In the global wave of sustainable development, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has become a core metric for measuring high-quality corporate growth and a crucial link connecting corporate value with social value. As China's domestic ESG ecosystem rapidly matures, with policy regulations tightening and capital market interest in ESG performance soaring, a company's sustainable development capability is increasingly becoming a vital component of its core competitiveness.
Against this backdrop, Sina Finance officially released the "2025 China Corporate ESG Top 100" list today. Utilizing professional and objective selection criteria, the list identifies benchmark companies in Chinese ESG practices, setting a development model for the industry while also providing investors with highly valuable decision-making references.
The list is based on Sina Finance's ESG rating system, which evaluates over 5,000 A-share listed companies and mainland enterprises listed in Hong Kong. It employs 18 sets of industry-specific ESG evaluation models to conduct comprehensive, quantitative assessments of corporate ESG performance. The rating system incorporates more than 150 ESG indicators, drawing from corporate sustainability reports and third-party data, to generate a comprehensive ESG rating score for each company. The top 100 ranked companies are selected for the "Annual Listed Company ESG Top 100" list.
What sets this list apart: Three major innovations constructing a new paradigm for quantitative evaluation. The market currently lacks a systematic, authoritative, comprehensive evaluation framework capable of quantitatively assessing different industries while fully incorporating their key ESG factors. The launch of the Sina Finance ESG Top 100 list represents both an optimization and upgrade of ESG evaluation systems and an effort to build a bridge of value consensus among companies, investors, and industries, allowing truly outstanding ESG practices to be seen, recognized, and invested in.
First, precise industry characterization, moving beyond a "one-size-fits-all" approach. To address the material risks and opportunities unique to different industries, this list has established 18 independent industry-specific ESG evaluation models. For instance, the energy sector is heavily evaluated on energy transition and climate risk management, while manufacturing focuses on supply chain responsibility and circular economy practices. This "tailored strategy for each industry" design aims to accurately reflect corporate ESG leadership within their respective fields, enhancing the relevance and fairness of the evaluation.
Second, data-driven quantification, building an objective benchmark. The evaluation strictly relies on corporate public reports and authoritative third-party data, systematically incorporating over 150 indicators covering environmental, social, and governance dimensions. Through comprehensive calculation via quantitative models, it produces a comparable comprehensive ESG rating score, striving for objective and transparent rankings to minimize subjective bias to the greatest extent possible.
Third, intelligent report deconstruction, penetrating beyond surface text. The list innovatively introduces intelligent analysis tools to automatically conduct in-depth deconstruction of corporate ESG report texts. By assessing dimensions such as report completeness, materiality, data richness, and narrative logic, it generates an independent "report quality score" to identify the true depth and credibility of information disclosure, piercing through表象 to洞察实质.
Deep perspective on the list: Who is leading China's ESG wave? Looking at the industry distribution of the 2025 China Corporate ESG Top 100, the financial and consumer discretionary sectors performed notably well, with 18 companies from each sector making the list, tying for the highest representation. Among them, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China all ranked within the top 10, while Li Auto, Haier Smart Home, XPeng Motors, and Alibaba Group secured positions in the top 20. This is partly because the financial industry faces high regulatory compliance and social responsibility requirements, leading to an early start in ESG management system development and relatively mature governance frameworks. Conversely, consumer-facing companies are directly connected to consumers and the market, where brand reputation, supply chain management, and product quality are tightly linked to ESG performance, driving them to actively respond to sustainability issues. Following closely are industries like Information Technology and Industrials. Companies such as Tencent, Sungrow Power Supply, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL), and Goldwind Science & Technology achieved high rankings, placing 4th, 6th, 9th, and 14th respectively on the Top 100 list. As core sectors of the real economy, numerous technology and industrial companies have integrated ESG principles into technological innovation, green manufacturing, and supply chain operations, making it a key strategy for enhancing long-term competitiveness.
Analyzing the list by listing location reveals a characteristic of "A-shares dominating, with Hong Kong-listed enterprises demonstrating excellence." Forty-nine companies are listed on the A-share market, reflecting the effectiveness of sustained guidance and strengthened ESG disclosure requirements by A-share regulators in recent years. Companies listed in both A-shares and H-shares ("A+H") account for nearly forty percent, totaling 38 companies. Mainland enterprises listed solely on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (H-shares, non A+H) number 13, with both proportions being significantly higher than their overall market representation. Hong Kong implements stricter regulatory disclosure requirements, mandating a phased adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards for sustainability disclosures starting in 2025, driving a transition from "voluntary disclosure" to "mandatory disclosure," which has effectively accelerated the maturity of ESG system development among Chinese listed companies.
The value of the list selection: Not just an honor, but a benchmark and an engine. The listed companies are distributed across core sectors of the national economy. Facing global challenges like climate change and common prosperity, these enterprises vividly exemplify the modern corporate philosophy where business value and social responsibility mutually reinforce each other for symbiotic success. They have become central forces in implementing the national "Dual Carbon" strategy and achieving high-quality development. Through large-scale green investments, technological R&D, and business model innovation, they have not only transformed themselves but are also substantively driving socio-economic progress towards greener and more inclusive directions. Their outstanding practices provide tangible, replicable case studies for peers and companies across their value chains. Whether it's leading carbon reduction technologies, innovative employee welfare programs, or exemplary board diversity governance, these best practices, amplified by the list's influence, will continue to serve as benchmarks, radiating their impact to elevate the overall ESG capabilities of industrial chains and aiding the formation of more robust industry standard systems that are better aligned with China's realities.
Introduction to Sina Finance's ESG Rating Center. The Sina Finance ESG Rating Center is the industry's first Chinese-language professional ESG information and rating aggregation platform. It is dedicated to promoting and advocating for sustainable development, responsible investment, and the values of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), disseminating corporate ESG practices and exemplary models, advancing the development of China's ESG sector, and facilitating the establishment of Chinese ESG assessment standards and the enhancement of corporate ratings.
Leveraging the ESG Rating Center, Sina Finance has launched several innovative ESG indices, providing more options for investors focused on corporate ESG performance. Concurrently, Sina Finance has established the China ESG Leadership Organization Forum, collaborating with leading Chinese ESG enterprises and partners to promote the development of an ESG evaluation standard system suited to China's unique context and to foster the growth of ESG investing within China's asset management industry.
