Dairy giant Yili Group, Huawei come out top in China for hitting UN’s sustainable development targets, Hurun Report finds

Yili took the top spot for its commitments to biodiversity protection and poverty reduction, the report says

Other companies to make the top 10 include Country Garden, Pingan Insurance, Tencent and BYD

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The list contained the companies deemed the most aligned with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:57pm, 10 Jan 2022Updated: 5:15pm, 10 Jan 2022

Yili Group and Huawei Technologies have been ranked top among Chinese companies for their commitment to hitting United Nations sustainable development goals, as the country increasingly shifts its focus towards environment, social and governance (ESG) efforts.

A hundred of the country’s 500 biggest private firms were listed in a report titled “2021 Hurun China Private Companies SDG Readiness 100” published by the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute on Monday. They were judged to be the companies most aligned with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Dairy giant Yili, headquartered in Inner Mongolia, took the top spot for its commitments to biodiversity protection and poverty reduction. Huawei, the Shenzhen-based telecoms giant, was ranked second for its actions in fighting climate change and creating jobs.

Other companies to make the top 10 include China’s biggest home seller Country Garden, Pingan Insurance, internet giants Alibaba and Tencent, and electric vehicle maker BYD.

“Carbon neutrality and sustainable development have attracted global attention,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher at privately held Hurun Report. “We hope this list can give some reference to Chinese private enterprises … and encourage more enterprises to consider sustainable development.”

It is the first report ever to focus on the sustainable development performance of Chinese private enterprises, according to Hurun Research.