG reporting requirements and improve report quality.
Trump returns to White House, ESG investment faces challenges
Date: November 6th, 2024
Event: Trump wins the US presidential election.
Campaign Promise: Trump promises to immediately ban ESG investments through executive orders upon returning to the White House and push for congressional legislation to permanently exclude ESG investments to protect investors from "financial scams".
Impact: Trump's policy orientation may hinder the development of ESG investments, support traditional energy industries, relax environmental regulations, and pose challenges to global climate governance. Although Trump may adopt a conservative stance on domestic policies, the global trend towards sustainable development and clean energy transition is difficult to reverse.
9. The integration process of the global carbon market is accelerating
Date: November 11th
Event: At COP29, 194 countries reached a consensus on Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, officially launching the global carbon market.
Impact: As one of the key issues of COP29, Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement aims to promote emissions reduction and cost reduction through global carbon market mechanisms. As countries submit a new round of nationally determined contributions, the operation of the global carbon market will help achieve emission reduction targets more efficiently.
10. Multiple ministries jointly issue the "Basic Guidelines for Enterprise Sustainable Development Information Disclosure (Trial)"
Issuing agencies: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Development and Reform Commission, State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, etc
Release date: December 2024
Guidelines Summary: The aim is to standardize the disclosure of sustainable development information by enterprises, align with international financial reporting standards, provide clear direction for enterprises, encourage enterprises to gradually promote practice based on their own advantages, and promote the achievement of global sustainable development goals.