In the process of global expansion, COSCO SHIPPING Ports integrates principles of sustainability into its operations and corporate culture, fulfilling responsibilities and commitments to the environment and the society. Centred on the “GRAND” sustainability approach – Governance, Resilience, Agility, Nature and Dynamic – the Company continues to establish and deepen the ESG-leading mindset to create value for stakeholders and contribute to the industry’s sustainable development.
In support of the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, the Company has identified those most relevant to business operations and integrated them into its sustainability approach.
The Company's Five Key Areas of Sustainable Development
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND DOUBLE MATERIALITY ASSESSMENT
The Company endeavours to maintain good and close communication with stakeholders to gain an in-depth understanding of their suggestions and expectations on the Company's sustainability strategies, goals and daily operations in order to further improve the management of sustainable development. The Company conducts materiality assessment of sustainability issues annually and introduced the concept of double materiality since 2023 which identified risks and opportunities that might have a significant impact on the Company's operations and development from both financial and non-financial perspectives, to understand the concerns of stakeholders. For more information, please refer to our Sustainability Report.
The table below outlines the objectives and channels for maintaining regular engagement with key stakeholders in the Company's daily operations:
| Stakeholder Groups | Objectives | Channels |
| Customers | Strive for service excellence by understanding customers' concerns and expectations for the Company's business and sustainable development as well as sharing industry prospects and development strategy with customers to maintain long-term relationships with mutual trust | Meetings, business visits, expositions, seminars, customer satisfaction surveys, service hotlines, instant messaging software, emails |
| Employees | Value the opinions of employees to constantly improve our staff policy, as well as attract and retain talents to lay the foundation for long-term business development | Company website, social media platforms (including WeChat and LinkedIn accounts), presentations, meetings, labour unions, emails |
| Shareholders and Investors | Maintain close communication with shareholders and investors and understand their concerns as well as share our business update to enhance their understanding in the financial and non-financial performance, results and future development of the Company | Meetings, roadshows, investor conferences, company website, corporate communications (including, but not limited to, financial reports, sustainability reports, announcements, circulars and press releases), general meetings |
| Suppliers and Partners | Ensure that suppliers and partners understand and follow the Company's policies and expectations to improve service quality and act on its social responsibility | Tendering, contract and agreement negotiations, regular assessments, business exchanges, seminars |
| Governments and Regulator | Comply with the requirements and guidelines of government authorities and regulators and understand their policies and priorities in respect of sustainable development | Subject-specific reports, information submission, forums |
| Non-governmental Organisations and Local Community Groups | Establish good relationships with non-governmental organisations and local community groups, maintain sound reputation, and identify and respond to different environmental and social risks | Company website, social media platforms (including WeChat and LinkedIn accounts), community public welfare activities |
MANAGEMENT APPROACH
Corporate Governance
The Company is committed to maintaining a high standard of corporate governance by having a well-defined governance structure and ESG governance structure as well as clear management policies and procedures in place, and continuously optimising its risk management and internal control systems to safeguard stakeholder interests.
Business Ethics
In compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and ethical standards, the Company strictly prohibits illegal and unethical behaviour such as corruption, bribery, fraud, and money laundering, and provides regular anti-corruption training to employees to strengthen the culture of integrity and honesty. The Company also strengthens anti-trust management and promote fair market competition, supporting the sustainability of the port industry.
Data Privacy Protection and Cybersecurity
As the development of smart ports progresses, the Company has established a robust governance structure and continuously improved multiple management policies regarding data privacy protection and cybersecurity to form a solid data security network, ensuring that personal information privacy is appropriately protected and handled.
Tax
The Company strictly adheres to national tax laws and regulations, ensuring timely tax filing and payments. To enhance tax compliance, the Company has formulated management policies, outlining tax management procedures and responsibilities to standardise key processes such as tax declaration, planning and file management, eliminating risks of tax evasion and avoidance.
Climate Resilience
The Company has established a robust management structure and integrated climate change into its risk management and decision-making processes to systematically promote green and low-carbon transition and enhance climate resilience, supporting the construction of green shipping corridors. In accordance with applicable disclosure requirements and standards, the Company completed in 2024 its first forward-looking climate scenario analysis, to identify, assess and comprehensively manage climate-related risks, and to grasp climate opportunities, thus improving its climate governance and management capabilities.
In terms of business operations, the Company is dedicated to facilitating green and low-carbon operations of its subsidiaries. The Company has developed management policies and corresponding contingency plans for energy saving and emissions reduction as well as responding to extreme weather and climate events, providing its terminal subsidiaries in China with specific policies and guidelines in relation to environmental management, such as issuing the Typhoon Prevention and Disaster Relief Work Plan and the Comprehensive Emergency Plan for Safe Production, as well as encouraging the terminal subsidiaries to formulate the Emergency Plan for Extreme Weather and Emergency Plan for Environmental Emergencies on the basis of the Company's policies, in order to prepare measures to respond to natural disasters caused by climate change such as typhoons, severe convective weather, landslides, and flooding.
GHG Emissions, Air Emissions and Energy Management
To support China in achieving carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, and respond to international initiatives such as the International Maritime Organization’s target to achieve net-zero emissions in international shipping around 2050, the Company has proactively set an ambitious target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and promoted energy saving and emission reduction in its own operations. By optimising internal processes and closely collaborating with suppliers and business partners, the Company actively identifies and evaluates primary sources of its Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions to effectively reduce carbon emissions across the value chain, providing “COSCO SHIPPING Ports green and low-carbon solutions” to all.
The Company practises corporate social responsibility in the aspect of investment management. It has developed the Investment Management Policy to regulate investment management. Before making any investment decision, the Company conducts feasibility studies on the project to review its environmental protection and energy-saving performance, safety regulations and its capacity for sustainable development. In terms of projects approved for implementation, the Company carries out relevant safety and environmental protection work pursuant to the management policy to ensure that such projects are implemented in accordance with requirements under the investment decisions.
Supply Chain Management
The Company has established a sound management structure, where departments dedicated to procurement management and supplier management were designated to strictly regulate procurement activities. The Company has developed detailed management regulations for supplier admission, selection, evaluation, and rewards and penalties to continuously optimise supplier structure, strengthen cooperation with high-quality suppliers, and effectively manage procurement and supply risks. In addition, each subsidiary has formulated their own management regulations in accordance with applicable laws and regulations of the places where they operate, to standardize procurement practices and ensure supply security.
During the admission stage, the Company reviews supplier information and ensures that suppliers understand and commit to complying with its business principles and ESG requirements. The review process covers legal compliance, safe production, environmental protection, prohibition of using child labour and forced labour, compensation management, anti-discrimination, among others. The Company also introduced a series of ESG assessment requirements for newly-onboarded suppliers and plans to gradually extend these requirements to all suppliers in the database. These requirements include carbon reduction and carbon neutrality targets, Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions and intensity, assessment of climate-related risks and opportunities, nature or biodiversity assessments, anti-corruption and anti-bribery policies, and the level of information disclosure in sustainability report.
Technological Innovation
The Company focuses on digital intelligence and accelerates the cultivation of new quality productive forces, achieving breakthroughs in high-quality development. By enhancing the volume and efficiency of automated operations, the Company has comprehensively advanced the construction of smart ports and the sustainable development of the port and shipping industry.
Terminal Operation Optimisation
The Company is under prudent and meticulous business management and strictly complies with laws and regulations in respect of products and services in China and places where it operates. Centred around the corporate brand of “The Ports for ALL” and the vision of becoming a global leading port logistics operator with a customer-oriented focus, and based on the integrated development strategy of “shipping + ports + logistics”, the Company maintains a customer-centric perspective and leverages resources from its global terminal network, supply chain bases, and digital capabilities, with the aim of enhancing holistic service mindset and comprehensive coordination and operational capabilities that integrate terminal and supply chain resources, thereby creating high-quality and efficient terminal service products, making ports a key node supporting the logistics supply chain.
Customer Satisfaction
The Company has formulated the Customer Service Management Policy and the Customer Service Hotline Policy to regulate customer management and retention, customer service guarantee and the handling of complaints and disputes of the Company and its subsidiaries, with a view to establishing a high level of service standards and strengthening customers' confidence in the Group.
The Company and its subsidiaries strictly comply with all applicable laws and regulations related to environmental and natural resource management of the places where they operate to ensure compliant and legal operations. With reference to good management practices in the industry, the Group has robust management systems in place and makes every endeavour to ensure reasonable use of natural resources, thereby minimising unnecessary consumption and facilitating the sustainable use of natural resources.
The Company conducts quarterly comprehensive inspections and special inspections on its terminal subsidiaries in China to ensure that sewage discharge and waste treatment are legally compliant with local standards. The Company has formulated a management policy related to hazardous waste and domestic waste and formulated an emergency plan for hazardous waste disposal. Any failure in effectively performing the supervision and inspection of ecological and environmental protection, or violation of relevant laws and regulations that causes environmental pollution accidents, will be handled by the Company in accordance with the management policy. In addition, the Company regularly sorts out and investigates environmental pollution sources and ecological risks of its Subsidiaries, and requires them to file relevant reports, such as work summaries on the investigation and control of environmental pollution related risks or information concerning energy saving and emission reduction in accordance with the management policies.
To ensure the effective implementation of biodiversity conservation, the Company has developed the Management Policy on Ecological and Environmental Protection to regulate the daily management of ecological and environmental protection, environmental monitoring, environmental management of construction projects, management of environmental protection facilities, and emergency treatment and management of environmental pollution accidents in its Subsidiaries in China. The Company has also developed the Supervision and Inspection Management Policy on Ecological and Environmental Protection and the Measures for Performance Evaluation of Ecological and Environmental Protection to standardise risk prevention methods of its Subsidiaries in China in areas of water pollution, solid waste, hazardous waste, food and domestic waste pollution, and conduct investigation and treatment of hidden hazards of environmental incidents that may cause toxic and harmful substances to enter water, air and soil, in order to standardise the pollution prevention and ecological and environmental protection work of the Subsidiaries in China, and enhance the awareness of biodiversity protection.
The Company has developed the Infrastructure Management Policy to ensure that the environmental protection facilities and safety equipment have passed special inspection and acceptance or filing in accordance with the requirements of relevant authorities. Before commencing all large-scale projects, the Company engages professional environmental assessment agencies to assess the environmental impact caused by such projects, to ensure that local environmental requirements are met prior to construction.
Employee
The Company complies fully with the laws and regulations in relation to labour force, employment, diversity, human rights, occupational safety and health in the regions where we operate to protect the basic rights of employees. The Company has formulated the Human Resources Management Policy and the Employee Handbook to manage human resources and staff conduct. These policies set out the Company’s expectations on its employees’ ethics, as well as the ethical norms and procedures they should follow in their daily work to uphold high level of ethical standards and conduct.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
Talent is the core resource for company development. Embracing the concept of“recognising and retaining talents”, the Group is able to attract talents, build a sustainable talent pipeline and implement a strategic, position-focused training mechanism. By identifying training needs across different levels and positions, offering diversified training courses, and continuously adjusting future training plans based on employee feedback, the Group is able to ensure systematic, continuous, and effective training efforts and utilization of training resources. A well-developed training system helps to align training content closely with market changes and the Group’s actual development needs, enabling employees to effectively apply what they have learned to their daily work. This provides strong talent support for the Group’s high-quality development and strategic transformation, fostering shared achievements and mutual growth.
EMPLOYEE WELL-BEING
The Group strictly complies with relevant laws and regulations. The Group comprehensively reviewed and improved the human resources management policies, ensuring reasonable wages and benefits for employees while safeguarding their rights and interests.
The Group emphasises work-life balance and proactively organises various types of recreational activities to help employees relieve stress, improve well-being, and foster team cohesion.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION
The Group proactively maintains a working environment that embeds diversity, inclusion and mutual respect, and is committed to recruiting talents from diverse backgrounds and continuously broadening the channels for talent recruitment. Throughout the talent recruitment and management processes, the Group adheres to the principles of fair selection, comprehensive assessment, and merit-based hiring. Employment discrimination or unfair treatment based on factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, race, disability, religion and nationality for both potential or existing employees will not be tolerated.
LABOUR CONDITIONS
The Group strictly adheres to applicable laws and regulations in its operational locations. The Employee Handbook outlines that employment practices across the Company and the subsidiaries must comply with local laws and regulations.
The Group has established robust two-way communication channels between management and employees, designed to proactively gather employee feedback, suggestions and expectations. The Group regularly updates employees on the latest Group developments and initiatives through meetings, social media platforms and internal publications. Meanwhile, the management of the Company conducts official visits to subsidiaries to understand their specific situations and needs.
The Group values employee feedback and has established open communication mechanisms. Employees are encouraged to raise any work-related difficulties or questions with management or department leaders, or to provide feedback to the labour union, fostering effective communication between individuals and departments as well as between senior management and frontline employees. The Group has also implemented a whistleblowing mechanism, allowing employees and external parties to report any illegal, unethical, or noncompliant behaviour in the Group’s operations.
Health and Safety
The Company highly values the safety of its employees and is dedicated to creating a safe and healthy working environment. The Company strictly implements safety management-related measures to minimise the risk of safety accidents. The Company has established a comprehensive safety production management and occupational health management system and implemented a safety production responsibility system that clearly defines the responsibilities of employees at all levels. The Company also requires its Subsidiaries to incorporate subcontractors into its safety management system to implement unified control.
SAFE PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
The Group strictly abides by all the applicable laws and regulations. In order to strengthen safety management, the Group has set up a Safety Production Committee, which is responsible for coordinating and supervising the implementation of the Group’s safety production work, and formulating safety production rules and regulations, operation specifications and accident emergency rescue plans, so as to ensure the effective implementation of policies and guidelines, and create a safe and healthy working environment for employees.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT
The Group attaches great importance to the occupational health management of all employees. The Group has formulated the Occupational Health Management Policy to regulate the formulation of prevention and control plans, and implementation plans in relation to occupational health and safety hazards for the terminal subsidiaries in China, as well as the establishment of occupational health management systems and operational procedures. Each terminal has a safety management department which is responsible for formulating work plans for occupational health management.
The Group provides focused training for employees exposed to occupational health risks and requires the subsidiaries to conduct comprehensive pre-assessments and occupational hazard prevention facility design in construction projects. The effectiveness of occupational hazard controls is strictly reviewed, and professional teams are organised to inspect and validate the effectiveness of protective facilities.
POTENTIAL SAFETY HAZARD IDENTIFICATION AND RECTIFICATION
The Group is committed to strengthening safety risk management and strictly abiding by the Policy on the Reporting and Investigation of Production Safety Accidents. The Group promotes in-depth investigations into potential safety hazards within our subsidiaries, enhances the risk identification mechanism, and effectively implements graded control measures for safety risks to reduce potential risks in production operations. The Group conducts safety production supervision and inspection of the subsidiaries, carries out spot checks on the safety production situation of key units, and requires the subsidiaries to regularly report to the Group on the rectification of safety hazards, ensuring the safety of lives and corporate property.
For major potential safety hazards identified during the inspection by the subsidiaries, the Group will respond immediately and fully guide the responsible departments to organise and formulate rectification plans and take safety precautionary measures during the rectification period. Upon completion of the rectification, the relevant terminal needs to appoint a qualified safety evaluation agency or organise internal technical personnel and experts of the terminal to evaluate the rectification. If the evaluation result is positive, the terminal needs to immediately submit a written report to the local authority responsible for the supervision and administration of safe production for further review. The potential safety hazard needs to be written off once the review is passed.
ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION
The Group follows the Policy on the Reporting and Investigation of Production Safety Accidents to regulate the procedures followed by the subsidiaries in prompt reporting of production safety accidents, minimising losses arising from accidents.
Upon occurrence of an accident, the Company will instruct the relevant subsidiary to arrange experts to conduct accident investigation or appoint professionals to carry out a rigorous investigation into the cause of the accident on a prompt and accurate basis, and implement mitigation measures to minimise the impact of the accident. Meanwhile, the terminal shall formulate corresponding preventive measures to prevent similar accidents from recurring.
SAFETY MANAGEMENT OF SUBCONTRACTORS
The Group also attaches great importance to the safety of all sub-contractors, firmly establishing that the safety goal of “zero fatality” covers subcontractor employees as well. To this end, the Group has formulated the Management Policy on the Safety of Subcontractors, which regulates sub-contractor safety production management and mandates the integration of subcontractor safety into their management systems, ensuring cohesive safety measures for subcontracted labour and enhancing overall safety standards.
The subsidiaries are responsible for reviewing the qualifications and conditions of subcontractors and continuously tracking their safety performance, under which, priority is given to quality subcontractors with sound safety management systems and good safety management records in recent years. Upon confirmation, the subsidiaries will sign safety management agreement with the subcontractors. The subsidiaries are responsible for providing training on safety and emergency response to the subcontractors’ staff prior to commencement of operation, and arranging for the subcontractor’s staff to participate in the emergency response drills organised during the operation. In addition, the relevant terminal carries out regular supervision at the subcontractors’ operation sites and arranges subcontractors to identify potential safety hazards, including the defects and issues during maintenance, use and management of equipment and tools, and supervise subcontractors to rectify them in a timely manner to reduce the likelihood of safety accidents. The subsidiaries conduct regular safety assessments on subcontractors and report the results to the Company to strengthen the supervision and management of subcontractors.
SAFETY PRODUCTION TRAINING
The Group attaches great importance to cultivating employees’ awareness of safety. The Group reviewed and revised the Management Policy on Safety Education and Training regularly to further standardize the responsibilities of subsidiaries in organising and implementing safety training and emergency drills for employees, so as to enhance their safety operation skills and self-protection awareness and prevent personal injury and fatality incidents.
Community Engagement
The Company also actively builds close relationships with the communities in where it operates and always considers the potential impacts of its operations on the local economy, environment and society. As a leading ports operator in the world, the Company proactively builds up long-term collaborations with various community organisations by leveraging its local community networks, resources, and talents. The Company spares no effort in fulfilling its corporate social responsibility, and proactively participates in various charitable and community services to create value for local communities, with the aim to jointly build a harmonious, inclusive and sustainable communities.
The Company mainly focuses on three areas: education and youth development, environmental protection, and poverty alleviation and care for vulnerable group.
