Business Wire

Ant Group’s ESG strategy aims to support 100 million SMEs by 2030

Share

Ant Group, a global technology provider, today announced its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy as part of its latest sustainability report. The ESG strategy, which lays out Ant Group’s sustainable development objectives by 2030, will be implemented across all aspects of the Company’s operations.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531006112/en/

To view this piece of content from mms.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Four pillars of Ant Group’s ESG strategy and objectives by 2030 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Ant Group’s ESG strategy is focused around four pillars: Digital Inclusion, Green and Low-carbon Development, Open Ecosystem, and Technological Innovation. Each of the pillars has a corresponding sustainable development objective by 2030:

  • Digital Inclusion: support 100 million small and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs) and serve communities globally
  • Green and Low-carbon Development: achieve corporate carbon neutrality and support business partners and the general public to significantly reduce their carbon footprint
  • Open Ecosystem: continue to provide a safe, trusted, diversified and open ecosystem to drive common development with partners
  • Technological Innovation: continue to invest in core technology research and development to provide world-leading technological products and services

"We believe these are the most important pillars for Ant Group to achieve sustainable growth in a future-facing, responsible, and responsive manner,” wrote Eric Jing, Ant Group’s Chairman and CEO, in the sustainability report. ”This framework will guide Ant Group’s value creation and sustainable development in the future.”

Ant Group formulated its ESG strategy based on a comprehensive assessment of changing macro environment and policy trends, its own development strengths, and inputs from the Company’s stakeholders, including customers, users, employees, partners and governments. The ESG strategy was finalized after extensive management discussions and a detailed Board review.

After solicitating feedback from stakeholders, Ant Group defined 19 material issues for its ESG strategy, ranging from “responsible products and services,” “facilitating industry-wide carbon neutrality,” “cutting-edge technology discovery and R&D” and “transparency & risk management.”

To provide organizational support to effectively implement the ESG strategy, the Company’s Board of Directors has approved the establishment of an ESG sustainable development committee, comprised of a subset of the Board, responsible for decision-making supervision, risk management and policy making. The Company is setting up an advisory committee consisting of internal and external ESG experts to provide input and support. Ant Group has also set up an ESG sustainable development leadership team, led by the CEO and the Chief Sustainability Officer, as well as working groups for each of the 19 ESG material issues.

“Our ESG strategy originated from our own long-term needs and was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The pursuit of sustainable development has been inherent in every step of our journey and is not designed to cater to short-term trends, but rather a necessary driver to realize our vision to be a good company that will last for at least 102 years,” added Mr. Jing. “A good company is never independently defined. We will listen to the opinions and suggestions from all parties with an open mind and welcome supervision and guidance from all of our stakeholders.”

As part of its “Technological Innovation” pillar, Ant Group has been increasing its R&D investments, which grew at an annual rate of more than 39% for three consecutive years (2018-2021), with total R&D spending in 2021 exceeding RMB 18.8 billion (approx. USD 2.77 billion). These investments enabled the Company to continuously turn technological breakthroughs into innovative, inclusive and reliable products and services to support the digital transformation of industries and better anticipate the evolving needs of an increasingly digital global economy. In 2021, MYbank, an Ant Group associate and an online SME bank, leveraged digital technology to deliver convenient, accessible and responsible collateral-free financing services to 45 million SMEs.

In February 2022, Ant Group was recognized as a Top 100 Global Innovator™ 2022 by Clarivate™. This prestigious annual list identifies global companies and institutions that contribute new ideas, solve problems and create new economic value.

Since 2017, three years after Ant Group’s establishment, the Company has steadily introduced and advanced its ESG assessment framework and published an annual sustainability report, compiled according to the Global Reporting Initiative standards. These reports, including the latest 2021 edition with the Company’s ESG strategy, can be found on Ant Group’s website (Chinese only for now, English edition will be online in the coming weeks).

About Ant Group

Ant Group aims to build the infrastructure and platforms to support the digital transformation of the service industry. Through continuous innovation, we strive to provide all consumers and small and micro businesses equal access to digital financial and other daily life services that are convenient, sustainable and inclusive.

For more information, please visit our website at www.antgroup.com or follow us on Twitter @AntGroup.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

Media Inquiries
Le SHEN
Shenle.sl@antgroup.com

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
24 Martin Lane
EC4R 0DR London

+44 20 7626 1982http://www.businesswire.co.uk

(c) 2018 Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.

Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in multiplatform press release distribution.

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

PAN Finance Names Libertex ‘Global CFD Broker of the Year’29.3.2024 06:25:00 CET | Press release

As the first quarter of 2024 draws to a close, Libertex is thrilled to announce its first accolade of the new year! The established global financial publication PAN Finance has determined Libertex to be the ‘CFD Broker of the Year – Global 2024’ following a rigorous evaluation process conducted by the publication's highly experienced editorial and research teams. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240328235325/en/ (Graphic: Libertex) PAN Finance is a trusted source of global financial intelligence with an impressively wide readership across 150 countries. Its ecosystem includes a quarterly magazine, special reports, a news website, and various social media channels. As an organisation, PAN Finance is committed to providing concise, intelligent, and up-to-date news for a worldwide readership of specialists spanning the entire finance industry. The company's awards programme aims to serve as a true indicator of exc

Midea Group releases its first-ever ESG brand story with an unexpected VIP visit highlighting its commitment to sustainability.29.3.2024 02:39:00 CET | Press release

Midea Group: This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240328526418/en/ Background: Midea Group, a leading global technology group, recently released its 2023 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report with ambitious sustainable development goals set for 2030. They include achieving over 500 megawatts of photovoltaic power generation, reducing greenhouse gas emission intensity (scopes 1 and 2) by 0.040, secure Energy Management System Certification for 50 factories, and achieve 100% carbon footprint accounting for major categories of smart home appliances. This is aligned with the Sustainable Development Report Standards of the Global Report Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The new report and campaign focuses on four dimensions: Protect the Blue Planet, Build a Harmonious Community, Practice 'Bring Great Innovations to Life', and Jointly Create the Prosperous Ecology. The campaign: Midea’s ESG

DC Secretary Announces Annual Determinations Committees Outcome28.3.2024 21:14:00 CET | Press release

DC Administration Services, Inc. has today announced the composition of five regional Determinations Committees (DCs), effective from April 27, 2024. Voting Dealers (for all regions): Voting Non-Dealers (for all regions): Bank of America N.A. Citadel LLC Barclays Bank plc Elliott Management Corporation BNP Paribas Pacific Investment Management Company LLC Citibank, N.A. Deutsche Bank AG Goldman Sachs International JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Voting Dealer for the Americas, EMEA, AEJ, and Japan Determination Committees: Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd. The process for selecting DC members is specified in the DC rules. The DC rules, along with more information about the Determinations Committees and what they do can be found at the Determinations Committees website: https://www.cdsdeterminationscommittees.org/. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240328441002/en/Contact information Press Inquiries: Orlando Figueroa orlando.figueroa@citadelspv.com

LambdaTest Launches The Phoenix Project, an Employee Resource Group for Women28.3.2024 16:00:00 CET | Press release

LambdaTest, a leading cloud-based unified testing platform, announced the launch of The Phoenix Project, an Employee Resource Group (ERG) dedicated to supporting and promoting the success of its female employees. “LambdaTest is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace where all employees feel valued and empowered to reach their full potential,” said Chandini Chopra, VP of People and Culture at LambdaTest. “The Phoenix Project is a critical step towards achieving this goal by providing a platform for professional development, networking, and mentorship, especially for our women employees.” The Phoenix Project Aims To: Offer professional development workshops, networking opportunities, and dedicated time off for women to participate in ERG initiatives. Provide mentorship programs connecting senior female employees with mentees. Promote leadership development among women within the company. Create a sense of community for women in the workplace. Leadership and

The reopening of the Yokohama Museum of Art adds another innovative and distinctive venue for events in Yokohama28.3.2024 16:00:00 CET | Press release

After extensive renovations, the iconic Yokohama Museum of Art has reopened its doors to visitors from all over the world. The museum’s reopening paves the way to new and closer collaboration with international events in Yokohama. This extraordinary venue is the ideal setting for a one-of-a-kind gathering, in part, supported by the Yokohama Convention & Visitors Bureau (hereinafter YCVB). The Yokohama Museum of Art Founded in 1989, the Yokohama Museum of Art collects over 14,000 works of art that reflect the many facets of life in Yokohama—past, present, and future. The reopening of the museum coincides with the Yokohama Triennale, an international exhibition featuring contemporary artists whose decentralized exhibits turn the entire metropolis into an art museum. The 8th Yokohama Triennale is being held from March 15 to June 9, 2024, with the Yokohama Museum of Art being a pivotal venue for the exhibition. With the museum firmly back on the map as Yokohama’s leading artistic venue, YC

HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye