In April 2026, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Forum on Green and Sustainable Development was held in Ningbo. China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC), as a representative of China’s central state-owned enterprises, was invited to attend the forum and delivered a keynote speech titled “Smartly Navigating the Deep Blue, Setting Sail for a Green Future, Jointly Building a New Future for Sustainable Development within the SCO.” Recently, the WeChat public account Dagong Cloud ESG published an article titled “A Benchmark for Central Enterprises: How CSSC Tells Its ESG Story to the International Community,” offering an interpretation of the speech. The full article is reproduced below for our readers.

In April 2026, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Forum on Green and Sustainable Development was held in Ningbo. CSSC, as a representative of China’s central state-owned enterprises, was invited to participate and delivered a keynote speech titled “Smartly Navigating the Deep Blue, Setting Sail for a Green Future, Jointly Building a New Future for Sustainable Development within the SCO.”

This was not a technical white paper, but a strategic ESG statement. At the forum, CSSC did not go into detailed technical parameters of engines. Instead, it systematically addressed three questions: How do we view green transformation? What have we done? What are we willing to share with our partners?

For central enterprises that are preparing or improving their ESG reports, CSSC’s “SCO answer” provides a narrative model worth referring to.

I. Strategic Positioning: Embedding ESG into the Group’s Core Strategy

In its speech, CSSC summarized its green transformation approach in eight Chinese characters: “building green ships and building ships in a green way.”

Behind this concise expression lies a clear strategic framework: ESG is not the responsibility of a single department, but a core business line running through the Group’s main operations. CSSC describes this as “supporting the development of a world-class shipbuilding group with a green and low-carbon industrial system.” This means that green transformation is positioned as a key pathway supporting the Group’s core objectives, rather than an additional task.

For other central enterprises, this offers a useful starting point for ESG storytelling: the authority of an ESG strategy depends on whether it is embedded in the Group’s overall strategy. Whether an ESG report can impress investors and rating agencies depends first on whether the company has elevated ESG issues to the agenda of the board and top management.

II. Quantitative Disclosure: From “What We Have Done” to “What We Have Achieved”

In recent years, CSSC has left a clear quantitative footprint in its public disclosures.

The CSSC “Blue Sail Project,” involving more than 150 MW of rooftop distributed photovoltaic power generation, has been connected to the grid. It is expected to generate around 150 million kWh of electricity annually, save approximately 18,400 tonnes of standard coal each year, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 90,000 tonnes annually.

Taking the retrofit of a 210,000 DWT bulk carrier as an example, through the integration of shaft generators, propeller optimization, hydrodynamic energy-saving devices, and other technologies, the vessel can save users an average of 875 tonnes of fuel each year, equivalent to approximately RMB 3 million in cost savings.

These figures correspond respectively to carbon reduction in the company’s own operations, energy savings in product delivery, and economic benefits for users during operation.

This disclosure structure is worth noting. Through three specific cases, CSSC answers three key questions: How much have you reduced in your own operations? How much do your products help customers reduce? While reducing carbon emissions, do you also help customers save money?

High-quality ESG disclosure uses quantitative benchmarks to prove not only “what we have done,” but also “what we have achieved.”

III. Ecosystem Extension: ESG Responsibility Goes Beyond One’s Own Boundaries

The four initiatives proposed by CSSC in its speech — jointly building a green manufacturing system, jointly promoting the green transformation of shipping, jointly advancing clean energy cooperation, and jointly sharing the achievements of green development — outline the extended boundaries of its ESG responsibility.

The first initiative points to the supply chain. “Jointly building a green manufacturing system” means extending the company’s green standards to upstream suppliers. This is an important scoring point in international ESG rating systems: Is your supply chain also reducing carbon emissions?

The second initiative points to customers. “Jointly promoting the green transformation of shipping” means helping shipowner customers achieve their decarbonization goals. Against the backdrop of increasing emission-reduction pressure in the global shipping industry, those who can help customers solve the problem of “how to reduce carbon emissions” will gain an advantage in competing for orders.

The third initiative points to the industrial ecosystem. It means participating in the construction of a green fuel supply system. Without green methanol and green ammonia, even the most advanced engines cannot achieve true carbon reduction.

The fourth initiative points to knowledge sharing. “Jointly sharing the achievements of green development” means opening up technologies and management experience to partners. This directly responds to the international community’s concern over the “green technology gap.”

Through this strategic statement, CSSC sends a clear message to the international community: it is willing to become a co-builder of the green shipping ecosystem, not merely a manufacturer of green ships.

IV. ESG Storytelling in the SCO Context

Returning to the opening question: How can a central enterprise tell its ESG story to the world?

The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization include emerging economies such as China, Russia, India, Iran, and Pakistan. These countries face similar challenges in green transformation, including a relatively weak technological foundation, funding gaps, and inconsistent standards systems. CSSC’s speech did not simply replicate the narrative used for European and American markets. Instead, it focused on cooperative themes such as “jointly building,” “sharing,” and “promoting together.”

The ESG narrative of central enterprises needs to be adjusted according to different audiences. When facing international investors, companies may need to emphasize verifiable data and alignment with international standards. When facing partners in emerging markets, they may need to emphasize accessible technologies, affordable costs, and replicable experience.

CSSC’s SCO answer is, in essence, an external statement of its ESG strategy. Its value does not lie in disclosing astonishing emission-reduction figures, but in providing a narrative framework that other central enterprises can learn from and adapt.

Original Link: http://www.cssc.net.cn/n5/n18/c33692/content.html