Aon, a globally renowned professional services firm, recently released its inaugural list of China's Best ESG Employers. Sino Biopharm (HK.1177) was honored as a "2022 China Best ESG Employer" for its outstanding ESG management performance.

As China officially proposed the goals of "peak carbon emissions" by 2030 and "carbon neutrality" by 2060, the concept of sustainability represented by Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) has been increasingly reflected in national policies. The proposal to "strengthen the construction of a modern environmental governance system" at the National Conference on Ecological and Environmental Protection of this year reflects the evolution of policy and regulatory concepts in the ESG field. It is certain that ESG and the concept of sustainability will accelerate their promotion and implementation in Chinese corporate management.

The "Aon China Best ESG Employer" selection is open to enterprises across various industries in mainland China. Through rigorous, objective evaluation dimensions and indicators that consider industry characteristics, it recognizes and honors corporate employers with outstanding performance, innovative results, and positive influence in the field of ESG. It advocates for enterprises to establish healthy organizational ecosystems, sustainable growth models, and efficient governance structures, fulfill their corporate missions, and actively assume employer, industry, and social responsibilities to achieve a new round of stable development with improved quality and efficiency.

During the 4-month selection process, Aon conducted a meticulous and rigorous screening of applications from nearly 200 companies across different industries. Following employee surveys, company questionnaire verifications, and executive interviews, and after review by the judging committee, 20 Best ESG Employer brands and 7 individual award-winning brands were selected.

This selection signifies the recognition of Sino Biopharm's comprehensive ESG practices by the industry and society. In recent years, Sino Biopharm has actively practiced the concept of sustainability, and continuously enhanced its comprehensive ESG governance level. It has established a "three-tier ESG governance structure" from the Board of Directors to the executive level and formulated the "CARE" ESG governance strategy centered on "Cure, Accessible, Relationship, and Environmental", continuously building a governance model that aligns with international standards and meets the highest requirements for ESG levels. Under the leadership of its management, Sino Biopharm adheres to driving the development of medical accessibility through innovative R&D, targeting three major disease areas that affect a large number of patients: oncology, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and hepatology. In 2021, the total R&D investment reached RMB 3.82 billion, accounting for 14.2% of sales revenue. In the first half of this year, this proportion further increased to 14.4%. In 2021, the proportion of the Group's products that won bids in centralized procurement reached 41.49%, with the prices of the winning products significantly decreasing, thereby reducing the financial burden for more patients. At the same time, the Group actively participates in medical insurance negotiations to benefit the public with better prices, and actively promotes the development of generic drugs and accelerates the consistency evaluation of generic drugs to provide patients with more choices.

In terms of human resources management, Sino Biopharm adheres to equal employment, focuses on employee experience, and places greater emphasis on talent culture and development, continuously improving the construction of its talent pipeline. In 2021, the male-to-female employee ratio in the Group was 53.9% to 46.1%, and the proportion of women in senior management was 30%. At the same time, the Group values its reserve of young talent. In 2021, nearly 70% of the Group's middle management personnel were under the age of 40. In addition, the Human Resources department specially planned the "Class is in Session!" training course series in 2022, covering general topics like emotional management and business English, as well as professional skills like Power BI and collaborative workshops, providing empowering learning resources for all employees. Through annual talent reviews, high-potential talent is identified and provided with customized development plans, such as job rotation (between the Group and member companies, or among member companies), specialized training, further education, or mentorship, to help talent continuously grow within the company and truly achieve sustainable development.

In the future, Sino Biopharm will always uphold the principle of "benefiting the country, the people, and the enterprise", support the Healthy China strategy, and remain committed to promoting the harmonious development of the company, employees, society, and the environment. It will create long-term value for itself and partners from all sectors, and take practical actions to improve the quality of life and uphold the dignity of life for patients.