China’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Releases Action Plan for Operational Carbon Neutrality

China Investment Corporation (CIC), the sovereign wealth fund of the People's Republic of China, has released its Action Plan for operational carbon neutrality.

In a statement, the fund said it will devote greater efforts to scientific reasoning, strengthen capacity building, and strive to reduce the scale and intensity of carbon emissions in its investment portfolio by stage, and that the move is a vital measure for it to implement the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, and act on the top-down design of sustainable investment.

The Action Plan CIC said is formed based on global peer practices and a review of the carbon emissions in CIC’s operations.

On top of actions taken by all employees to reduce carbon emissions, the Action Plan will be supplemented by afforestation for higher carbon sink and strive to achieve the operational carbon neutrality goal as scheduled, promoting the low-carbon transformation of the economy and society.

In terms of emission reduction, the CIC Action Plan proposes 11 concrete measures against three major sources of emissions, namely purchased electricity, data center and products, and travelling of employees.

To reduce power consumption, CIC has forwardly purchased green electricity and green certificates, optimised office space management, and strengthened employees' awareness of green and low-carbon habits in the office.

To reduce carbon emissions during the entire life cycle of purchased goods and services, CIC said it has made unremitting efforts in increasing green procurement, reducing unnecessary printing, and has made significant efforts in waste disposal and recycling.

To form the habit of low-carbon travel, CIC has taken various measures to encourage employees to be green travelers and commuters.

In terms of carbon offset, the Action Plan has designed a specific scheme for afforestation and sought to form synergies with other social responsibility measures.

In its statement, CIC said over the past few years it has attached great importance and devoted itself to poverty alleviation and rural revitalisation. In this new Action Plan, the company will now strive to combine afforestation with rural revitalization, explore new paths for the development of local green industries, and form a joint force to fulfill corporate social responsibilities.

#decarbonisation #recycling #ruralrevitalisation