Three board secretaries share their experiences and views on achieving carbon reduction targets, green supply chain management and addressing climate change.
Sui Li, Board Secretary, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd
Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd (GAC Group) is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 601238.SS) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Stock Code: 2238.HK). It is a large state-controlled automobile group in the Mainland.
In 2021, in response to the Mainland’s ‘dual carbon goals’ (to reach peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2060), and increasingly stringent ESG disclosure requirements, GAC Group released its ‘GLASS Plan’ and its ‘14th Five-Year Plan’ to accelerate its carbon emission reduction process. Related initiatives cover various areas, including production, products, technology and finance, aiming to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the product life cycle by 2045. This is achieved through building a green supply chain, strengthening the research and development of energy efficient products (such as use of hybrid, electric and hydrogen fuel cell systems), and promoting the development of new energy technologies.
Through continuous integration of ESG concepts into all aspects of its business processes, GAC Group has transformed from a traditional manufacturing company to a low carbon and green enterprise. This transformation has brought several challenges to the role of the board secretary.
‘Firstly, board secretaries need to keep track of important national publications relating to the disclosure of ESG disclosure requirements so as to be well-informed on new developments. Secondly, we need to organise regular internal compliance operational ‘drills’ to enhance the compliance capability of all staff of the Group. Thirdly, we need to accelerate the Group’s efforts to develop a new energy ecology to enhance our business growth and competitiveness,’ Ms Sui says. At the same time, she helps build a good corporate image through gaining an in-depth understanding of production technologies and planning supply chain investment strategies.
In addition to her duties as a board secretary, Ms Sui is also the Chairman of GAC Capital. She is therefore also responsible for the implementation of the company’s business strategies. ‘As the board secretary and the Chairman of GAC Capital, I have to fully utilise the resources of the capital market through investing in companies in GAC Group’s industry chain, both upstream and downstream, and facilitate the development of new technology to help to enhance the new energy ecology,’ she says.
In recent years, ESG issues have become a focus among automobile enterprises. ‘Currently, ESG ratings are gradually becoming a new standard for measuring the brand value of automobile enterprises while measuring the success of a company based on sales and profits has gradually become a thing of the past,’ she says. For example, GAC Group combined its annual social responsibility report and ESG report into one for the first time this year, reflecting the Group’s increasing focus on ESG performance.
Against this background, Ms Sui foresees that board secretaries and listed companies will encounter three major challenges in the future. ‘Although all three segments of ESG, namely environmental, social and corporate governance, are equally important, listed companies still need to make a trade-off between the lower and higher weighting of these three segments due to the differences in industry, business nature and production methods,’ she says.
Secondly, companies need to establish ESG databases to help raise their corporate governance standards from a long-term perspective. ‘However, this development is limited by the diversity of companies’ ESG database standards and poor ESG-related technology infrastructure, such as data collection, data analysis and more. There are also differences in the ESG standards adopted by listed companies in different industries,’ she says.
Finally, there is still difficulty in standardising ESG disclosures. ‘While the market anticipates ESG reports to be disclosed on a regular and quantitative basis, it seems that the quantification of non-financial indicators is difficult to achieve at this moment,’ she says.
Faced with all these challenges, board secretaries need to constantly strengthen their professional, organisational and communication skills. ‘Disclosures need to be timely and effective whilst adhering to strict compliance with regulatory requirements. Also, the disclosure content should be built on its own industrial characteristics to reflect the investment value of a company, striving to provide effective information to investors,’ she says.
Zhu Xu, Board Secretary, China Vanke Co Ltd
China Vanke Co Ltd (Vanke) is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 000002.SZ) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (Stock Code: 2202.HK).
Vanke has been devoted to the research and promotion of green buildings since the 1990s. And since 2022, the company has been committed to the research of industrialised construction, taking the lead in driving the development of industrialised building systems in the Mainland to effectively reduce energy and material consumption during the construction process. While focusing on its own green and low-carbon operation, Vanke has also incorporated environmental principles into its supplier management system for driving green development of the real estate supply chain. Key initiatives include co-launching with suppliers the ‘China’s Real Estate Industry Green Supply Chain Action’, implementation of green supply chain management through the ‘A-UPUP’ platform, and regular release of procurement ‘white lists’ and ‘green lists’. The lists direct upstream suppliers to pay attention to energy consumption indicators, aiming at achieving energy saving and emissions reduction.
Ms Zhu not only helps the company to fulfill its ESG compliance requirements, but she also drives the company to continuously improve all aspects of green management, including green supply chain, with an aim to enhance its ESG performance. Against this background, a board secretary needs to take up more responsibility and encounter more work pressure than ever. Therefore, she points out that a competent board secretary should possess a wealth of experience and professional competence.
‘The board secretary needs to have excellent professional knowledge and be not only familiar with laws and regulations, but also to understand financial, capital market and corporate management developments. A board secretary’s work experience gained working for corporates, accounting firms, law firms and investment banks can benefit the smooth operation of the board secretaries’ office,’ she says. She also states that when working for a domestic and overseas listed company, a board secretary or company secretary needs to acquire all of the corresponding qualifications.
In addition, board secretaries must possess strong communication and coordination skills, as stakeholder relationship management is one of their key daily responsibilities. ‘The board secretary is a bridge between regulators, shareholders and the company’s management. This is a significant role with important responsibility that requires a high level of emotional intelligence and great social skills when dealing with people,’ she says.
‘At the same time, as ESG-related requirements have recently rapidly become popular internationally and domestically, the rules and requirements as well as required skills are changing day by day. This requires board secretaries to always keep learning about new rules and keep abreast of the latest trends in international and Mainland practice, and the cutting-edge developments in the industry. In this way, board secretaries can better assist companies in driving their green transformations,’ she says.
She expects regulatory requirements for ESG disclosure will be gradually enhanced in the future and her company is responding. ‘In the future, Vanke will continuously strengthen all aspects of its ESG management. For example, the company will improve its use of scenario analysis for the management of climate risk based on the ESG Reporting Guide issued by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd to identify the climate risks and potential opportunities relevant to different aspects of the business under different scenarios. This will help us manage the risk of climate change effectively and grasp climate-related opportunities,’ she says.
These developments will present board secretaries with more challenges. She encourages board secretaries to participate in ESG-related training and forums to continuously enrich their ESG knowledge and stay abreast of the latest development trends. ‘We need to have sufficient knowledge in order to efficiently fulfill our duties and ensure our company’s compliance,’ she says.
Kenny Luo FCG HKFCG(PE), Board Secretary & Company Secretary, BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd
BOC Hong Kong (Holdings) Ltd (BOCHK, Stock Code: 2388.HK) is one of the largest listed companies on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. It is also one of the three note-issuing banks and the sole clearing bank for Renminbi business in Hong Kong.
Mr Luo, who joined Bank of China 26 years ago after graduating from university, has more than 18 years of experience in the area of corporate governance. He shares that BOCHK is effectively managing climate-related risks and opportunities through continuous improvement of its corporate governance. ‘Corporate governance plays a crucial role in driving the bank’s timely and effective action, providing a framework and strategy for it to seize the opportunities, and to address the challenges, presented by the transformation,’ he says.
BOCHK has established a three-tier continuous governance structure to identify the respective responsibilities of directors and management on sustainability issues. BOCHK has also formulated its 2021-2025 Sustainability Plan and carbon neutrality targets to develop its ESG-related work via a top-down approach. In addition, the company has become a signatory of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) so as to actively disclose climate-related information. Other initiatives include integrating climate risk management into its overall risk management system, achieving carbon neutrality in its operations and developing green finance.
Acting as the board secretary and company secretary, Mr Luo has played a key role in the company’s transformation process. ‘I have assisted the board of directors to fulfil their leadership and oversight role in the company’s sustainability efforts, while raising our disclosure standards leading to enhanced communication with its shareholders and other external stakeholders,’ he says.
He shares that the board secretaries and company secretaries are currently facing three major challenges in response to the increasing market scrutiny of companies’ ESG performance. ‘We have to provide quality ESG-related training to directors to enable them to better supervise management in the development and implementation of sustainable development strategies. This is the first challenge that I have encountered,’ he says.
‘But another major challenge comes from the growing investor expectations relating to ESG. Firstly, an increasing number of institutional investors have asked for regular updates on companies’ ESG developments, and their questions are getting more professional and in-depth. Secondly, the voting practices of institutional investors at shareholder meetings reflect their higher expectations of companies’ handling of ESG issues, especially governance aspects. These developments have put pressure on companies to improve their ESG performance,’ he says.
He further points out that the board secretaries and company secretaries will face greater compliance risks as regulators are tightening regulations regarding ESG disclosures. ‘As the definition and understanding of disclosure standards still lack uniformity, the reliability and comparability of the disclosed information is an issue. This can mislead regulators, investors and companies, while exposing governance professionals, particularly board secretaries and company secretaries, to greater compliance risks,’ he says.
Against this backdrop, he suggests that governance professionals such as board secretaries and company secretaries need to strengthen their ESG knowledge and skills. ‘A board secretary should be able to facilitate effective communication and two-way interaction between directors and management, as well as between management and investors on ESG-related topics. Thus, a deep understanding of ESG-related professional knowledge is essential,’ he says.
‘The ability to understand and capitalise on ESG will become a basic requirement for a board secretary. The board secretary should become a “walking sustainability report” and an ESG all-rounder’, he emphasises.
Pearl Lee
Journalist
解析ESG挑战 – 从董秘角度看合规实务
三位董事会秘书就实现减碳目标、绿色产业链管理，以及应对气候变化，分享了他们的经验和观点。
眭立女士，广州汽车集团股份有限公司董事会秘书
广州汽车集团股份有限公司（广汽集团）在上海证劵交易所（股票代码：601238.SS）和香港交易所（股票代码：2238.HK）上市，是中国大型国有控股汽车集团。
为配合实现内地“双碳”目标（2030年“碳达峰”与2060年“碳中和”目标），以及因应ESG信息披露要求渐趋严格，广汽集团于2021年发布“GLASS 绿净计划”，制定“十四五节能减排规划”，加速其低碳减排进程。相关对策涵盖生产、产品、技术及金融等领域，旨在打造绿色产业链、加强研发混动、电动及氢燃料电池系统等节能产品，以及促进新能源技术发展等，以挑战2045年实现产品全生命周期碳中和。
广汽集团由一家传统制造企业转型为低碳绿色企业，将ESG理念持续融入业务流程的各个环节，为董秘的工作带来多个挑战。
眭女士说：“一是董秘需要时刻追踪国家有关ESG信息披露的重要文件，掌握ESG的最新信息披露要求。二是需要定期在内部组织合规‘运营演练’，以提升集团全体职员的合规能力。三是加快推动集团完善新能源产业生态布局，提升集团的成长性和行业竞争力。”同时，她亦需深度了解生产技术，规划产业链投资策略等，从而更好地打造企业形象。
除此之外，兼任广汽资本董事长的眭女士，也肩负落实公司经营策略的职责。她表示：“作为董秘同时也作为广汽资本董事长，我需要充分运用资本市场力量，通过投资新能源汽车产业链上下游企业，促进相关能源技术的发展，助力集团完善新能源产业生态布局。”
近年来，ESG成为车企的关注重点。“当前，ESG评级逐渐成为衡量车企品牌价值的新标准，以销量和利润论英雄的时代已逐渐成为过去式。”举例说，广汽集团于今年首度将年度社会责任报告和ESG报告合二为一，反映了集团对ESG表现愈发重视。
她认为，在这一趋势下，董秘及上市公司将迎来三大挑战。“首先，尽管ESG中的环境、社会与公司治理这三大板块都很重要，但由于行业、业务和生产方式的区别，上市公司还是需要对这三大块的权重孰低孰高做出权衡。”
其次是从长期来看，企业需建立ESG数据库，以提升公司治理水平。“然而企业的ESG数据库标准尚未统一，同时受限于技术等因素，数据采集、分析等ESG相关技术基础设施建设也不太理想。并且，不同行业的上市公司采用的ESG标准，差异性是很大的。”
最后是ESG信息披露的标准化还存在难度。她表示：“虽然市场期望ESG报告能够做到定时定量披露，但目前看来非财务指标的定量是有一定难度的。”
面对这些挑战，董秘需要提升自身各项专业技能，不断提高组织协调能力，并加强沟通管理能力。“我们还需要在严格确保信息披露合规性的前提下，精确把握披露的节奏和窗口、提高有效性，从自身所处的行业特点出发，努力做到披露内容能够反映公司的投资价值，成为投资者投资决策的有效信息。”
朱旭女士，万科企业股份有限公司董事会秘书
万科企业股份有限公司（万科）于深圳证劵交易所（股票代码：000002.SZ）和香港交易所（股票代码：2202.HK）上市。
早在90年代，万科已致力于绿色建筑的研究和推广工作，并自2022年起开始致力于工业化建造体系的研究，在内地率先推动建筑工业化建造体系，以有效降低建造过程中的能耗与物耗。在关注自身绿色低碳经营的同时，万科也将环保原则纳入供应商管理机制，以带动房地产行业供应链的绿色发展。相关的重点工作包括与供货商共同发起 “房地产行业绿色供应链行动”、通过“采筑”平台进行绿色供应链管理，以及定期发布采购“白名单”及“绿名单”，引导上游供应商密切关注能耗指标，从而实现节能减排等。
朱女士不仅帮助公司履行ESG合规要求，亦需推动公司不断提高包括绿色供应链在内的各项绿色管理水平，提升公司在ESG方面的表现。在这样的背景下，对董秘的工作来说，意味着责任更重、压力更大。因此，她强调，一位称职的董秘需拥有丰富的从业经验和专业能力。
“董秘需具备‘过硬’的专业知识，不仅要对法律法规熟悉，还需要掌握财务、资本市场和企业管理有关知识。”她补充说：“董秘的丰富工作经验，如企业、会计师事务所、律师事务所、投行等，都有利于董办工作的顺利进行。”她还表示无论境内外担任上市公司董秘或公司秘书都需要取得相应资格证书。
另外，董秘必须具备强大的沟通和协调能力，因为相关利益者关系管理是其日常重要职责之一。“董秘是监管部门、股东和公司管理层之间的桥梁，担任了重要角色，也承担了重大责任，需要极高的情商和待人接物的能力。”
“同时，随着ESG相关要求近年来迅速在国际和内地风行及普及，规则要求和所需技能日新月异，这就要求董秘时刻保持学习的状态，及时学习规则变化，并紧跟国际和国内相关实践及行业的前沿动态，如此才能更好地协助公司推动绿色转型。”
她预计，未来监管机构对ESG的披露要求将渐趋完善，而她的公司正在作出回应。“未来，万科将不断提升各项ESG管理水平，如基于香港交易所的《气候信息披露指引》，完善对于气候风险管理的情景分析，识别不同情景下，公司不同业务所面对的气候风险以及潜在机遇，从而提高气候风险管理效力，以及把握气候机遇。”
这些变化将给董秘书带来更多的挑战。为了应对相关的挑战，她鼓励董秘们积极参加ESG相关培训和论坛，以不断提升自身在ESG领域的知识积累，及时掌握最新发展趋势。“董秘需拥有充足的知识储备才能高效履行其职责，保障公司规范运作。”
罗楠先生FCG HKFCG(PE)，中银香港（控股）有限公司董事会秘书兼公司秘书
中银香港（控股）有限公司（中银香港，股票代码：2388.HK）是香港交易所最大上市公司之一。中银香港是香港三家发钞银行之一，亦是香港唯一的人民币业务清算行。
罗先生在大学毕业后加入中国银行已经26年，从事公司治理相关工作已经超过18年。他表示，中银香港通过持续完善公司治理机制，有效地管理气候变化相关风险及机遇。“公司治理对于银行及时有效地从机制和战略上，通过转型抓住机会应对挑战，发挥着核心的引领作用。”
中银香港建立了三层可持续发展管治架构，就可持续发展事宜明确董事及管理层责任，并制定2021-2025可持续发展规划及碳中和目标，自上而下全力推进ESG工作。中银香港还积极参与并成为“气候相关财务信息披露工作组”（TCFD）签署方以提升信息披露水平，主动披露气候相关信息。同时，中银香港正逐步将气候风险管理纳入全面风险管理体系，努力实现自身营运碳中和，以及积极发展绿色金融等。
作为董秘及公司秘书，罗先生在公司的转型进程中，担当了关键的角色。“协助董事会引领和指导相关的可持续发展工作，同时提高信息披露的水平，并加强与股东和其他外部利益相关方的沟通。”
他分享，随着市场对企业的ESG表现愈发重视，董秘和公司秘书正在面对三大挑战。他说：“为董事提供高质量的ESG相关培训，帮助他们更好的指导管理层制定和落实可持续发展战略，是我遇到的第一个挑战。”
“但更大的挑战来自于投资者对ESG方面的期望越来越高。首先，越来越多的机构投资者，要求公司定期更新ESG的发展情况，并且问题越来越专业和深入。其次是在股东大会投票时，机构投资者就ESG相关的议题，特别是公司治理方面议题的期望越来越高。这对公司于推进ESG方面的压力越来越大。”
他进一步指出，在监管部门收紧对ESG信息披露规管的情况下，董秘和公司秘书将面临较大的合规风险。他说：“由于披露项目的定义和理解仍然缺乏统一标准，影响披露信息的可靠性和可比性，对监管、投资者和企业本身较易造成误导，同时也会令董秘、公司秘书等公司治理专业人员，面临较大的合规风险。”
在此背景下，他建议董秘、公司秘书等公司治理专业人员，需加强自身的ESG知识和技能。“只有熟悉和了解ESG相关的专业知识，董秘才能就ESG相关议题，促进董事与管理层以及管理层与投资者的高效沟通和双向互动。”
他强调：“对ESG的理解和把握将成为董秘的标准配备。董秘应该成为‘行走的可持续发展报告’和ESG全能型选手。”
Pearl Lee
记者
