GIZ, the China International Contractors Association (CHINCA), and the Standard Chartered Bank co-organized the First International Infrastructure ESG Forum on 11 April 2023 in Beijing.
Themed “Empowering Companies to Develop with High Quality”, the forum brought together more than 220 participants from over 150 institutions. It marked the official integration of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) as a key topic for industrial sustainable development into the framework of the Mechanism for International Sustainable Infrastructure Promotion (MISIP), a platform jointly initiated by GIZ, CHINCA, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in 2022. The platforms aims at synergizing international efforts for promoting global sustainable infrastructure development.
Strengthening ESG management and improving ESG practices are not only important for companies to manage risks, but also a necessary path for the sustainable development of the industry. In the framework of MISIP, CHINCA announced during the forum that it will develop ESG management system guidelines and organize activities to support Chinese international contractors to integrate ESG in overall management of companies, building upon previous work to guide Chinese international contractors for sustainable development.
Officials from Chinese Ministry of Commerce and Chinese State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission introduced Chinese policies on ESG, the development of ESG in industries, and the role of industry associations in promoting ESG. Experts from the United Nations, multilateral and commercial banks, infrastructure companies and professional consulting companies also shared their insights and practices, and exchanged opinions on experiences, challenges, tools and suggestions on ESG performance improvement.
During the forum, 28 projects were selected as the winners of the “2022 Best Practices of Sustainable Infrastructure Projects” undertaken by CHINCA. GIZ supported the development of the Guidelines of Sustainable Infrastructure for Chinese International Contractors.
