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Idiosyncrasies in CSR disclosure.
A comparison of Chinese National Oil Companies and State-Owned Enterprises.
Master Thesis
MSc. International Business & Management
Yair R.M. Kerkmeester
S3751287
Faculty of Economics and Business
University of Groningen
Duisenberg Building, Nettelbosje 2, 9747 AE Groningen, The Netherlands
P.O. Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
http://www.rug.nl/feb
Supervisor: Dr. O. Lindahl
Co-assessor: Dr. M.M. Wilhelm
Date of submission: Monday, June 8th, 2020
Word count: 14.952
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Abstract
The aim of this exploratory study was to qualitatively analyze and compare CSR disclosure of
Chinese NOCs, SOEs, and MNEs as well as non-Chinese MNEs in oil and gas, to discover
how and why disclosure differs amongst Chinese NOCs and SOEs. Prior research on Chinese
SOEs’ CSR disclosure is inconsistent and does not differentiate between industries. Prior
research also indicates firms originating from emerging markets tend to report more CSR
activities, whereas firm from industries like oil and gas tend to disclose more environmental
information. These three ‘influences’ have, combined, yet not been researched, implying little
is known about CSR disclosure of emerging market SOEs from environmentally sensitive
industries. A comparative research design (multiple case study) and thematic analysis was
applied to CSR disclosure in annual and stand-alone CSR reports to fill this gap in an
innovative manner. This study reveals Chinese NOCs and SOEs have significant uniformity in
CSR disclosure, yet also differences which are attributed to various causes. Both NOCs and
SOEs deprioritize disclosure on employment-related topics, while emphasizing disclosure on
topics like rights, fair competition, and third-party CSR initiatives (United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals). Moreover, Chinese NOCs place a higher emphasis on community and
climate change-related topics in CSR disclosure than other Chinese SOEs. On a general level
this study also indicates Chinese NOCs and SOEs disclose less extensively on CSR than the
sampled MNEs. The causes for idiosyncrasies in CSR disclosure of NOCs and SOEs serve as
a point of departure for future research within this topic area and provide room for new
discussions.
Keywords: National Oil Companies, State-Owned Enterprises, Multinational Enterprises,
Corporate Social Responsibility, Organizational Legitimacy, Environmentally Sensitive
Industry, Emerging Market, Disclosure, and Triple-Bottom Line.
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Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude towards my family, close friends, the Fusie, and faculty
staff for the continuous support not only throughout the process of this Master thesis, but
throughout the entire MSc. International Business & Management. My interests in China have
only increased by performing this research and I look forward to studying at Fudan University
in Shanghai next academic year as part of the double-degree Master program.
Amstelveen, 2020
Yair R.M. Kerkmeester
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ..............................................................................................................6
2. Literature review .......................................................................................................9
Institutional Theory (Neo-Institutionalism) and Legitimacy ..............................................9
Institutions and Isomorphic Pressures ..............................................................................9
Organizational Legitimacy ................................................................................................9
State-Owned Enterprises ................................................................................................ 11
SOEs’ Existence ............................................................................................................. 11
SOEs & Legitimacy ........................................................................................................ 12
Corporate Social Responsibility ...................................................................................... 14
Defining CSR ................................................................................................................. 14
Triple-Bottom Line ......................................................................................................... 15
Views on CSR................................................................................................................. 16
Chinese CSR Guidelines ................................................................................................. 16
Literature Gap ................................................................................................................ 17
3. Methodology ........................................................................................................... 18
Research design ............................................................................................................. 18
Case Studies ................................................................................................................... 19
Data ............................................................................................................................... 19
Sample ........................................................................................................................... 19
Method ........................................................................................................................... 21
4. Findings ................................................................................................................. 22
CSR Reporting Intensity ................................................................................................. 22
Annual Reports .............................................................................................................. 22
Stand-alone CSR Reports ............................................................................................... 22
Extent of CSR Disclosure ............................................................................................... 23
Thematic Analysis .......................................................................................................... 23
5. Analysis .................................................................................................................. 31
Analysis of CSR Reporting Intensity ............................................................................... 31
Implications of Thematic Analysis .................................................................................. 32
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6. Discussion and Conclusions .................................................................................... 37
Theoretical Implications ................................................................................................. 41
Managerial/Practical Implications .................................................................................. 42
Limitations and Future Research.................................................................................... 43
References ..................................................................................................................... 45
Appendices ..................................................................................................................... 55
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1. Introduction
China is the world’s second largest economy (Bajpai, 2020) and oil consumer (U.S. EIA, 2020).
To fuel its economy, China seeks secured access to natural resources in the Americas and
Africa (Vasquez, 2019), Europe (Amaro, 2019) and the Middle East (Xu, 2007). It does so
through for instance the, controversial (Hornby & Zhang, 2019), Belt & Road Initiative (BRI)
(Yan, 2017), which also aims to expand China’s political influence through state-owned
enterprises (SOEs), such as National Oil Companies (NOCs) (Rajah, Dayant, & Pryke, 2019).
Before the BRI, an NOC’s bid on a US oil firm was blocked by the US government (Lohr,
2005), as it did not want Chinese SOEs active in the region (Hook, Sakoui, & Kirchgaessner,
2012). Yet, evidence indicates that Chinese SOEs increasingly internationalized over recent
years (Alon, Leung, & Simpson, 2015). However, upon expansion, state-ownership causes
challenges towards organizational legitimacy (Li, Xia, & Lin, 2017), which is the perception
that a firm’s actions are socially acceptable (Suchman, 1995) and comply with rules and
expectations (Jacobsson & Bergek, 2011).
Organizational legitimacy entails firm acceptance (Deephouse & Zhang, 2018), allowing a
firm to maintain access to resources and operate. It can be ob- and/or maintained by abiding to
isomorphic pressures (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983) or CSR disclosure (Marano, Tashman, &
Kostova, 2017). Emerging market (EM) MNEs tend to disclose more on CSR to mitigate
prejudices towards their origins that harm organizational legitimacy (Marano et al., 2017).
SOEs experience legitimacy challenges as they are perceived as non-transparent firms (Li, Li,
& Wang, 2019) with political motives (Li et al., 2017). SOEs’ CSR disclosure, in particular
that of Chinese SOEs, is often frowned upon and doubted (Lin, 2010). As Chinese SOEs
originate from an EM, they face a combination of the two aforementioned challenges.
Contrary to literature on EM MNEs, literature on Chinese SOEs is inconclusive on the
reasoning behind CSR disclosure and does not differentiate between industries, which is
problematic as industry characteristics influence CSR practices and disclosure (Hung et al.,
2013; Li et al., 2013; Marquis & Qian, 2014). Literature on Chinese SOEs also shows higher
compliance of environmental laws compared to domestic MNEs, (Hung, Shi, & Wang, 2013),
as governmental CSR goals differ from private shareholders’ goals. Lastly, MNEs from
environmentally sensitive industries (ESIs), i.e. oil and gas, are frequently subject to public
backlash and damages to organizational legitimacy. To mitigate this, they disclose more
environmental information (Kuo, Yeh, & Yu, 2012). However, it is unspecified if this also
applies to SOEs.
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While the influences of EM origins, ESI origins, and state-ownership on CSR disclosure
are discussed separately in the literature, a combination of these three influences is overlooked.
Thus, insights on CSR disclosure of EM SOEs from ESIs (i.e. NOCs) are missing. This
knowledge is relevant to discover as it furthers understanding of how industry origins of
various Chinese SOEs influences CSR disclosure and how and why these differ from other
(Chinese) SOEs and MNEs. Additionally, over 15 Chinese firms (including SOEs) are on the
Top-100 MNEs ranking by the UN Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD, 2019),
implying significant international activities, consequential challenges to organizational
legitimacy and responses to these challenges through CSR. Oil and gas, the NOCs’ industry,
is also relevant nowadays as it relates to geo-politics and climate change. By exploring Chinese
NOCs’ CSR disclosure and comparing it to other Chinese SOEs, MNEs, and international oil
and gas MNEs the literature gap is covered by combining the three ‘influences’ and insights
arise on how and why Chinese NOCs’ CSR disclosure differs from other Chinese SOEs.
Currently, little is known about the underlying motives of Chinese SOEs’ and NOCs’ CSR
disclosure (Li & Zhang, 2010), i.e. if it should mitigate EM or ESI origins, or compensate for
state-ownership. This is interesting as SOEs do not require financial support of foreign
stakeholders (Li et al., 2013) which stems from organizational legitimacy (caused by CSR
practices and disclosure). Kuo et al. (2012) argue future research in this topic area must focus
on CSR reports shared involuntarily, which is the case for Chinese SOEs (Hicks, 2019).
Evidently, this study fills a literature gap and continues where others stopped. The research
question is: How does CSR disclosure of Chinese NOCs differ from that of other Chinese SOEs?
Due to the unexplored nature of this topic and need for novel theory (Eisenhardt, 1989),
this research applies an inductive comparative research design using a multiple-case study
analysis (Yin, 2013). The comparative case-study analysis comprises a thematic analysis in
which the most recent annual and/or CSR reports are coded to find trends, patterns, and
differences (Braun & Clarke, 2006) related to CSR. This approach allows for knowledge
accumulation on the topic, so that the differences in CSR disclosure can be discovered. The
sample (Appendix 1) comprises four groups of three firms. The firms are chosen to account for
variation in CSR disclosure. The sample is deemed appropriate as only three Chinese NOCs
exist, few Chinese SOEs publish annual reports, many ‘Chinese firms’ on the UNCTAD list
are from Taiwan and thus disregarded, and to remain consistent, three private oil and gas MNEs
are chosen. Group 1 (Chinese NOCs) comprises the three Chinese NOCs. Group 2 and 3
(Leading non-financial Chinese MNEs and SOEs) are based on the UNCTAD (2019) MNE
ranking on foreign assets. The ranking is applied in other CSR research (Fortanier, Kolk, &
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Pinkse, 2011). Group 4 (Leading oil & gas MNEs) comprises the largest private oil and gas
MNEs based on turnover.
Other scholars who qualitatively analyzed annual and CSR reports performed content
analyses (Dam & Scholtens, 2012; Kolk, 2003; Marquis, Ying & Yang, 2017). Yet, while both
thematic and content analysis imply a qualitative approach and thus are quite similar, content
analysis allows for quantifying data through a descriptive approach in the coding and
interpretation, resulting in quantifiable sums of codes (Vaismoradi, Turunen, & Bondas, 2013).
Yet, this is not possible with the current sample, therefore, thematic analysis is the most
appropriate method for this research. It offers a qualitative and detailed understanding of data
(Braun & Clarke, 2006), for instance through quotations.
The coding scheme is based on a CSR Reporting Indicators Framework (Fortanier et al.,
2011) which identifies themes, goals, and initiatives in reports, and categorizes them into a
framework. The framework contains five themes and 25 codes related to Triple Bottom Line.
It is applied in previous CSR research (Marano et al., 2017) and thus suitable for this study.
Open coding is further applied to identify CSR disclosure themes and topics beyond the
existing framework. Through the aforementioned methods, this study discovers how Chinese
NOCs’ and other SOEs’ CSR disclosure differ, what and how is disclosed on, whether there is
variation in disclosure, and what the reason may be for it. The reporting intensity, a quantitative
measure, is also analyzed through the number of pages and content devoted to CSR, which is
common for research on CSR reporting (Deegan & Gordon, 1996; Guthrie & Parker, 1989; &
Patten, 1992).
This paper contributes to literature on CSR disclosure by comparing the CSR disclosure of
firms with varying ownership structures as well as industry and/or geographic origins. It offers
a firm-based view of CSR dimensions and the level of reporting. While empirical evidence for
generalization lacks due to the small sample size, this paper offers a discussion and clearer
understanding of the differences between Chinese NOCs’ and other SOEs’ CSR disclosure and
what may be the root cause of it. Moreover, this study follows advice by Kuo et al. (2012) and
Xu and Yang (2010) as stipulated in the next chapter, thus extending the literature and
improving understanding on these topics. This paper is organized as follows: the next section
shows the extant relevant literature. The third section discusses the methodology applied. The
fourth section comprises the findings and the fifth section the analysis. The sixth and final
section contains the discussion and conclusions, including limitations, implications and advice
for future research.
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2. Literature review
This section highlights extant literature on institutional theory (legitimacy), SOEs, and CSR,
as these are deemed most relevant for this study, sample, and proposed approach. This section
ends with a detailed description of the literature gap.
Institutional Theory (Neo-Institutionalism) and Legitimacy
Institutions and Isomorphic Pressures
The Neo-Institutionalist stream of Institutional Theory views institutions, as “the rules of the
game” (North, 1990), meaning they set boundaries on societal and business-related behavior.
Institutions are divided into three pillars, regulatory (laws, rules, and regulations), normative
(norms, values, and beliefs), and cognitive (intrapersonal rules) institutions (Budzinski, 2003).
Institutions differ per country, and affect MNEs’ strategies differently (Scott, 2014). MNEs
attempt to adhere to rules set out by these institutions in order to be legally allowed to operate,
to be accepted, and recognized by and in a host-environment. Simultaneously, MNEs aim to
maintain legitimate statuses in their home-environment and ensure that subsidiaries located
abroad stay well integrated within the MNE’s network (Meyer, Mudambi, & Narula, 2011).
Host-country ‘rules’ to which MNEs adhere are isomorphic pressures, which are pressures
that make firms behave alike by acting as constraints on behavior (Deephouse, 1996).
Isomorphic pressures consist of three types. Coercive pressures entail organizations require
permission by stakeholders to operate, for instance laws are equally applicable to all
organizations to make them act similarly (Spencer & Gomez, 2011). Normative pressures entail
that organizations require support from stakeholders, driven by expectations. Mimetic
pressures entail that organizations require recognition by stakeholders, which is gained by
copying appropriately deemed behavior of other firms (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). In order
to operate successfully in a foreign environment, MNEs must comply with host-country norms,
rules, expectations, and beliefs (the pressures). Yet, MNEs are also expected to align foreign
activities with their home-country stakeholders’ values, objectives, and expectations (Meyer,
Ding, Li, & Zhang, 2014). This duality may lead to difficulties, known as dual embeddedness
(Meyer et al., 2011).
Organizational Legitimacy
The central notion of institutional theory is that MNEs adhere to rules and pressures to gain
legitimacy, as complying with host-country pressures generates organizational legitimacy
(Kostova & Zaheer, 1999). Legitimacy is a generalized perception that an entity’s actions are
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socially acceptable (Suchman, 1995). Organizational legitimacy is an important social
phenomenon for firm survival as it entails acceptance of an MNE’s activities in a host-
environment (Deephouse & Zhang, 2018), allowing it to maintain access to resources and to
operate. Lacking organizational legitimacy constitutes to a firm’s liability of foreignness, the
costs of doing business in an unfamiliar environment (Zaheer, 1995). Legitimacy consists of
three types. Pragmatic legitimacy derives from the perceived impact of an MNE’s actions on
its stakeholders. Moral legitimacy reflects on whether an MNE’s actions are morally correct.
Cognitive legitimacy is the acceptance of an MNE based on taken-for-granted beliefs, like
sustainability reports (Suchman, 1995). MNEs can enhance organizational legitimacy by
complying to isomorphic pressures (Villiers & Alexander, 2014) by for instance imitating
behavior of other firms (Chan & Makino, 2007), aligning firm practices with local standards
(Kostova & Roth, 2002), and reporting CSR practices (Marano et al., 2017).
The process of obtaining organizational legitimacy, the legitimation process, is “a process
by which acts in specific, concrete situations of action are justified in terms of the norms, values,
beliefs, practices, and procedures of pre-given structure” (Zelditch, 2001: 14). The legitimation
process occurs due to social interactions between an MNE, or its subsidiaries, and local actors,
such as other firms, consumers, and national authorities (Marano & Tashman, 2012). Kostova
and Zaheer (1999) stipulate that unfamiliarity with a host-environment diminishes
organizational legitimacy and weakens the legitimation process due to a lack of information
available on the MNE, stereotypes, differing principles in judging foreign firms, and “use of
MNEs as targets for attacks by interest groups” (Kostova & Zaheer, 1999: 68).
From a legitimacy perspective, firms that perform well should also demonstrate their efforts
in contributing to society or the community (Patten, 1991) by for instance disclosing CSR
activities and other non-financial information (Cho & Patten, 2007). In fact, nowadays it is not
only expected of firms, many countries consider it mandatory (Carrots & Sticks, 2016), to some
extent including China (Lin, 2010). This coercive and normative nature of CSR disclosure
implies organizational legitimacy is obtained if firms comply and disclose CSR practices,
meaning firms depend on CSR disclosure for legitimacy (Fortanier et al., 2011). Moreover, all
Chinese SOEs are mandated to file CSR/sustainability-related reports under new laws, codes,
and guidelines (Harper Ho, 2013). Boosting legitimacy through CSR practices could be
relevant for Chinese NOCs, as CSR-based legitimacy strategies, aimed at upholding perceived
appropriateness in a host-environment, prove to help maintain access to (national) strategic
resources (Zhao, 2012), i.e. oil and gas. However, current literature on CSR disclosure of
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Chinese SOEs and home-environment legitimacy provides contradicting findings (Hung et al.,
2013; Li et al., 2013; Marquis & Qian, 2014).
State-Owned Enterprises
SOEs’ Existence
SOEs differ from MNEs as MNEs are private firms while SOEs are partially or majority state-
owned. SOEs’ existence is explained by two distinct views. The economic view argues that
SOEs are governments’ tools to counter market imperfections (Cuervo-Cazurra, Inkpen,
Musacchio, & Ramaswamy, 2014). The political view sees SOEs as governments’ tools to
serve socio-political and socio-economic goals, driven by ideological (political) objectives
(Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2014). Under the economic view, market imperfections consist of moral
hazards caused by information asymmetries (Levy, 1987), natural monopolies in which society
would benefit more from one supplier (Lindsay, 1976), and positive externalities for which a
provider would not gain recognition, which subsequently lowers the willingness of the provider
to provide said externality in the future (Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2014). The political view
debates that SOEs are a result of four economic ideologies (political strategies), namely
communism, nationalism, social & strategic (Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2014).
The economic communist ideology justifies the creation of SOEs and nationalization
(regulation) of private firms in order to distribute wealth evenly across all social classes, mainly
to the benefit of the working class (Marx, 1887). The economic nationalist ideology reasons
that SOEs are more capable of speeding up economic development than private firms (Bruton,
1998). The economic social ideology states that SOEs are required to achieve ‘socially
desirable objectives’ (i.e. poverty alleviation). Lastly, the economic strategic ideology finds
that SOEs are indispensable for strategic purposes, like national defense. The existence of
SOEs differ depending on the political strategies and motives of a government (Cuervo-
Cazurra et al., 2014). Therefore, SOEs often have differing objectives (Shleifer, 1998) and
more access to resources than private firms (Meyer et al., 2014).
China applied an economic communist ideology until market reforms in the late 1970s (Lin,
Cai, & Zhou, 1998). After the ‘open-door policy’, China followed an economic nationalist
(Callahan, 2004) and strategic ideology as natural resources were vital for the military
(Bergsager & Korppoo, 2013) and economy (Jiang & Sinton, 2011). History indicates that
SOEs are often used to kick-start industrialization. Countries seeking industrialization, mostly
developing countries, apply the infant-industry argument, stating that government support is
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necessary for industrialization as ‘young’ firms and industries are unable to achieve scale
economies (Kremer, van Lieshout, & Went, 2009). Yet, China already experienced
industrialization, and its NOCs are mature firms existing for some time now (Gamer et al.,
2012). Nonetheless, SOEs constitute a large percentage of the economy.
SOEs & Legitimacy
SOEs experience legitimacy challenges as, by foreigners, they are perceived as non-transparent
organizations (Li et al., 2019) with political motives operating for a foreign government (Li et
al., 2017). In fact, SOEs are considered to be ambiguous (Shleifer, 1998), opaque (Li et al.,
2017) and possible political actors (Meyer et al., 2014). Transparency and access to validated
information are vital for business, however, governments tend to limit the information available
on their SOEs, thus creating opaqueness to prevent unintended information spillover, maintain
political flexibility, and limit public scrutiny on activities that may be illegitimate elsewhere
(Li et al., 2019). Chinese SOEs are often labeled as corrupt organizations, as they are known
to bribe foreign officials without being prosecuted due to a lack of home-country restrictions
which enable the SOEs to conduct business abroad with more freedom (Chow, 2015), and thus
with a higher chance of engagement in corruption (Jiang & Nie, 2014). Chinese SOEs hold a
relative advantage compared to Western MNEs on this aspect, however they often carry a
negative public image as a burden (Chow, 2015). This burden makes their internationalization
attempts less successful than private firms’ attempts (Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2014). But, the
label ‘corrupt organization’ is subjective, as in China there is a different way of doing business,
following ‘guanxi’ principles, known as relationships. ‘Guanxi’ is considered fundamental and
the modus operandi of business in China, yet its principles are often misunderstood by
Westerners (Ambler, Witzel, & Xi, 2017).
Corruption, defined as the abuse of power for private gain, is common in emerging
countries (Cuervo-Cazurra, 2008), and creates uncertainty (Cuervo-Cazurra, 2006). Firms
originating from countries that actively enforce the OECD’s anti-corruption practices are less
likely to perform FDI, as laws against bribery overseas “act as a deterrent against engaging in
corruption in foreign countries”. On the other hand, firms originating from countries that have
high levels of corruption are more likely to perform FDI, as normalized home-country
corruption results in firms seeking new locations “where corruption is prevalent” (Cuervo-
Cazurra, 2006: 803). Moreover, exposure to corruption in the home-environment creates an
“uncertainty management capability” which helps firms overcome internationalization
challenges (Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2018: 209), like the liability of foreignness (Zaheer, 1995).
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Existing literature highlights how corruption in a host country affects inward FDI (Cuervo-
Cazurra, 2006; 2008), but little attention is paid to home-country corruption and implications
for firms performing outward FDI (Estrin, Meyer, Nielsen, & Nielsen, 2012). Spencer and
Gomez (2011) however stipulate that normalized corruption in a home-country negatively
impacts MNEs’ organizational legitimacy abroad. Similarly, firms from countries where the
rule of law is weak encounter legitimacy challenges abroad (Kostova & Zaheer, 1999).
China’s business system abides by ‘state capitalism’ (Szamosszegi & Kyle, 2012) and is
considered a ‘socialist market economy’. A socialist market economy is influenced by socialist
ideologies, which inherently creates a conflict between the coexistence of state ownership and
free-market principles. For Chinese NOCs, this implies that they function as a bureaucracy
under governmental control and follow government policies, but also are profit-making
enterprises conducting business independently from the government (Kobayashi, 2008). Due
to its state capitalistic nature, China’s economy enables crony capitalism. Which is defined as
deals made between elite individuals and high-ranking government officials which result in
winners and losers based on political influence and ties (Aligica & Tarko, 2015). This allows
elites to gain high-ranking positions in businesses, such as SOEs, (Bai, Hsieh, & Shong, 2014).
This also applies to Chinese NOCs. Van den Beukel (2016) mentions “the top executives
of the NOCs are deeply connected to the top leadership of the government and the Chinese
Communist Party; they must wear two hats, as leaders of major commercial enterprises and as
top Party operatives. It is in the interests of both the government and the Party that the NOCs
are commercially successful, and that they secure adequate oil and gas supplies. Leaders have
a great deal of freedom in how they achieve these aims, and those who fulfill them have
leverage in bargaining for future promotions.”
Moreover, he mentions “the limited oversight and opaque way in which overseas assets are
acquired or work is contracted out create an environment where widespread corruption is
possible” (van den Beukel, 2016). Western societies, governments, and firms therefore tend to
be hesitant towards Chinese firms, especially SOEs such as NOCs, as they are deemed corrupt,
ambiguous organizations originating from a crony capitalist environment. This generalized
perception harms organizational legitimacy. It is unclear how SOEs deal with these generalized
perceptions and what they do to mitigate damages to organizational legitimacy. However,
Marquis and Qian (2014) state that since SOEs receive government support and protection,
they won’t feel the necessity to change anything about their public image. Contradictory, Li et
al. (2013) argue that SOEs require legitimation of their positions, for instance through CSR
disclosure.
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Corporate Social Responsibility
Defining CSR
Defining CSR is difficult as many scholars tend to use various definitions (Dahlsrud,
2008). This is caused by several issues; there is variation in the factors constituting the criteria
for CSR, CSR has similarities with and sometimes is interchangeably used with other concepts
like (corporate) sustainability (Campbell, 2007), and the concept CSR itself has changed over
time (Carroll, 1999). As the concept, and use of definitions, of CSR have varied over time, they
are considered inexplicit, imprecise and harmful to the development of theory (McWilliams,
Siegel, & Wright, 2006). A widely known definition of CSR is “the social responsibility of
business encompassing the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that a
society has of organization at a given point in time.” (Carroll, 1979: 500). A more recent
definition “actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and
that which is required by law” (McWilliams & Siegel, 2001: 117) is slightly broader. A broad
definition as such is more beneficial to this study, as the topic is unexplored.
Dahlsrud (2008) identified five properties of CSR; the voluntary aspect of CSR initiatives,
stakeholder engagement, an economic dimension, a social dimension, and an environmental
dimension. Carroll’s (1991) CSR pyramid in which CSR is broken down into four
responsibilities (economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic) is related to Dahlrud’s (2008)
three CSR dimensions. Overall, CSR can be portrayed as a firm’s commitment to give
something back to society, as well as recognizing responsibilities beyond a profit-maximizing
self-interest, hence taking on philanthropic, environmental, and ethical roles (Chin, Hambrick,
& Treviño, 2013; Johson & Whittington, 2009).
The concept of sustainability is related to CSR. It was introduced in the 1980s, and at the
time primarily focused on sustainable development and poverty alleviation (Meakin, 1992).
Nowadays, sustainability is broad and concerns all sorts of issues related to climate change and
the depletion of natural resources (Fagerberg, 2018). In general, it can be defined as meeting
the present-day needs without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their needs
(Heizer & Render, 2013). Hence, sustainability considers the entire external environment in
which a firm operates, and like CSR, focuses on three aspects, namely economic, social, and
environmental dimensions of firm activities. Sustainability is also known as triple-bottom line
(Elkington, 1997).
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Triple-Bottom Line
The concepts CSR and sustainability overlap with each other and are frequently applied
interchangeably (Loew, Ankele, Braun, & Clausen, 2004). Many firms, in their sustainability
and/or annual reports, often mention either CSR, sustainability, or both. Thus, both concepts
are applied in this research. Yet, the core focus of this research lies on Triple-Bottom Line
(TBL), as a CSR Reporting Indicators Framework (Fortanier et al., 2011) is utilized to analyze
corporate reports, and its framework relies on TBL. TBL is known as a sustainability
framework that examines a firm’s strategy on its social, environment, and economic impact
(Elkington, 2018). It is also referred to as the three Ps, ‘People, Planet, Profit’. This concept
was coined in 1994 by John Elkington, as he argued that firms are unable to achieve sustainable
growth by solely focusing on financial objectives. Instead, to achieve sustainable growth, firms
should have economic, social, and environmental objectives, which he depicted in a framework.
The Economist (2009) categorized TBL’s dimensions as follows:
- Economic dimension: “Traditional measures of corporate profit—the “bottom line” of
the profit and loss account”
- Social dimension: “The bottom line of a company's “people account”—a measure in
some shape or form of how socially responsible an organisation has been throughout
its operations” (towards employees, clients, other stakeholders etc.)
- Environmental dimension: “The bottom line of the company's “planet” account—a
measure of how environmentally responsible it has been”
Wilson (2015) argues that the TBL’s economic dimension covers more than profits, it also
considers market presence, economic impact, procurement, and initiatives aimed at achieving
economic growth within regions or communities. Moreover, he states that the social dimension
relates to alignment of firm practices with moral standards and societal expectations, like
human rights, and safe working conditions. Additionally, the environmental dimension seeks
minimization of a firm’s impact on its operational environment, including emissions and
energy usage (Wilson, 2015). Positive TBL increases firm profitability and shareholder value
(Henriques & Richardson, 2013).
While sustainable or CSR policies can be implemented in most firm activities, often
operations- or supply-chain managers hold the responsibility of a firm’s sustainability or CSR
goals. They are critical in ensuring that such goals or objectives are employed and adhered to,
as otherwise a firm is unable to improve its TBL (Heizer & Render, 2013). This is relevant, as
Chinese NOCs operating differently compared to oil and gas MNEs or Chinese MNEs.
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Views on CSR
There are different views on CSR, most notably from a shareholder (Friedman, 1970) and
stakeholder (Freeman, 1984) perspective. Friedman (1970) argued that the social responsibility
of a firm is to make profits, and that firms performing CSR-related activities results from
managers’ self-serving behavior which in turn destroys shareholder value and wastes
shareholder capital. This perspective is considered to be the more ‘negative’ view on CSR. A
more ‘positive’ view in that sense is stakeholder theory, which argues that firms should not
only focus on serving shareholders, but instead take into account a multitude of stakeholders
(employees, clients, contractors etc.) (Freeman, 1984).
Over time more views on CSR were established: the institutional view, arguing that
institutions create sustainable firms (Jennings & Zandbergen, 1995; Aguilera, Rupp, Williams
& Ganapathi, 2007 ); the resource-based view, arguing that CSR enables competitive
advantages (Hart, 1995); and the future profits view, arguing that CSR results in future profits
when socially responsible clients are targeted and when NGOs are utilized to spread awareness
(Baron, 2001; Feddersen & Gilligan, 2001). More recent literature views CSR, and its
disclosure, as MNEs moving towards self-regulation, considering large MNEs have global
operations, which makes it difficult to regulate them by law as laws are applicable domestically,
not globally (Sheehy, 2012). Other research on CSR and firm performance found that CSR
results in higher performance (Chin et al., 2013). Overall, CSR is the new norm of business,
firms cannot operate without tackling any related issues (Carrot & Sticks, 2016; Kolk, 2007;
Lin, 2010).
Chinese CSR Guidelines
To maintain governmental support, SOEs must ensure legitimation of their position and, hence,
are likely to disclose CSR activities (Li et al., 2013) and adhere to environmental regulations
(Hung et al., 2013). However, it is often so that their need for political legitimacy leads them
to deviate from global practices and instead to follow indigenous guidelines (Marquis et al.,
2017). Indigenous Chinese CSR initiatives have emerged over the years comprising several
laws, regulations, guidelines, and standards (Xu & Yang, 2010). The Chinese government’s
political, social, and economic motives strongly affect the development of these initiatives, as
it is said that the government seeks encouragement and control of CSR. For instance,
environmental issues have developed in China, while human rights are mostly overlooked (Lin,
2010). China also has voluntary CSR measures, however, as all SOEs fall under supervision
of the government, voluntary measures are basically mandatory for SOEs.
17
In addition, the most strict CSR guidelines are always first applicable to SOEs, then to
MNEs (Harper Ho, 2013). Despite indigenous guidelines and regulations, China also promotes
global CSR-related guidelines like the Global Reporting Indicators (GRI), which focuses on
including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics in corporate reports (Harper
Ho, 2013; Marquis & Qian, 2014; Fitzpatrick, 2019).
Literature Gap
Despite significant coverage of the aforementioned topics in existing literature, there are still
inconclusive and contradictory results. While the individual influences of EM origins, ESI
origins, and state-ownership on organizational legitimacy and CSR disclosure are discussed in
the literature, a combination of influences is overlooked. Existing literature hence offers a
limited perspective, and insights specifically on CSR disclosure of Chinese NOCs are missing.
This knowledge is relevant to discover as investigating a combination furthers understanding
of how industry origins of Chinese SOEs influences CSR disclosure and how and why these
differ from other (Chinese) SOEs and MNEs. Additionally, over 15 Chinese firms (including
SOEs) are on the Top-100 MNEs ranking by the UN Conference on Trade & Development
(UNCTAD, 2019), implying significant international activities, consequential challenges to
organizational legitimacy and responses to these challenges through CSR disclosure. Oil and
gas are also relevant topics as they relate to geo-politics and climate change. Exploring Chinese
NOCs’ CSR disclosure and comparing it to other Chinese SOEs, MNEs, and international oil
and gas MNEs covers the literature gap by combining the three ‘topics’ and provides insights
on how and why Chinese NOCs’ CSR disclosure differs from that of other Chinese SOEs.
Little is known about the underlying motives of Chinese SOEs’ CSR disclosure, let alone
the Chinese NOCs’ CSR disclosure (Li & Zhang, 2010). For instance, if it should mitigate the
EM/ESI origins or compensate for state-ownership. Prior research indicates that oil and gas
firms’ decisions to report CSR practices stems from the opportunity it offers to minimize
political exposure (Erica, van Staden, & Steven, 2011). This is supported by findings indicating
that oil and gas firms’ CSR rationale is mostly their self-interest (Spence, 2011). However, this
research does not cover SOEs such as NOCs, which is relevant as SOEs are backed by
governments (Li et al., 2013) and hence do not require outsider (financial) support stemming
from organizational legitimacy caused by CSR disclosure, or a minimization of political
exposure. Moreover, it is argued that Chinese SOEs in general hold the most political
legitimacy in the domestic business system. Therefore, they have the least need to report CSR
activities to seek a preferred status or resources from the government (Marquis & Qian, 2014).
18
But, contradicting this, Li et al. (2013) argue that to maintain governmental support, SOEs
must ensure legitimation of their position and, hence, are likely to disclose CSR activities.
Hung et al. (2013) argue similarly that Chinese SOEs have higher compliance of environmental
regulations compared to MNEs. This showcases that literature on SOEs’ CSR disclosure is
inconsistent in argumentation.
Scholars furthermore hypothesized that state-ownership is positively associated to CSR,
yet, this proved not to always be the case (Dam & Scholtens, 2012). Hence, the results on
Chinese SOEs CSR disclosure vary greatly. Scholars also argue that future research should
look into the various firm types in China (state-owned, private, and foreign) in order to make
a comparative study of CSR disclosure (Xu & Yang, 2010), as well as focus the research on
CSR reports that are not published voluntarily, but instead are published by mandate
(involuntarily), which is the case for Chinese SOEs (Kuo et al., 2012). This study draws upon
both these directions.
3. Methodology
Research design
A research design provides directions for the procedures in research and frameworks for
collecting and analyzing data (Creswell, 2003). This study aims to discover how and why CSR
disclosure of Chinese NOCs differs from other Chinese SOEs by providing an overview of and
comparing CSR disclosure of NOCs, MNEs and other SOEs, as well as international oil and
gas MNEs. However, there is a literature gap in this area. Literature on CSR disclosure focuses
mainly on one characteristic, namely state-ownership, ESI origins, or EM origins, but not a
combination, which is necessary to understand the differences in CSR disclosure of Chinese
NOCs and SOEs. Due to the unexplored nature of the topic there is a need for new theory on
which future research can build, hence this research has an inductive exploratory nature
(Saunders et al., 2007).
An inductive approach is useful for exploratory research (Eisenhardt & Graebner, 2007)
and the development of theory when a topic, as in this study, is unexplored (Bettis, 1991). This
study has an exploratory (comparative) multiple case study research design (Eisenhardt, 1989;
Feilzer, 2010; Yin, 2013). This form of qualitative research allows for wider interpretation of
data than quantitative research (Ritchie et al., 2014). Moreover, as qualitative research is often
inductive (Quinlan, 2011), qualitative research is deemed appropriate for this study. By
applying a qualitative approach through a multiple case study, it is easier to generalize findings
19
compared to a single-case study, and easier to understand the phenomena based on qualitative
data rather than quantitative data. Furthermore, this approach generates propositions that can
be tested in future studies (Johannesson & Perjons, 2014).
Case Studies
Case studies are considered to be a common way of performing qualitative research (Stake,
2005) and are suitable for exploratory research and comparing a small amount of organizations
(Jennifer, 2002). Case studies are “well suited to new research areas or research areas for which
existing theory seems inadequate and are useful in early stages of research on a topic or when
a fresh perspective is needed” (Eisenhardt, 1989: 548). Comparative case studies are used for
comparisons and contrasts of cultural or social entities (Lewis-Beck, Bryman, & Liao, 2004),
and are considered to be an extension of case study design (Bell, Bryman, & Harley, 2018).
Bell et al. (2018) argue that a comparative case study design is useful when there are at least
two cases of which data is collected, as it allows distinguishing the characteristics which then
function as a starting point for reflecting theory on variation in the findings. As this research
seeks to compare CSR disclosure of different firms to understand how and why there is
variation in disclosure, a comparative case study is deemed appropriate.
Data
Data comprises information on CSR activities published in annual or stand-alone CSR reports
(depending on availability). This data is most suitable for this study as in these reports,
companies elaborate on their CSR practices. Using data from these reports is justified by
previous research on CSR disclosure (Fortanier et al., 2011; Hung et al., 2013; Kuo et al., 2012;
Marano et al., 2017). The corporate reports are retrieved from the investor relations and
sustainability webpages. The CSR reports cover topics discussed in the previous chapter. While
CSR disclosure is quite flexible abroad, with the exception of China, as discussed previously,
there may still be variation in the reporting, for instance the choice of covering certain topics.
Table 1 on the following page provides an overview of the data (reports) gathered.
Sample
Sampling is important as it allows a study to focus on a small portion of a total population
(Johannesson & Perjons, 2014). This study utilizes non-probability purposive sampling (Etikan,
Musa, & Alkassim, 2016) as firms with major international exposure and an equal number of
firms for each ‘firm category’ were sought. The goal was to obtain an as representative but also
consistent sample as possible. The sample comprises four groups (firm categories) of three
20
firms as shown in Table 1 below. Group 1 comprises the only three Chinese NOCs. Group 2
and 3 are based on the UNCTAD (2019) Top-100 MNEs’ ranking on foreign assets, which
indicates the degree of firm internationalization and international embeddedness, which
consequently leads to more organizational legitimacy challenges. The UNCTAD ranking is
also used in prior research on CSR disclosure. Group 4 comprises the leading private oil and
gas MNEs, based on the 2018 turnover. The sampled firms are chosen to account for variation
in the findings of CSR disclosure. The first category allows for discussing and comparing with
the other categories. The second category falls within the literature on EM MNEs’ CSR
disclosure, the third category falls within literature on SOEs’ CSR disclosure, whereas the
fourth category falls within the literature of firms from ESIs’ CSR disclosure.
By having these different categories, a discussion can be held based on the comparison and
resulting similarities and differences. The sample is deemed appropriate as only three Chinese
NOCs exist, few Chinese SOEs listed on the UNCTAD ranking provide annual reports, the
subsequent Chinese MNEs on the UNCTAD list are from Taiwan and thus disregarded, and to
remain consistent with the number of firms per category, the three largest private oil and gas
MNEs are sampled. A brief introduction of the sample can be found in Appendix 1.
Table 1 – Overview of data
Annual report Stand-alone CSR report
Sinopec 2018 2018
CNPC 2018 2018
CNOOC 2018 2018
CK Hutchison 2018 -
Tencent 2018 -
Legend Holdings 2018 -
COSCO 2018 2018
China Minmetals - 2018
Chemchina - 2017
Royal Dutch Shell 2018 2018
BP 2018 2018
Exxon Mobil 2018 2018Leading private oil & gas MNEs
Groups of sampled firms
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Note: Most firms (excl China Minmetals and ChemChina) released annual reports for 2018. Neither the corporate
webpages nor Orbis database could provide the missing reports. Chinese SOEs are not required to publish annual reports.
All Chinese SOEs and firms from ESIs published stand-alone CSR reports. The non-financial Chinese MNEs do not
devote an additional report to this as they are not mandated to do so, and CSR is discussed separately in their annual
reports. Hence, there is no missing data, each firm provides at least 1 report containing CSR-related content used for
analysis.
21
Method
Johannesson and Perjons (2014) postulate that research methods refer to how data is collected
and analyzed, and it can be seen as a technique for performing research. This study collects
data from annual and stand-alone CSR reports. Yin (2013) argues that using several data
sources, as is the case here, increases reliability. The data is analyzed through thematic coding
and analysis, in which trends, patterns, and differences in information related to CSR are sought
to discover how and why CSR disclosure differs amongst NOCs and SOEs. Thematic analysis
is “a method for identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data. It
minimally organizes and describes a data set in detail.” (Braun & Clarke, 2006: 6). Eisenhardt
(1989) states data analysis should enable in-case and cross-case analysis. Thematic analysis
satisfies this by offering ‘steps’ for analysis, which results in codes and themes from in-case
analysis that can be compared to other cases. The steps are familiarizing oneself with the data,
generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes,
and producing output (Braun & Clarke, 2006).
Content analysis is a common practice for CSR research (Dam & Scholtens, 2012; Ehsan
et al., 2018; Kolk, 2003; Marquis, Ying & Yang, 2017), as interviews may be difficult to
conduct or result in bias. Both thematic and content analysis imply qualitative analysis, yet,
content analysis quantifies data by applying a descriptive approach in the coding and
interpretation, resulting in quantifiable codes (Vaismoradi et al., 2013). Due to the sample size,
thematic analysis is applied, which offers a qualitative and detailed understanding of data
(Braun & Clarke, 2006). The reporting intensity is analyzed through the number of pages and
content related to CSR, which is common for this type of research (Deegan & Gordon, 1996;
Guthrie & Parker, 1989; & Patten, 1992). To ensure trustworthiness, the thematic analysis is
based on the Global CSR Reporting Indicators Framework (Table 2, Appendix 2). It identifies
themes, goals, and initiatives in reports, and categorizes them. The framework contains five
themes and 25 codes related to TBL.
By applying it, some aforementioned steps of thematic analysis are omitted. The framework
functions as support, as open coding is also applied to understand and categorize what the firms
disclose on, thus identifying new themes/topics beyond the framework. Moreover, illustrative
quotations (Appendix 4) are added to strengthen the qualitative side of analysis. This study
builds upon previous research by offering a comparison of different firm types’ CSR disclosure
(Xu & Yang, 2010). Through the aforementioned methods, this study discovers how and why
CSR disclosure differs amongst NOCs and SOEs, what is disclosed on, and how it is disclosed.
22
4. Findings
CSR Reporting Intensity
Annual Reports
All sampled firms, excluding China Minmetals and ChemChina, had publicly available annual
reports of 2018 by March 2020. These annual reports were reviewed for CSR content. After
identifying applicable content, the number of pages and words were counted to obtain a first
impression of the scope of CSR disclosure. To account for visual representations, the ratio of
words to pages is found most important, as visual representations allow for easier
understanding of data, but fill up reports easily, thus influencing the number of words or pages.
Table 3 below provides the results, which vary significantly. Legend Holdings devotes 38
pages and nearly 14.500 words to CSR content, the most out of all firms, but based on the ratio
it does not disclose the most. Sinopec and COSCO, a Chinese NOC and SOE, devote less than
five pages and roughly 1000 words, the least out of all firms. This is also reflected in their ratio.
Based on the ratio of words to pages, Shell and BP disclose the most, while Sinopec and
COSCO disclose the least.
Table 3 – CSR Reporting Intensity
Stand-alone CSR Reports
All firms, excluding the Chinese MNEs, had publicly available CSR reports of 2017 or 2018
by March 2020. This initial analysis provides a first impression of the scope of CSR disclosure.
Table 4 indicates the results of the reporting intensity analysis for CSR reports. Nearly all
Chinese NOCs and SOEs devote at least 20.000 words to CSR. While Shell and BP stood out
Number of pages Number of words Number of words per page
Sinopec 4 1116 279
CNPC 12 4838 403
CNOOC 4 1993 498
CK Hutchison 25 10.230 409
Tencent 23 8961 390
Legend Holdings 38 14.448 380
COSCO 3 1005 335
China Minmetals - - -
ChemChina - - -
Royal Dutch Shell 15 13.772 918
BP 9 6643 738
ExxonMobil 3 1499 500Leading private oil & gas MNEs
CSR content in annual reports
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
23
with disclosure in annual reports, here it seems they use more graphs/images as disclosure
based on the ratio is lower. COSCO and ExxonMobil had low disclosure in annual reports but
have significant disclosure in their CSR report. Based on the ratio of words to pages, Shell,
COSCO, and ExxonMobil disclose the most, while ChemChina, China Minmetals, and
CNOOC disclose the least.
Table 4 – CSR Reporting Intensity
Extent of CSR Disclosure
The tables above indicate that CSR disclosure differs amongst the firms. NOCs, other SOEs,
and oil and gas MNEs report more on CSR in stand-alone CSR reports than in annual reports,
as shown in the columns ‘number of pages’ and ‘number of words’. Yet, this is not always the
case for the ratio. Private Chinese MNEs do not create stand-alone CSR reports, but instead
have a large section in annual reports devoted to CSR. Content tends to vary, as in annual
reports mostly short examples of CSR practices are provided, whereas the stand-alone CSR
reports contain supplementary information on what is disclosed on in the annual reports.
Thematic Analysis
Content in corporate reports is analyzed to identify programs, goals, and/or initiatives. Relevant
content is categorized and coded following the Global CSR Reporting Indicators Framework
(Fortanier et al., 2011), covering five themes and 25 topics related to TBL, as shown in Table
2 (Appendix 2). This framework is applied in previous research on EM firms’ CSR disclosure
and functions as a baseline. The five themes together constitute the TBL dimensions.
Number of pages Number of words Number of words per page
Sinopec 70 20.233 289
CNPC 70 25.938 371
CNOOC 84 23.846 284
CK Hutchison - - -
Tencent - - -
Legend Holdings - - -
COSCO 38 19.429 511
China Minmetals 126 32.401 257
ChemChina 79 20.442 259
Royal Dutch Shell 84 48.313 575
BP 84 28.608 341
ExxonMobil 39 17.196 441Leading private oil & gas MNEs
CSR content in CSR / sustainability reports
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
24
Disclosure on the 25 topics yield varying results, as firms choose differently what should
be disclosed and how. This is interesting to investigate as it allows for discovering how CSR
disclosure differs between NOCs and SOEs and what causes it. Topics hardly covered by firms
are excluded as they do not contribute enough towards this study. The additional theme ‘other
CSR initiatives’ and its two topics are derived through inductive open coding and constitute
programs, goals, and/or initiatives that cannot be categorized into the existing framework, as
these go beyond it.
To enable correct comparisons, the thematic analysis is performed separately for each
theme and firm category. Tables 1-36 in the supplementary document to this thesis indicate
which topics of the themes are disclosed on in each report by each firm, and also the extent of
it. These detailed findings are summarized on a general qualitative level in Tables 6-11
(Appendix 2). Illustrative quotations (Appendix 4) further indicate how disclosure between
firms and categories differ and clarify what is disclosed on. Below, the topics are discussed
one by one (per theme) as disclosed on by the sampled firms.
Employment
The analysis of CSR disclosure on ‘employment’ topics is found below. The supporting
summarized qualitative results and illustrative quotations are in Table 5 (Appendix 2) and
Appendix 4.
Employee satisfaction
Neither NOCs nor SOEs disclose on this topic. The Chinese MNEs and ExxonMobil mention
deploying employee satisfaction surveys, but do not provide results. Shell and BP mention
deploying surveys to measure employee satisfaction, results are also provided.
Diversity
CNOOC and CNPC mention workforce diversity in both reports, while Sinopec mentions it
in its CSR report. Legend Holdings is the only Chinese MNE to provide figures on gender
diversity. COSCO and China Minmetals provide figures on diversity, while ChemChina
does not. All oil and gas MNEs disclose diversity figures. Only BP and Shell highlight
diversity-related initiatives and goals, whereas the other firms simply provide diversity-
related figures. The NOCs and SOEs emphasize compliance with laws.
Equal opportunity
Sinopec, COSCO, and ExxonMobil do not disclose on this topic in annual reports. All firms
with CSR reports disclose on it. Most firms tend to mention compliance with non-
25
discrimination and equality standards, laws, or regulations, especially the NOCs and SOEs.
Legend Holdings and CK Hutchison provide examples of initiatives aimed at equality. Shell
and BP also provide extensive examples of policies, programs, and recognitions of
workplace equality. While information on equal opportunities is slim in annual reports, the
CSR reports cover it more extensively.
Working conditions
NOCs disclose on actions improving employees’ health and safety through health, safety,
and environmental protection (HSE) programs. Salary and benefits are also covered. NOCs
also provide statements on ‘strictly’ abiding by Chinese labor laws and regulations. In the
MNEs category, Tencent and Legend Holdings provide examples of employee benefits and
to an extent disclose on employee safety and health. CK Hutchison does not cover salary or
benefits, instead it focuses on employee safety and health. COSCO similar to the NOCs
states abiding by Chinese labor laws and discloses policies improving employee safety.
ChemChina highlights its safety program for employees and its performance-based salary-
and-welfare system. China Minmetals focuses less on benefits, and more on employee safety
and compliance with Chinese labor laws. The oil and gas MNEs disclose on safety and
benefits but do not emphasize compliance with laws.
Training
All firms provide information or figures on total number of training hours, participants or
spending on training (averaged or absolute). Also, examples of initiatives and programs are
frequently provided. E.g. Tencent has an in-house academy and CNPC has a program called
Four Talent Training Projects, focused on training managers, technical experts, operators,
and talent.
Rights
The analysis of CSR disclosure on ‘rights’ topics is found below. The supporting summarized
qualitative results and illustrative quotations are in Table 6 (Appendix 2) and Appendix 4.
Freedom of association
The NOCs and SOEs state complying with the Chinese Trade Union Law and mention
establishing and improving trade and labor unions to protect employees’ rights and interest.
Sinopec, China Minmetals, and ChemChina also disclose a 100% employee membership
rate at labor unions. Both MNE categories do not disclose on this topic.
26
Collective bargaining
This topic goes hand in hand with freedom of association, as trade/labor unions are the
workers’ representatives and negotiate on their behalf. Chinese Trade Union Law (to which
the NOCs and SOEs refer) states “trade unions coordinate the labor relations and safeguard
the rights and interests of employees through equal negotiation and collective contract
systems”. All Chinese NOCs and SOEs cover this topic and provide examples of the unions’
responsibilities. Legend Holdings and BP are the only MNEs to cover this topic. Legend
Holdings mentions abiding by a collective bargaining agreement. BP discloses on its Works
Council.
Human rights
Nearly all firms disclose on human rights. Tencent, CK Hutchison, and Sinopec do not cover
this topic in their annual reports but, all firms with CSR reports cover it. Disclosure varies,
most Chinese NOCs and SOEs focus on protecting employees’ rights. They often state they
abide by national laws and international regulations/conventions on human rights. Yet,
examples of initiatives are missing in most cases. The oil and gas MNEs disclose more on
this topic, providing examples on how human rights issues are confronted or tackled. Also,
they focus on human rights in the entire value chain, not just that of employees as is the case
for NOCs and SOEs.
Child and forced labor
This topic relates to the previous topic. The Chinese NOCs, SOEs, and MNEs provide
statements on prohibiting child and forced labor, and compliance with laws and regulations,
yet often lack examples. Only COSCO and CK Hutchison indicate how they tackle child and
forced labor through a program to raise awareness as well as reviewing suppliers. The oil
and gas MNEs focus not on child and forced labor, but on ‘modern slavery’ and how this is
tackled by for instance complying with the UK Modern Slavery Act or putting extra
measures in place.
Corruption and bribery
Corruption and bribery are not discussed in any of the NOCs’ and SOEs’ annual reports. The
Chinese MNEs cover this topic in their annual reports and express their efforts against
corruption and bribery. They all have whistle-blowing mechanisms to counter corruption.
The oil and gas MNEs mention in their annual reports that corruption and bribery are
prohibited and compliance with codes of conduct and laws/regulations is mandated. All CSR
reports, including those of SOEs and NOCs, contain statements against corruption and offer
27
more details and examples of measures of how firms counter corruption and bribery. Some
NOCs as well as SOEs, similar to Chinese MNE, deploy whistleblowing mechanisms.
Community
The analysis of CSR disclosure on ‘community’ topics is found below. The supporting
summarized qualitative results and illustrative quotations are in Table 7 (Appendix 2) and
Appendix 4.
Health programs
Information on contribution sizes to, or effects of health programs are scarce. The SOEs do
not disclose anything on this topic, as their health-related programs focus on employees, not
communities. The NOCs provide figures on healthcare investments and/or healthcare
initiatives in either their annual or CSR report. The oil and gas MNEs similarly provide
examples of initiatives or investments to support local communities’ health. In the Chinese
MNEs category, Tencent and CK Hutchison stand out by providing extensive examples of
investments or initiatives, as well as collaborations with universities.
School/education programs
All firms excluding COSCO disclose either in annual or CSR reports on contributing to
school/education programs. The Chinese SOEs and NOCs disclose donations and funding
of education, rather than actual programs. The Chinese MNEs on the other hand mention
scholarships, collaborations, and their own initiatives/programs related to education.
Similarly, the oil and gas MNEs elaborate on collaborations with NGOs and their own
initiatives/programs aimed at improving education, as well as increasing popularity of the
industry’s key topic, like math and engineering.
Water projects
Despite all firms disclosing on water projects, these projects are mostly focused on firms’
water management. Yet, CNPC, China Minmetals, ChemChina, and Shell provide
information on improving clean water supply, sanitation conditions, or water storage for
agricultural purposes around the world.
Foundation
All firms, excluding CNOOC and ChemChina, provide information on contributions to
foundations. Whereas the NOCs and SOEs mostly mention collaboration efforts with the
China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), the Chinese MNEs and oil and gas MNEs
highlight contributions to their own foundations (e.g. Shell Foundation). The NOCs’ and
28
SOEs’ donations to the CFPA are focused on poverty alleviation while the other foundations
focus on a wider spectrum of topics, like healthcare, education, and entrepreneurship.
Economic Impact
The analysis of CSR disclosure on ‘economic impact’ topics is found below. The supporting
summarized qualitative results and illustrative quotations are in Table 8 (Appendix 2) and
Appendix 4.
Climate Change
The analysis of CSR disclosure on ‘climate change’ topics is found on the next page. The
supporting summarized qualitative results and illustrative quotations are in Table 9 (Appendix
2) and Appendix 4.
29
Climate change issues
All firms mention climate change issues and provide information on efforts to mitigate it.
The NOCs and SOEs mostly discuss environmental protection/management, often having
chapters named ‘environmental protection’. The oil and gas and Chinese MNEs focus on a
variety of topics like renewable energy, low-emissions solutions, energy transition, resource
usage etc, rather than just environmental protection. Only Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, and
CNPC disclose member statuses of the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), an initiative to
lead the industry’s response to climate change. This topic is the aggregated disclosure on the
remaining four topics of this theme.
Direct GHG emissions
Only Sinopec and CNOOC do not disclose on GHG emissions or related initiatives in their
annual reports. All other firms mention figures on GHG emissions and/or related initiatives
in their annual reports. Contrary to this, all CSR reports contain information on GHG-related
initiatives, however, not all firms (China Minmetals and ChemChina) reported figures on
their GHG emissions in CSR reports.
Voluntary agreements
Findings on this topic vary. Legend Holdings discloses a voluntary agreement on waste
management, Sinopec mentions a partnership to build hydrogen refueling stations, whereas
ExxonMobil discloses on research agreements on low-emission solutions and biofuels.
Moreover, most firms mention the Paris agreement and provide examples of corresponding
goals, initiatives, and/or results. Only Sinopec, China Minmetals, and ChemChina do not
mention the Paris agreement.
Emissions trading
Only NOCs and oil and gas MNEs disclose on emissions trading. The oil and gas MNEs
support governments’ carbon-pricing mechanisms, as carbon pricing comes either in a
carbon tax or a requirement to buy permits to pollute (known as emissions trading), making
energy efficiency more attractive, and low-carbon solutions more cost competitive.
However, they do not provide any figures on carbon emissions trading. The NOCs do not
mention support for such initiatives, but rather compliance with regulations on emissions
trading to reduce GHG emissions. Sinopec is the only NOC to provide figures on carbon
emissions trading.
Carbon reduction
30
This topic yields similar results as the previous topic as they are related. However, carbon
reduction also comprises initiatives other than emissions trading. While all firms disclose on
how they intend to reduce carbon emissions, firms from ESIs disclosed more elaborately.
Other CSR Initiatives
The analysis of CSR disclosure on ‘other CSR initiatives’ topics is in the table below. These
topics, in which firms disclose efforts towards UN SDGs and affiliation with UN Global
Compact, are derived through open coding. The supporting summarized qualitative results and
illustrative quotations are in Table 10 (Appendix 2) and Appendix 4. The SDGs and Global
Compact Principles are listed in Appendix 3.
31
5. Analysis
Analysis of CSR Reporting Intensity
Tables 3 and 4 (page 22 and 23) contain the results of the initial intensity analysis and indicate
uniformity in CSR disclosure of Chinese NOCs and SOEs, and to a lesser extent also in that of
Chinese MNEs. These firms’ CSR disclosure based on the ratio of words to pages fall within
a somewhat similar range. The tables overall indicate that private oil and gas MNEs and to a
lesser extent Chinese MNEs disclose more on CSR in both reports whereas NOCs and SOEs
disclose less on CSR in both reports. One view on explaining this uniformity is the effect of
isomorphic pressures (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983) and community isomorphism (Marquis,
Glynn, & Davis, 2007). Community isomorphism implies that firms from similar regions are
interconnected. This interconnectivity results in experiencing similar isomorphic pressures,
leading to similar (uniform) responses to, i.e. CSR disclosure.
Though coercive and normative pressures are relevant as Chinese NOCs, SOEs, and to a
lesser extent MNEs, experience similar laws, regulations, and expectations, mimetic pressures
are especially interesting. Mimetic pressures entail that firms copy other firms’ behaviors due
to uncertainty or interconnectedness (Galaskiewicz & Wasserman, 1989). Pereira and
Fernandes (2006) further argue that more-interconnected firms cooperate to achieve
competitive advantages or tackle region-specific concerns. Examples of this are the 24 gas
pipeline connectivity projects in which the NOCs collaborate to provide gas in China. As firms
from same regions are interconnected, cooperate, and experience community isomorphic and
mimetic pressures, there tends to be uniformity in responses to these pressures. That may be
one explanation as to why NOCs and SOEs, and to some extant Chinese MNEs, have similar
CSR disclosure in the intensity analysis.
Another view on explaining the uniformity is the role of the government, or the ‘heavy
hand of the state’. This leans more towards coercive isomorphic pressures, as the Chinese
central government maintains strict control and regulation of business (Yinghong, 2020),
especially that of SOEs (Garschagen, 2019). Thus, it is not very surprising that NOCs and
SOEs, interconnected due to their relationship with the central government, show significant
uniformity in CSR disclosure. These two views differ as the first view perceives societal-like
pressures as the reason for interconnectivity and uniformity, whereas the second view perceives
governmental-like pressures as the reason for interconnectivity and uniformity. Yet, the
bottom-line is that NOCs and SOEs indicate more uniformity than private Chinese MNEs.
32
Hence, I state:
P1. Chinese NOCs are more (less) interconnected with other Chinese SOEs (MNEs), resulting
in more (less) uniformity in CSR disclosure compared to Chinese MNEs (SOEs).
Implications of Thematic Analysis
Tables 11-16 (Appendix 2) show the reporting intensity for each firm per theme. Since the
Chinese MNEs, ChemChina and China Minmetals publish one report, while all other firms
publish two reports, the reporting intensity varies as it is based on averages. The results of the
thematic analysis are compared to the results of the intensity analysis. Propositions are derived
from the idiosyncrasies.
Employment
The intensity analysis indicates that ChemChina, Shell, and BP report the most, and Sinopec,
Tencent, and Legend Holdings the least (Table 11). Contradictory, the thematic analysis (Table
5) indicates that ChemChina covers the least topics within this theme, while Legend holdings
mentions all topics within this theme. None of the NOCs and SOEs disclose any information
on employee satisfaction, whereas both groups of MNEs do, implicating uniformity between
SOEs and NOCs. The NOCs and SOEs also continuously mention strict compliance with
domestic (labor) laws and regulations on diversity, equal opportunity, and working conditions,
to provide the most suitable workplace for workers. These statements are given without
information of initiatives as backup. Thus, it is unknown whether workers are actually satisfied
with their job and workplace. On the other hand, more of such information is available in the
MNEs’ reports.
The economic nationalist ideology, stating that SOEs are more capable of achieving
economic development than private firms (Bruton, 1998; Callahan, 2004; Jiang & Sinton,
2011), may explain this. To achieve economic development, production must be maximized,
however this may go at the expense of workers’ interests and/or rights. Workers may not be
satisfied with this, yet their opinion on certain matters may be overlooked or deliberately
excluded, as these opinions go against the ideology of the state. This also relates to the ‘heavy
hand of the state’. It further explains the lower commitment of Chinese workers towards SOEs
than to foreign firms (Wang, 2004). Moreover, the government’s political, social, and
economic motives are known to affect the development of CSR-related policies and initiatives
(Xu & Yang, 2010), which currently mainly emphasize the environment (Lin, 2010) rather than
33
social-oriented areas of interest (Garschagen, 2019). Illustrative quotations of the
aforementioned findings are provided in Appendix 4.
Hence, I state:
P2. Chinese NOCs and other Chinese SOEs place a low emphasis on employment-related
topics in CSR disclosure.
Rights
The intensity analysis indicates that Shell, BP, and Tencent report the most, and Sinopec,
CNPC, and ChemChina the least (Table 12). Contradictory, the thematic analysis (Table 6)
indicates that Tencent and CK Hutchison cover the least topics within this theme, while the
NOCs and SOEs mention all topics extensively and detailed. Illustrative quotations of this
finding are provided in Appendix 4.
For the oil and gas MNEs, and to some extent Chinese MNEs, most topics within this theme
are self-explanatory and expected of by shareholders and society, as otherwise these publicly
traded firms from developed societies (the West and Hong Kong) may not be listed on stock
exchanges and run the risk of incurring fines or invoked licenses. Hence, some topics are not
covered, as these topics are not considered ‘hot topics’ that result criticism. The MNEs
prioritize disclosing on practices against corruption and child labor, as these are nowadays still
relevant topics, even for global MNEs. As enforcement of host-country regulations against
both corruption and child labor are often weaker compared to MNEs’ home-country, it also
makes sense for these firms to disclose on these topics in particular.
However, for Chinese NOCs and other SOEs it is more important to disclose on all topics
to gain or maintain legitimacy. This is because of the Chinese government’s reputation of not
prioritizing or upholding others’ interests or rights (Harper Ho, 2013), again referring to the
heavy hand of the state (Yinghong, 2020). Moreover, the perception of being opaque and
corrupt organizations, as Chinese SOEs are often perceived as such, is another reason to
explicitly disclose on all topics within this theme, so as to counter these negative perceptions
that damage organizational legitimacy (Chow, 2015; Li et al., 2017; Li et al., 2019).
Hence, I state:
P3. Chinese NOCs and other Chinese SOEs place a high emphasis on rights-related topics in
CSR disclosure.
34
Community
The intensity analysis indicates that the Chinese MNEs report the most, and COSCO, China
Minmetals, and ExxonMobil the least (Table 13). The thematic analysis (Table 7) indicates all
SOEs and CNOOC do not mention three to four topics within this theme while CNPC, Shell
and CK Hutchison mention the most topics within this theme. The findings of the thematic
analysis tend to vary within all firm categories. In the NOC group, CNOOC discloses
significantly less than CNPC. However, this is because some topics may be location bound.
CNOOC may not disclose on HIV/aids relief or water projects because these are not required
in its operational regions. CNPC operates in Africa, hence disclosing on these topics makes
sense.
The thematic analysis further shows that nearly all firms except the SOEs category disclose
on initiatives or investments in health programs for communities, thus indicating less
uniformity between NOCs and SOEs. Moreover, all firms provide information on contributions
to foundations, however the SOEs lack in this. The Chinese MNEs and oil and gas MNEs
disclose information on contributions to their own foundations, whereas the NOCs disclose on
contributions to a third-party foundation. Uniformity between NOCs and SOEs is found in
disclosure on school/education programs, as both firm categories disclose on contributions
towards this topic.
Seemingly, the NOCs and oil and gas MNEs prioritize disclosing on foundations and school
and health programs compared to the other SOEs and Chinese MNEs. The logic behind this
may be that the firms’ activities are bad for local communities’ health or cause negative
externalities (e.g. air, water, or soil pollution). Thus, to ensure that this is ‘offset’, NOCs and
oil and gas MNEs contribute to community-centered programs and foundations. Illustrative
quotations of the above findings are provided in Appendix 4.
Hence, I state:
P4. Chinese NOCs place a higher emphasis than other Chinese SOEs on community-related
topics in CSR disclosure.
Economic Impact
The intensity analysis indicates that CK Hutchison, Tencent, and CNPC report the most, and
China Minmetals, ChemChina, and ExxonMobil the least (Table 14). The thematic analysis
(Table 8) indicates that all firms equally cover the topics. E.g. firms disclose on tax rates and/or
taxes paid, and information on philanthropy relates to the contributions to foundations.
35
Interestingly, there is variation in disclosure on fair competition, as both NOCs and SOEs
report not only measures against corruption and bribery that enable fair competition, as the
remaining MNEs categories also do, but they also provide statements on compliance with
relevant laws on competition, such as Chinese anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition law,
which the MNEs do not do. This can be explained by the negative public image that SOEs
carry as a burden caused by widespread corruption amongst SOEs. To counter this public
image which harms organizational legitimacy, Chinese NOCs as well as other SOEs may feel
the need to extensively cover this topic and emphasize compliance with laws.
Similarly, governmental support towards SOEs is often criticized as it results in
overproduction, thus leading to sales below market prices (dumping), thus undermining
competition (United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 2016). To
counter this critique, it makes sense to emphasize this topic. Illustrative quotations of the above
findings are provided in Appendix 4.
Hence, I state:
P5. Chinese NOCs and other Chinese SOEs place a high emphasis on fair competition in CSR
disclosure.
Climate Change
The intensity analysis indicates that Shell, BP, and CK Hutchison report the most, and Sinopec,
CNOOC, and ChemChina the least (Table 15). Contradictory, the thematic analysis (Table 9)
indicates that the Chinese SOEs and MNEs do not cover voluntary agreements and emissions
trading, whereas the NOCs and oil and gas MNEs covers all topics within this theme.
Illustrative quotations of the above findings are provided in Appendix 4.
This variation can be explained by industry origins, as it is necessary for oil and gas firms
to disclose on their GHG emissions and participation in emissions trading, considering these
firms are large polluters and are often scrutinized for this (Erica, van Staden, & Steven, 2011;
Spence 2011). The stigma surrounding the oil and gas industry forces them to prioritize this
theme in CSR disclosure. This necessity is less the case for the other SOEs and MNEs, as their
industries are considered less pollutant.
Hence, I state:
P6. Chinese NOCs place a higher emphasis than other Chinese SOEs on climate change-related
topics in CSR disclosure.
36
Other CSR Initiatives
The intensity analysis indicates that ChemChina, China Minmetals, and Shell report the most,
and CNOOC, ExxonMobil, and COSCO report the least (Table 16). The thematic analysis
(Table 10) indicates that CNOOC mentions all topics within this theme, COSCO and
ExxonMobil only mention the least topics within this theme, which is a similar finding to that
of the intensity analysis. As this theme covers topics related to existing framework, it is
interesting to include firms that at least mentioned the topics derived through open coding to
some extent. Tencent and Legend Holdings do not mention this theme’s topics and thus are
excluded from the analysis.
Interestingly, the oil and gas MNEs have a narrow scope and disclose on SDGs in which
they believe they can make a meaningful impact, whereas the NOCs and SOEs provide
statements on efforts towards all SDGs. Yet, examples and information provided are missing
or at most meager and slim, whilst the oil and gas MNEs provide extensive information for
their ‘selection’. In China there are many domestic guidelines and regulations regarding CSR
practices, especially those applying to SOEs. However, China also promotes global CSR
guidelines, like the GRI, emphasizing environmental, social, and governance metrics in reports
(Harper Ho, 2013; Marquis & Qian, 2014; Fitzpatrick, 2019). This may be one reason why
some reports contain information, though mostly slim, on all SDGs.
Another reason could be that the SDGs are part of the UN, in which China is represented.
The Chinese government will be appraised or criticized depending on its performance towards
these SDGs by 2030. As SOEs receive governmental support and protection, they need to
legitimize their position (Li et al., 2013) towards the government. This can be done by
disclosing on all SDGs so as to improve China’s efforts as a country towards the SDGs. This
reasoning is further supported by China’s efforts in legitimizing its position as a world power
for instance by becoming a ‘greener’ economy, opening up to foreign trade and western
business practices, and providing aid to impoverished (neighboring) countries (Garschagen,
2019). These examples all link to the 17 UN SDGs. Illustrative quotations of the above findings
are provided in Appendix 4.
Hence, I state:
P7. Chinese NOCs and other Chinese SOEs place a high emphasis on UN SDGs in CSR
disclosure.
37
The reporting intensity analysis (Tables 11-16, Appendix 2), a quantitative measure as opposed
to the qualitative thematic analysis, indicates that based on disclosure in the words to page ratio,
Shell, BP, CK Hutchison, and Tencent (all MNEs) most frequently disclose the most on CSR
themes and topics. ChemChina, Sinopec, and ExxonMobil are found to most frequently
disclose the least on CSR themes and topics. This indicates a (generalized) trend that overall
international oil and gas and Chinese MNEs report more on CSR (quantitatively) than Chinese
NOCs or other Chinese SOEs.
Though seemingly this contradicts some of the previous analyses and derived propositions,
as NOCs and SOEs seem to emphasize certain topics, it is justified by the qualitative findings
(quotations) of the thematic analysis. This indicates that though NOCs and SOEs cover certain
topics related to the themes, topics are mostly covered by merely providing statements, instead
of also providing examples of initiatives, programs, or further information to backup statements
with concrete evidence. This finding gives the impression of greenwashing, which is the
practice of reporting CSR activities in such a way to come across as a green, sustainable, and
ethical company, whereas actually this is not the case. This peculiar finding is also portrayed
in the coding for each topic, as shown in Tables 1-36 in the supplementary document to this
thesis.
Hence, I state:
P8. Chinese NOCs and other Chinese SOEs disclose less extensively and in-depth on CSR than
international oil and gas MNEs and Chinese MNEs.
6. Discussion and Conclusions
EM MNEs are known to disclose more CSR activities to mitigate prejudices that harm
organizational legitimacy (Marano et al., 2017). SOEs also experience organizational
legitimacy challenges, as they are perceived as non-transparent with political motives (Li et al.,
2017; Li et al., 2019). SOEs from EMs, i.e. Chinese NOCs, face a combination of both
challenges, however, literature on Chinese SOEs’ CSR disclosure is inconclusive on the
reasoning behind disclosure and does not differentiate between SOEs’ industries (Hung et al.,
2013; Li et al., 2013; Marquis & Qian, 2014). It further indicates higher compliance of
environmental laws amongst SOEs than MNEs (Hung et al., 2013). Similarly, oil and gas firms
disclose more environmental information as they are frequently scrutinized for their operations
(Kuo et al., 2012).
While the individual influences of EM/industry origins, and state-ownership on CSR
disclosure are discussed, a combination of influences is overlooked. Existing literature hence
38
offers a limited perspective, and insights specifically on CSR disclosure of Chinese NOCs are
missing. This study sought to explore and compare Chinese NOCs’ CSR disclosure to that of
other Chinese SOEs and MNEs, and international oil and gas MNEs to discover how and why
CSR disclosure of NOCs differs from that of other SOEs.
Generally, all firms perceive the importance of CSR, as they disclose on it in annual and/or
stand-alone CSR reports. It is likely that disclosure and mode of reporting is influenced by
industry/EM origins, and/or state-ownership. However, CSR disclosure cannot be attributed
solely to these issues. It is more or less mandatory, and certainly expected of by society (Carrot
& Sticks, 2016; Kolk, 2007). Seemingly ample CSR-related information is disclosed by NOCs
and SOEs, yet often it merely comprises statements lacking additional information (i.e.
initiatives as back-up). The MNEs provide more details. Therefore, though NOCs and other
SOEs focus on CSR-related topics/themes, the information disclosed is questionable, as per
their reputation (Lin, 2010).
This study reveals the extent of reporting varies amongst the firm categories and generally
results in two distinct overarching groups: SOEs and MNEs. This is due to uniformity between
NOCs and SOEs, as previously discussed. Overall, the MNEs disclose more, both
quantitatively as shown in the intensity analyses, and qualitatively, as shown in the detailed
and summarized coding (tables) of the thematic analysis. Uniformity between NOCs and SOEs
and differences in disclosure of the two distinct groups can be explained by the, deeply rooted
in Chinese culture, notion of ‘saving face’ (Ambler et al., 2017; Gamer et al., 2012).
Contrary to the MNEs, the NOCs and other SOEs may not have much CSR initiatives or
programs in place due to weak profitability (Garschagen, 2019). Thus, they can only provide
general statements on topics, as they for instance lack funds for costly initiatives/programs,
whereas the profitable MNEs with initiatives/programs in place can discuss details. This results
in ‘losing face’ as government-related firms lack in something compared to private (foreign)
MNEs. For government-related issues, like SOEs, it makes sense to ‘save face’ (Ambler et al.,
2017). To create a perception of ‘similarity’, NOCs and SOEs disclose as much as possible on
CSR to ‘save face’, even if there is not much to disclose. This explains why often merely
general statements/information are provided by NOCs and other SOEs, and why disclosure
often lacks in-depth additional information which MNEs tend to provide. This also reflects the
governmental-like pressures causing uniformity between NOCs and SOEs.
Proposition two seems counterintuitive, one would expect Chinese firms to have high
disclosure on employment-related topics to mitigate prejudices (Marano et al., 2017),
considering China’s reputation on upholding worker/citizen rights. As NOCs and SOEs do not
39
emphasize employment-related topics, the reasoning must lie within the state-ownership
ideology, indicating it is the strongest ‘effect’ in this case. Prior research found that state-
ownership is not always positively associated to CSR (Dam & Scholtens, 2012), which holds
true in this case.
Proposition three is in line with the literature and applies a similar reasoning. NOCs and
SOEs emphasize rights-related topics, which may be explained by China’s weak reputation of
upholding rights/interests. To counter this ‘image’, it is beneficial to report extensively on such
topics. Surprisingly, Chinese MNEs do not emphasize this topic, hence the state-ownership
effect seems most prevalent and disclosure on rights-related topics should compensate for it.
The analysis shows NOCs and SOEs emphasize rights-related topics whilst de-emphasizing
employment-related topics, yet these are related as workers also have rights/interests. It is
debatable whether employment-related topics are actually deemphasized or perhaps considered
included in disclosure on rights-related topics. However, this can also be explained by the lack
of initiatives/programs, as it is easier to provide statements on upholding rights/interests than
elaborating on employee initiatives/programs, as these require additional information.
Proposition four is slightly counterintuitive as literature argues how firms from ESIs
disclose more environmental information to minimize political exposure (Kuo et al., 2012),
indicating a self-interested rationale. Findings somewhat contradict this, as NOCs and oil and
gas MNEs disclose more on community-related topics, indicating a focus beyond
environmental information. However, the rationale remains self-interested as firm activities
harm local communities through externalities. CSR can mitigate community backlash or
political exposure. In this case, ESI origins have the strongest effect due to less uniformity
between NOCs and SOEs, and more between NOCs and oil and gas MNEs. NOCs’ disclosure
on community-related topics thus seemingly should mitigate ESI origins.
Proposition five is in the line with prior research. SOEs are more likely to engage in corrupt
practices. Widespread corruption creates a negative image of SOEs (Chow, 2015; Li et al.,
2017; Li et al., 2019). Chinese policies aimed at tackling corruption (Garschagen, 2019) seek
to redeem the ‘status’ of SOEs and create a more ‘business-friendly’ image of China. This
however does not cover dumping resulting from governmental support for ‘national
champions’. Yet, dumping, like corruption, sparks controversy, as it contradicts free
competition. It seems beneficial for all SOEs to disclose heavily on topics related to free
competition, which indirectly also relate to corruption. Therefore, the state-ownership effect
seems strongest which is reflected by disclosure uniformity on fair competition.
40
Proposition six is somewhat in line with the literature. Oil and gas firms disclose more
environmental information to offset industry origins (Kuo et al., 2012). Hence, it is not
surprising that NOCs emphasize climate change topics. Indeed, Chinese SOEs are known to
show higher compliance of environmental regulations than MNEs. In this case, NOCs indicate
even higher compliance, (or disclosure) than SOEs. NOCs emphasize climate change more
than other SOEs, possibly due to the need to legitimize their position so they maintain access
to resources. To maintain governmental support, they provide extensive information and put
programs/initiatives in place. Therefore, ESI origins seem to have the strongest effect.
Proposition seven is also in line with prior research. It is peculiar that NOCs and other
SOEs disclose on all SDGs, while MNEs make a selection. The reason may be the ‘saving face’
culture and mitigation of EM origins. Moreover, since SDGs are related to the UN, it amplifies
the importance of disclosure, as ultimately China’s reputation is on the line. That is exactly
what the government seeks to protect vis-à-vis its pursuit of becoming a globally recognized
superpower (Garschagen, 2019; Yinghong, 2020). Thus, the state-ownership effect seems
strongest.
This exploratory study extends knowledge on CSR disclosure of Chinese SOEs, more
specifically, NOCs, through a firm-based view on CSR dimensions and disclosure. CSR
disclosure of twelve global firms with varying but relevant characteristics was analyzed. A
CSR reporting framework was applied, indicating its suitability for CSR research. This
framework was extended with findings drawn through open inductive coding, resulting in an
additional theme. This study serves as a point of departure for related future research and
emphasizes the significance of Chinese SOEs, their CSR practices, and its reporting. Though
Chinese SOEs’ CSR disclosure is discussed in the literature, the argumentation and findings
are inconsistent, moreover the influence of industry origins is often not considered. This study
aimed to fill that gap and took an innovative approach to compare Chinese NOCs’ CSR
disclosure to that of other Chinese SOEs and MNEs, and international oil and gas MNEs by
identifying and comparing themes, goals, and initiatives to discover how Chinese NOCs’ CSR
disclosure differs from that of other Chinese SOEs and why that may be.
Based on the thematic analysis, reporting intensity analysis, and discussion, it becomes
apparent that NOCs and SOEs seem to similarly emphasize and deemphasize CSR-related
themes/topics. Chinese state-ownership seemingly influences NOCs’ CSR disclosure similarly
to other Chinese SOEs. NOCs and SOEs prioritize topics like rights, fair competition
(economic impact), and larger CSR initiatives of third parties (the UN), while deprioritizing
topics related to employment, though this is still debatable and requires further research.
41
Governmental policies and underlying ideologies are likely to be the reason. The differences
between NOCs’ and SOEs’ CSR disclosure can be attributed to industry origins as NOCs,
similar to oil and gas MNEs, disclose more on community and climate change-related impacts.
Theoretical Implications
The findings of the thematic analysis are largely in line with the known difficulty of defining
CSR, as substantial variations were found in the content of firm disclosures. This implies that
though firms use similar CSR guidelines like GRI or Global Compact, and thus report on
similar CSR themes and topics, there still is no single approach to understanding CSR. A
clearer definition of CSR would benefit SOEs pursuing sustainable practices, especially
considering current definitions, like the working definition of this thesis by McWilliams and
Siegel (2001), emphasize voluntary aspects of CSR. Yet Chinese SOEs, as discussed, are often
mandated to act sustainably (or at least create the perception of it). This is also reflected in the
way information is disclosed, with many references being made to laws and emphasis on
compliance. Thus, current definitions of CSR seem less suitable to Chinese NOCs and SOEs.
Theoretical guidance on implementing and subsequently reporting CSR, voluntarily or
involuntarily, would further benefit such firms pursuing sustainable practices, regardless the
underlying motives.
The thematic analysis further indicates that NOCs, and SOEs, do not equally place
importance on the TBL dimensions, even though TBL literature argues firms pursuing
sustainable practices would equally balance their efforts. This finding sheds a new light on
TBL literature. Despite many statements being provided on sustainable and CSR-related
practices/activities, and commitment to sustainable development, a balanced approach was not
observed in this study, partially due to the frequent lack of in-depth additional information as
previously mentioned. Further understanding of this would require additional research,
preferably with a larger sample so that a balanced approach of CSR disclosure can be explored
and compared between NOCs, and other SOEs from varying industries.
The findings also indicate Chinese NOCs and SOEs somewhat contradict the notion of EM
firms disclosing more on CSR-practices, as NOCs and SOEs deemphasize reporting on
employment-related topics. This challenges the notion of EM firms disclosing more on CSR to
mitigate prejudices towards their origins (Marano et al., 2017). This finding however does
extend the literature by supporting prior research indicating state-ownership is not always
positively associated to CSR, which is interesting as in this case it exemplifies the significance
and strength of the Chinese government’s ideologies on SOEs, the business system, and the
42
workforce, as opposed to the influences of outsiders’ ‘perceptions’ or prejudices. On the other
side of the spectrum, the NOCs and SOEs prioritize disclosure on rights-related topics. This
contradicts the above argumentation. However, the rights and employment themes could be
perceived as interconnected by NOCs and SOEs, implying disclosure on rights-related topics
automatically comprise disclosure on employment-related topics. This would explain why
employment-related topics are de-emphasized. Another explanation is the ease of disclosing
on ‘rights’, which is high, as opposed to that on ‘employment’. Regardless, this finding
provides room for further research on both themes.
Oil and gas firms are known to disclose more environmental information out of a self-
interested rationale to minimize scrutiny. Yet, this study surprisingly finds that oil and gas
firms also disclose more than the other firm categories on community-related topics. While the
rationale remains self-interested, it indicates that the focus oil and gas firms in CSR disclosure
goes beyond the environment, thus extending the general understanding of CSR disclosure of
firms from ESIs. Moreover, Chinese SOEs are known to participate in unfair business practices.
However, literature on Chinese SOEs does not discuss how they prioritize this topic in the
wake of recent domestic policies aimed at tackling corruption in political and business spheres.
Though greenwashing may still be the case, this study indicates that policies may have made a
direct impact on SOEs’ disclosure on topics like corruption and fair competition, as they
emphasize these. This discovery is considered novel and also provides room for new research.
Chinese SOEs are further known to have higher compliance with and report more on
environmental regulations than Chinese MNEs. This study however reveals NOCs do this to
an even larger extent than other SOEs, thus extending the understanding of SOEs’ compliance
with Chinese environmental regulations. This finding also relates to and thus solidifies the
known fact that firms from ESIs have higher disclosure on environmental topics. This finding
also extends the understanding of the Chinese government’s CSR focus, through mandatory
CSR policies, on environmental aspects. Lastly, this study reveals that NOCs and SOEs try to
disclose on all of the UN’s SDGs, however, the relevance and impact of initiatives disclosed
on are doubtful and provide room for further investigation. As prior research does not cover
the SDGs in relation to Chinese SOEs and CSR disclosure, this finding indicates a high degree
of novelty.
Managerial/Practical Implications
This study verifies and contradicts findings of previous studies, as well as provides new novel
findings, implicating its function not only as a steppingstone for future research, but also its
43
ability to make a meaningful impact for practice and policy making. The results presented in
this study are informative for managers with CSR (disclosure) responsibilities, policy makers,
and other CSR-related NGOs, collaborations, or initiatives. This study further acts as a
benchmark tool and can inspire firms on certain CSR (disclosure) practices. This can benefit
firms as it allows them to perceive their ‘position’ compared to competitors in terms of CSR
efforts, and offers inspiration on what they can do to catch up in case they are lacking.
This study found extensive variation in CSR disclosure concerning structure of reporting,
measurements, choice of information, examples provided etc. This variation is present despite
adherence to reporting standards like GRI or Global Compact and may cause confusion about
the impact of CSR. It also increases the difficulty of meaningfully comparing firms. This brings
into question whether standardized guidelines such as GRI or Global Compact can be infused
into one, as often either one is applied, and mandated or promoted even more in CSR reporting
amongst various industries so that the ease of comparing improves. Nevertheless, literature on
CSR describes its voluntary nature, though this is not always the case in China, therefore,
flexibility in reporting is pertinent. Despite that, this study can inspire policy makers or
managers to look into this issue and find suitable solutions to ease the comparison of CSR
activities and disclosure.
On a more general level, this study also reveals that Chinese NOCs and SOEs wish to create
a sense of similarity when compared to MNEs, which can be attributed to the saving-face
culture. As discussed, this may however lead to over-emphasized CSR disclosure, hence for
managers and policy makers it remains important to not take all CSR information disclosed on
by Chinese NOCs and SOEs too literally. To counter this issue, policy makers could argue for
adopting independent third-party research on the CSR practices and subsequent disclosure by
Chinese SOEs so as to verify the validity of information. This would imply a more involuntary
nature of CSR rather than a voluntary nature as emphasized by current definitions of CSR.
Limitations and Future Research
This study finds limitations in its scope, resulting in weakly generalizable results. This is
caused by the small sample size. A larger sample size would have benefited this study greatly,
however, considering China only comprises three NOCs and not all SOEs listed on the
UNCTAD ranking publish annual reports, it can be quite a challenge to increase the sample
size with SOEs that have relevant information publicly available. Nevertheless, this study, as
mentioned before may serve as a point of departure for new exploratory studies on CSR
reporting of Chinese SOEs. It would also be interesting to explore additional firm categories,
44
if possible, with SOEs from multiple other industries, as this study has grouped ‘other SOEs’
together rather than within their own industry category, as it the case for NOCs.
This study aimed to discover and compare CSR activities as disclosed on, however, it
should be acknowledged that disclosure occurs through a firm’s own perspective and hence
corporate reports do not fully represent an exhaustive source concerning relevant CSR practices.
Therefore, another limitation of this study comprises the data. It is possible that additional
information on CSR practices is made public through other sources than those applied, for
instance, disclosures or statements of PR departments or other sources considered to be external
(i.e. NGO reports or studies). By comparing other sources to the results of this study, one may
find discrepancies in CSR disclosure, providing room for new discussions.
Additionally, the implementation of disclosed CSR initiatives or programs falls outside the
scope of this study. However, it would be interesting if future research could extend this study
by looking into this. For instance, by collecting different data and using other methods, like
interviews, surveys, or questionnaires with employees and/or industry experts. This study may
then also serve as a point of departure for future comparisons of findings related to what is
disclosed on and what is actually being implemented by Chinese SOEs. Somewhat similar, the
overall impact of disclosed CSR initiatives and programs can also be explored to uncover
whether or not what is disclosed on is actually being implemented and is true. In that case,
future research may benefit from interviewing stakeholders in the value chain to gain an
understanding of their perceptions of the CSR performance of Chinese SOEs, which can then
be compared to the results of this study.
As a balanced approach, as stated in TBL literature, was not found in CSR disclosure of
Chinese NOCs and SOEs, future research may also benefit from looking into this issue, as this
finding somewhat contradicts TBL literature. Therefore, future research is encouraged to
explore this, as this may also lead to a clearer understanding as to why Chinese SOEs in general
frequently lack in-depth additional information in CSR disclosure. Moreover, as it is debatable
whether employment and rights-related topics are considered by Chinese SOEs to be
interconnected, literature on Chinese SOEs and their CSR disclosure would also benefit from
an in-depth exploratory study on these two themes. Future research in this topic area is also
advised to explore anti-corruption policies and SDGs-related initiatives and programs to
understand whether policies and contributions disclosed on and implemented are effective.
Lastly, as this study finds that firms from ESIs, besides emphasizing environment-related
topics, also emphasize disclosure on community-related topics, it would be interesting to
discover whether this holds true for all sorts of firms from ESIs, or merely firms in oil and gas.
45
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Appendices
Appendix 1 – Sample Introduction
- Sinopec: Sinopec Corporation is one of the largest integrated energy and chemical companies
in China. Its principal operations include the exploration and production, pipeline transportation
and sale of petroleum and natural gas; the production, sale, storage and transportation of
refinery products, petrochemical products, coal chemical products, synthetic fiber, and other
chemical products; the import and export, including an import and export agency business, of
petroleum, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemical and chemical products, and other
commodities and technologies; and research, development and application of technologies and
information.
- CNPC: China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is an integrated international energy
company with businesses covering oil and gas operations, oilfield services, petroleum
engineering & construction, equipment manufacturing, financial services, and new energy
development. Its largest and most well-known subsidiary is PetroChina. Its goal is to be a first-
class integrated international energy company.
- CNOOC: CNOOC is the largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas in China and
one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world.
The Group mainly engages in exploration, development, production and sale of crude oil and
natural gas. The Group’s core operation areas are Bohai, Western South China Sea, Eastern
South China Sea and East China Sea in offshore China. Overseas, the Group has oil and gas
assets in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania and Europe.
- CK Hutchison: CK Hutchison Group is a renowned multinational conglomerate committed to
development, innovation and technology in many different sectors. It operates a variety of
businesses in over 50 countries across the world with over 300,000 employees. It has a strong
commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance, transparency and accountability,
as recognized by numerous international awards and commendations. Its operations consist of
five core businesses – ports and related services, retail, infrastructure, energy, and
telecommunications.
- Tencent: Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998, and listed on the Main Board of
the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since June 2004. Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives
of Internet users. Its communications and social platforms Weixin and QQ connect users with
each other, with digital content and daily life services in just a few clicks. Its high-performance
advertising platform helps brands and marketers reach out to hundreds of millions of consumers
56
in China. Its financial technology and business services support partners' business growth and
assist their digital upgrade. Tencent invests heavily in talent and technological innovation,
actively participating in the development of the Internet industry.
- Legend Holdings: Legend Holdings Corporation was founded in 1984 by researchers with
funding from the Computing Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Starting from the
IT industry, Legend Holdings has gone through the development of over three decades, and
now it is a leading diversified investment holding company in China. It builds up a unique
business model of “strategic investments + financial investments” with synergy between the
two-wheel-drive businesses. Through value creation and value discovery, the company
cultivates and manages an outstanding investment portfolio with growth potential, driving
sustainable value growth. Its investment portfolio consists of IT, financial services, real estate,
agriculture, manufacturing, venture capital, investment management, and investment properties.
- COSCO: China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited is an SOE headquartered in Shanghai.
It is the merged entity of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) and China
Shipping (Group) Company (China Shipping). Thanks to its complete global service network,
COSCO SHIPPING has become a top international brand. The upstream and downstream links
along the industry chain, such as terminals, logistics, shipping finance, ship repair and
shipbuilding, have formed a sound industrial structure. The vision of China COSCO Shipping
is to undertake the mission of globalizing Chinese economy, consolidate advantageous
resources, take global shipping, integrated logistics, and shipping related financial services as
core business, and develop diversified industrial clusters, so as to build a world-leading
business entity that provides integrated logistics and supply chain services.
- China Minmetals: China Minmetals Corporation, founded in 1950, is an international metals
and mining corporation committed to providing high-quality services globally, adhering to a
development philosophy of “cherishing limited resources to pursue boundless development”.
It primarily engages in exploration, mining, smelting, processing and trading for metals and
minerals, finance, real estate, and mining and metallurgic technology with business coverage
over 28 nations and regions in the world. China Minmetals has maintained a staff force of
177,000 employees and has controls over eight listed companies in China and abroad. In 2013,
China Minmetals achieved operating revenue of approximately RMB402.8 billion and total
profit of RMB8 billion, ranking 192nd among the US Fortune Global top 500 enterprises and
ranking 5th among metal companies.
- ChemChina: ChemChina, founded in 1984, is an SOE established by reorganizing companies
affiliated to the former Ministry of the Chemical Industry, People’s Republic of China.
57
ChemChina ranks 144th on the “Fortune Global 500” list and is the largest chemical enterprise
in China. The Company has 160,000 employees including 86,000 outside China. Strategically
oriented towards “new science, new future”, ChemChina operates in six business sectors
covering new chemical materials and specialty chemicals, agrochemicals, oil processing and
refined products, tire & rubber products, chemical equipment, and R&D design. Headquartered
in Beijing, ChemChina has production and R&D bases in 150 countries and regions worldwide
and boasts a full-fledged marketing network. ChemChina operates 7 strategic business units
(SBUs), 4 directly affiliated units, 89 production and operation enterprises. It also holds 9 listed
companies, has 11 overseas subsidiaries, and possesses 346 R&D institutes, among which 150
are overseas ones.
- Royal Dutch Shell: Royal Dutch Shell, founded in 1907, is a British-Dutch global group of
energy and petrochemical companies with an average of 86,000 employees in more than 70
countries. It uses advanced technologies and takes an innovative approach to help build a
sustainable energy future. Shell is considered one of the largest companies in the world. Its
operations span all areas of the oil and gas industry, including exploration, production, refining,
transport, distribution, marketing, petrochemicals, power generation, and trading. Besides these
activities, Shell also focuses on renewable energy, such as biofuels, hydrogen, and wind energy.
- BP: BP, founded in the UK in 1909, is an integrated energy business with operations in Europe,
North and South America, Australasia, Asia and Africa. It has operations in 79 countries and
has over 70.000 employees. BP used to be known as British Petroleum, however, due to climate
change issues, BP foresaw that its name should be changed to something more neutral.
Nowadays, BP stands for Beyond Petroleum. BP owns a 19.75% stake in the Russian ‘Rosneft’,
the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company.
- ExxonMobil: ExxonMobil is a US based oil and gas MNE. It was founded in 1999 through a
merger between Exxon and Mobil. ExxonMobil is considered to be a descendant of
Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Corporation, the world’s first and largest MNE. Nowadays, it one
of the world’s largest publicly traded energy providers and chemical manufacturers. It develops
and applies next-generation technologies to help safely and responsibly meet the world’s
growing needs for energy and high-quality chemical products. ExxonMobil considers fueling
the world safely and responsibly its mission.
58
Appendix 2 – Tables
Table 2 – Global CSR Reporting Indicators Framework (Fortanier et al., 2011)
Firm
is con
sidered
to rep
ort o
n d
imen
sion
an
d th
eme if its rep
ort co
nta
ins, in
clud
es, or m
entio
ns:
Info
rmatio
n o
n firm
s com
mitm
ent to
mitig
ating
climate ch
ang
e
Info
rmatio
n o
n a firm
’s direct G
reen H
ou
se Gas em
ission
s
If firm p
articipates in
a vo
lun
tary ag
reemen
t and
on
the ach
ievem
ent o
f targets related
to th
ose ag
reemen
ts
Th
e size of a firm
’s eng
agem
ent in
emissio
ns trad
ing
schem
es
Info
rmatio
n o
n th
e div
ersity o
f the firm
’s wo
rkfo
rce, by
either g
end
er or eth
nicity
, or b
oth
Info
rmatio
n o
n p
olicies o
r pro
gram
s aimed
at pro
mo
ting
/ensu
ring
equ
al op
po
rtun
ities regard
ing
gen
der an
d eth
nicity
Info
rmatio
n o
n a firm
’s prim
ary an
d seco
nd
ary w
ork
ing
con
ditio
ns an
d b
enefits
Info
rmatio
n o
n firm
efforts to
train em
plo
yees (o
ften h
ou
rs or ex
pen
ses of train
ing
)
Statem
ents d
enu
nciatin
g co
rrup
tion
and
brib
ery, in
com
bin
ation
with
detail o
n im
plem
entatio
n
Statem
ents co
nd
emn
ing
child
and
forced
labo
r, in co
mb
inatio
n w
ith d
etail on
imp
lemen
tation
Statem
ents o
n co
mm
itmen
ts to h
um
an rig
hts in
com
bin
ation
with
detail o
n im
plem
entatio
n
Th
e pro
cess of co
llective b
argain
ing
with
in th
e firm, in
clud
ing
e.g. a W
ork
s Co
un
cil
Info
rmatio
n o
n size o
f con
tribu
tion
to, o
r effects of, h
ealth p
rog
rams
Info
rmatio
n o
n size o
f con
tribu
tion
to, o
r effects of, H
IV/A
IDS
relief efforts
Th
e size of a firm
’s eng
agem
ent in
carbo
n-red
ucin
g
Info
rmatio
n o
n p
hilan
thro
pic co
mm
itmen
ts that su
rpass co
ncrete co
mm
un
ity p
rog
rams
Info
rmatio
n o
n firm
’s com
mitm
ent to
fair com
petitio
n
Info
rmatio
n o
n size o
f con
tribu
tion
to, o
r effects of, sch
oo
l/edu
cation
pro
gram
s
Info
rmatio
n o
n size o
f con
tribu
tion
to, o
r effects of, w
ater pro
jects
Info
rmatio
n o
n size o
f the fo
un
datio
n o
r its effects
Info
rmatio
n o
n tax
issues, su
ch as tran
sfer pricin
g p
olicies, o
r the firm
s’ effective tax
rate
Info
rmatio
n o
n firm
’s eng
agem
ent in
fair trade
Info
rmatio
n o
n th
e size of th
e firm’s eco
no
mic im
pact o
n so
ciety
Statem
ent th
at firm allo
ws its em
plo
yees to
join
un
ion
s and
pro
mo
tes freedo
m o
f associatio
n, o
r the %
of w
ork
force u
nio
nizatio
n
Info
rmatio
n o
n w
heth
er emp
loy
ees are con
tent w
ith w
ork
ing
for th
e firm
Carb
on
Red
uctio
n
EC
ON
OM
IC IM
PA
CT
Tax
Issues
Eco
no
mic Im
pact
En
gag
emen
t in F
air Trad
e
Ph
ilantro
ph
y
Fair C
om
petitio
n
CL
IMA
TE
CH
AN
GE
Clim
ate Ch
ang
e Issues
Direct G
HG
Em
ission
s
Vo
lun
tary A
greem
ents
Em
ission
s Trad
ing
Fo
un
datio
n
Freed
om
of A
ssociatio
n
Co
llective B
argain
ing
Hu
man
Rig
hts
Ch
ild an
d F
orced
Lab
or
Co
rrup
tion
and
Brib
ery
CO
MM
UN
ITY
Health
Pro
gram
s
HIV
/AID
S R
elief Effo
rts
Sch
oo
l/Ed
ucatio
n P
rog
rams
Water P
rojects
RIG
HT
S
Dim
ensio
ns &
them
es
EM
PL
OY
ME
NT
Em
plo
yee S
atisfaction
Div
ersity
Eq
ual O
pp
ortu
nity
Wo
rkin
g C
on
ditio
ns
Train
ing
59
Table 5 – Summarized CSR disclosure on ‘employment’ theme
Sinopec
Does not cover employee satisfaction . Covers diversity by providing figures of gender diversity. Covers
equal opportunity by providing statements on compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on
equal opportunity, but examples for supporting the statements are missing. Covers working conditions by
stating that it abides by relevant labor laws and provides information on actions that improve employees'
health and safety. Also mentions employee benefits such as the salary & promotion system, and insurances.
Covers training by providing figures on total number of training hours, participants or spending on
training.
CNPC
Does not cover employee satisfaction . Covers diversity by providing figures of gender diversity. Covers
equal opportunity by providing statements on compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on
equal opportunity, but examples for supporting the statements are missing. Covers working conditions by
stating that it abides by relevant labor laws and provides information on actions that improve employees'
health and safety. Also mentions employee benefits such as the salary & promotion system, and insurances.
Covers training by providing figures on total number of training hours, participants or spending on
training. Also provides examples of how trainings are offered.
CNOOC
Does not cover employee satisfaction . Covers diversity by providing figures of gender diversity. Covers
equal opportunity by providing statements on compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on
equal opportunity, but examples for supporting the statements are missing. Covers working conditions by
stating that it abides by relevant labor laws and provides information on actions that improve employees'
health and safety. Also mentions employee benefits such as the salary & promotion system, and insurances.
Covers training by providing figures on total number of training hours, participants or spending on
training.
CK Hutchison
Covers employee satisfaction but results of employee satisfaction survey are missing. Does not cover
diversity . Covers equal opportunity by providing examples of programs or initiatives that support
statements of compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on equal opportunity. Covers
working conditions by providing statements of and information on actions that improve employees' health
and safety. Does not mention employee benefits. Covers training by providing figures on total number of
training hours, participants or spending on training. Also provides examples of how trainings are offered.
Tencent
Covers employee satisfaction but results of employee satisfaction survey are missing. Does not cover
diversity . Covers equal opportunity by providing statements on compliance with relevant (labor) laws or
other statements on equal opportunity, examples for supporting the statements are missing. Covers working
conditions by providing statements of and information on actions that improve employees' health and
safety. Also mentions employee benefits such as the salary & promotion system, and insurances. Covers
training by providing figures on total number of training hours, participants or spending on training. Also
provides examples of how trainings are offered.
Legend Holdings
Covers employee satisfaction but results of employee satisfaction survey are missing. Covers diversity by
providing figures of gender diversity. Covers equal opportunity by providing examples of programs or
initiatives that support the statements of compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on equal
opportunity. Covers working conditions by stating that it abides by relevant labor laws and provides
information on actions that improve the employees' health and safety. Also mentions employee benefits
such as the salary & promotion system, and insurances. Covers training by providing figures on total
number of training hours, participants or spending on training. Also provides examples of how trainings
are offered.
COSCO
Does not cover employee satisfaction . Covers diversity by providing figures of gender diversity. Covers
equal opportunity by providing statements on compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on
equal opportunity, examples for supporting the statements are missing. Covers working conditions by
stating that it abides by relevant labor laws and provides information on actions that improve the
employees' health and safety. Also mentions employee benefits such as the salary & promotion system, and
insurances. Covers training by providing figures on total number of training hours, participants or
spending on training.
China Minmetals
Does not cover employee satisfaction . Covers diversity by providing figures of gender diversity. Covers
equal opportunity by providing statements on compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on
equal opportunity, examples for supporting the statements are missing. Covers working conditions by
providing statements of it abiding by relevant labor laws and information on actions that improve
employees' health and safety. Does not mention employee benefits. Covers training by providing figures
on total number of training hours, participants or spending on training.
ChemChina
Does not cover employee satisfaction nor diversity . Covers equal opportunity by providing statements on
compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on equal opportunity, examples for supporting
the statements are missing. Covers working conditions by stating that it abides by relevant labor laws and
provides information on actions that improve employees' health and safety. Also mentions employee
benefits such as the salary & promotion system, and insurances. Covers training by providing figures on
total number of training hours, participants or spending on training.
Royal Dutch Shell
Covers employee satisfaction by providing results of employee satisfaction survey. Covers diversity by
providing figures of gender diversity. Covers equal opportunity by providing examples of programs or
initiatives that support statements of compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on equal
opportunity. Covers working conditions by providing statements of and information on actions that
improve employees' health and safety. Does not mention employee benefits. Covers training by providing
figures on total number of training hours, participants or spending on training. Also provides examples of
how trainings are offered.
BP
Covers employee satisfaction by providing results of employee satisfaction survey. Covers diversity by
providing figures of gender diversity. Covers equal opportunity by providing examples of programs or
initiatives that support the statements of compliance with relevant (labor) laws or other statements on equal
opportunity. Covers working conditions by providing statements of and information on actions that
improve employees' health and safety. Also mentions employee benefits such as the salary & promotion
system, and insurances. Covers training by providing figures on total number of training hours,
participants or spending on training. Also provides examples of how trainings are offered.
ExxonMobil
Covers employee satisfaction but results of employee satisfaction survey are missing. Covers diversity by
providing figures of gender diversity. Covers equal opportunity by providing examples of programs or
initiatives and statements on equal opportunity, but does not provide statements of compliance with relevant
(labor) laws. Covers working conditions by providing statements of and information on actions that
improve employees' health and safety. Does not mention employee benefits. Covers training by providing
figures on total number of training hours, participants or spending on training. Also provides examples of
how trainings are offered.
Summarized disclosure theme: Employment
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
60
Table 6 – Summarized CSR disclosure on ‘rights’ theme
Sinopec
Covers freedom of association by providing statements on complying with Chinese Trade Union Law
and establishing/improving trade/labor unions to protect employees’ rights. Also discloses a 100%
worker membership rate at unions. Covers collective bargaining by providing information on the
unions' responsibilities towards workers and the firm itself. Covers human rights by providing
statements on compliance with domestic and international regulations on human rights, and examples of
initiatives. Focuses on employee-related human rights. Covers child & forced labor by providing
statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws. Examples of initiatives are missing. Covers
corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying with domestic/international regulations
against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
CNPC
Covers freedom of association by providing statements on complying with Chinese Trade Union Law
and establishing/improving trade/labor unions to protect employees’ rights. Covers collective
bargaining by providing information on the unions' responsibilities towards workers and the firm itself.
Covers human rights by providing statements on compliance with domestic and international
regulations on human rights, and examples of initiatives. Focuses on human rights in the value chain.
Covers child & forced labor by providing statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws.
Examples of initiatives are missing. Covers corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying
with domestic/international regulations against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
CNOOC
Covers freedom of association by providing statements on complying with Chinese Trade Union Law
and establishing/improving trade/labor unions to protect employees’ rights. Covers collective
bargaining by providing information on the unions' responsibilities towards workers and the firm itself.
Covers human rights by providing statements on compliance with domestic and international
regulations on human rights. Examples are missing. Focuses on employee-related human rights. Covers
child & forced labor by providing statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws. Examples of
initiatives are missing. Covers corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying with
domestic/international regulations against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
CK Hutchison
Does not cover freedom of association, collective bargaining, and human rights . Covers child & forced
labor by providing statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws, and examples of initiatives.
Covers corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying with domestic/international
regulations against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
Tencent
Does not cover freedom of association, collective bargaining, and human rights . Covers child & forced
labor by providing statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws. Examples of initiatives are
missing. Covers corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying with
domestic/international regulations against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
Legend Holdings
Does not cover freedom of association . Covers collective bargaining by mentioning it abides by a
collective bargaining agreement originating from Luxembourg. Covers human rights by providing
statements on compliance with domestic and international regulations on human rights. Examples are
missing. Focuses on employee-related human rights. Covers child & forced labor by providing
statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws. Examples of initiatives are missing. Covers
corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying with domestic/international regulations
against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
COSCO
Covers freedom of association by providing statements on complying with Chinese Trade Union Law
and establishing/improving trade/labor unions to protect employees’ rights. Covers collective
bargaining by providing information on the unions' responsibilities towards workers and the firm itself.
Covers human rights by providing statements on compliance with domestic and international
regulations on human rights. Examples are missing. Focuses on employee-related human rights. Covers
child & forced labor by providing statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws, and examples
of initiatives. Covers corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying with
domestic/international regulations against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
China Minmetals
Covers freedom of association by providing statements on complying with Chinese Trade Union Law
and establishing/improving trade/labor unions to protect employees’ rights. Also discloses a 100%
worker membership rate at unions. Covers collective bargaining by providing information on the
unions' responsibilities towards workers and the firm itself. Covers human rights by providing
statements on compliance with domestic and international regulations on human rights. Examples are
missing. Focuses on employee-related human rights. Covers child & forced labor by providing
statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws. Examples of initiatives are missing. Covers
corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying with domestic/international regulations
against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
ChemChina
Covers freedom of association by providing statements on complying with Chinese Trade Union Law
and establishing/improving trade/labor unions to protect employees’ rights. Also discloses a 100%
worker membership rate at unions. Covers collective bargaining by providing information on the
unions' responsibilities towards workers and the firm itself. Covers human rights by providing
statements on compliance with domestic and international regulations on human rights. Examples are
missing. Focuses on employee-related human rights. Covers child & forced labor by providing
statements on prohibiting it in compliance with laws. Examples of initiatives are missing. Covers
corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying with domestic/international regulations
against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
Royal Dutch Shell
Does not cover freedom of association nor collective bargaining . Covers human rights by providing
statements on compliance with international regulations on human rights and examples of initiatives.
Focuses on human rights in the entire value chain. Covers child & forced labor by providing statements
on prohibiting modern slavery in compliance with laws, and examples of initiatives. Covers corruption
& bribery by providing statements on complying with domestic/international regulations against
corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
BP
Does not cover freedom of association . Covers collective bargaining by mentioning it has a functioning
works council. Covers human rights by providing statements on compliance with international
regulations on human rights and examples of initiatives. Focuses on human rights in the value chain.
Covers child & forced labor by providing statements on prohibiting modern slavery in compliance with
laws, and examples of initiatives. Covers corruption & bribery by providing statements on complying
with domestic/international regulations against corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
ExxonMobil
Does not cover freedom of association nor collective bargaining . Covers human rights by providing
statements on compliance with international regulations on human rights and examples of initiatives.
Focuses on human rights in the value chain. Covers child & forced labor by providing statements on
prohibiting modern slavery in compliance with laws, and examples of initiatives. Covers corruption &
bribery by providing statements on complying with domestic/international regulations against
corruption, and examples of measures to counter it.
Summarized disclosure theme: Rights
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
61
Table 7 – Summarized CSR disclosure on ‘community’ theme
Sinopec
Covers health program by providing examples of initiatives or amount of investments
in health programs to improve local communities' health. Does not cover HIV/aids
relief project . Covers school/education programs by providing information on
donations and funding for education of poor students. Does not have its own
programs. Does not cover water projects. Covers foundation by providing
information on collaboration efforts with CFPA to alleviate poverty in poor regions in
China. Does not have its own foundation.
CNPC
Covers health program by providing examples of initiatives or amount of investments
in health programs to improve local communities' health. Does not cover HIV/aids
relief project . Covers school/education programs by providing information on
donations and funding for education of poor students. Does not have its own
programs. Covers water projects by providing information on improving clean water
supply, sanitation conditions, or water storage for agricultural purposes. Covers
foundation by providing information on collaboration efforts with CFPA to alleviate
poverty in poor regions in China. Does not have its own foundation.
CNOOC
Covers health program by providing examples of initiatives or amount of investments
in health programs to improve local communities' health. Does not cover HIV/aids
relief project . Covers school/education programs by providing information on
donations and funding for education of poor students. Does not have its own
programs. Does not cover water projects nor foundation .
CK Hutchison
Covers health program by providing examples of initiatives or amount of investments
in health programs to improve local communities' health. Covers HIV/aids relief
program by providing information on an initiative that donated HK$7 million to an
HIV/AIDs project in Africa. Covers school/education programs by providing
information on donations and funding for education of poor students. Has its own
programs with scholarships. Does not cover water projects . Covers foundation by
providing information on contributions to its own foundation. Focuses on more than
just poverty alleviation.
Tencent
Covers health program by providing examples of initiatives or amount of investments
in health programs to improve local communities' health. Does not cover HIV/aids
relief project. Covers school/education programs by providing information on
donations and funding for education of poor students. Has its own programs with
scholarships. Does not cover water projects . Covers foundation by providing
information on contributions to its own foundation. Focuses on more than just poverty
alleviation.
Legend Holdings
Does not cover health program nor HIV/aids relief project. Covers school/education
programs by providing information on donations and funding for education of poor
students. Has its own programs with scholarships. Does not cover water projects .
Covers foundation by providing information on contributions to its own foundation.
Focuses on more than just poverty alleviation.
COSCO
Does not cover health program, HIV/aids relief project , and school/education
program . Does not cover water projects . Covers foundation by providing information
on contributions to its own foundation. Focuses on just poverty alleviation.
China Minmetals
Does not cover health program nor HIV/aids relief project. Covers school/education
programs by providing information on donations and funding for education of poor
students. Does not have its own programs. Covers water projects by providing
information on improving clean water supply, sanitation conditions, or water storage
for agricultural purposes. Does not cover foundation .
ChemChina
Does not cover health program nor HIV/aids relief project. Covers school/education
programs by providing information on donations and funding for education of poor
students. Does not have its own programs. Covers water projects by providing
information on improving clean water supply, sanitation conditions, or water storage
for agricultural purposes. Does not cover foundation .
Royal Dutch Shell
Covers health program by providing examples of initiatives or amount of investments
in health programs to improve local communities' health. Does not cover HIV/aids
relief project . Covers school/education programs by providing information on
donations and funding for education of poor students. Has its own programs with
scholarships. Covers water projects by providing information on improving clean
water supply, sanitation conditions, or water storage for agricultural purposes. Covers
foundation by providing information on contributions to its own foundation. Focuses
on more than just poverty alleviation.
BP
Covers health program by providing examples of initiatives or amount of investments
in health programs to improve local communities' health. Does not cover HIV/aids
relief project . Covers school/education programs by providing information on
donations and funding for education of poor students. Has its own programs with
scholarships. Does not cover water projects . Covers foundation by providing
information on contributions to its own foundation. Focuses on more than just poverty
alleviation.
ExxonMobil
Covers health program by providing examples of initiatives or amount of investments
in health programs to improve local communities' health. Does not cover HIV/aids
relief project . Covers school/education programs by providing information on
donations and funding for education of poor students. Has its own programs with
scholarships. Does not cover water projects . Covers foundation by providing
information on contributions to its own foundation. Focuses on more than just poverty
alleviation.
Summarized disclosure theme: Community
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
62
Table 8 – Summarized CSR disclosure on ‘economic impact’ theme
Sinopec
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on contributions to
other foundations, like donations and investments. Covers fair
competition by mentioning its measures against corruption & bribery.
Also mentions compliance with relevant laws on competition.
CNPC
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Also mentions compliance with industry
initiative on taxes. Does not cover engagement in fair trade . Covers
philanthropy by providing information on contributions to other
foundations, like donations and investments. Covers fair competition
by mentioning its measures against corruption & bribery. Also
mentions compliance with relevant laws on competition.
CNOOC
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on contributions to
other foundations, like donations and investments. Covers fair
competition by mentioning its measures against corruption & bribery.
Also mentions compliance with relevant laws on competition.
CK Hutchison
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on its own foundation
and corresponding philanthropic activities like donations and
investments. Covers fair competition by mentioning its measures
against corruption & bribery.
Tencent
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on its own foundation
and corresponding philanthropic activities like donations and
investments. Covers fair competition by mentioning its measures
against corruption & bribery.
Legend Holdings
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on its own foundation
and corresponding philanthropic activities like donations and
investments. Covers fair competition by mentioning its measures
against corruption & bribery.
COSCO
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on its own foundation
and corresponding philanthropic activities like donations and
investments. Covers fair competition by mentioning its measures
against corruption & bribery. Also mentions compliance with relevant
laws on competition.
China Minmetals
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on contributions to
other foundations, like donations and investments. Covers fair
competition by mentioning its measures against corruption & bribery.
Also mentions compliance with relevant laws on competition.
ChemChina
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on contributions to
other foundations, like donations and investments. Covers fair
competition by mentioning its measures against corruption & bribery.
Also mentions compliance with relevant laws on competition.
Royal Dutch Shell
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Also mentions compliance with industry
initiative on taxes. Does not cover engagement in fair trade . Covers
philanthropy by providing information on its own foundation and
corresponding philanthropic activities like donations and investments.
Covers fair competition by mentioning its measures against corruption
& bribery.
BP
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Also mentions compliance with industry
initiative on taxes. Does not cover engagement in fair trade . Covers
philanthropy by providing information on its own foundation and
corresponding philanthropic activities like donations and investments.
Covers fair competition by mentioning its measures against corruption
& bribery.
ExxonMobil
Covers tax issues by providing information on tax rates and/or
amount of taxes paid. Does not cover engagement in fair trade .
Covers philanthropy by providing information on its own foundation
and corresponding philanthropic activities like donations and
investments. Covers fair competition by mentioning its measures
against corruption & bribery.
Summarized disclosure theme: Economic impact
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
63
Table 9 – Summarized CSR disclosure on ‘climate change’ theme
Sinopec
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
primarily on environmental protection and emissions reduction. Covers direct GHG emissions by
providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG
emissions. Covers voluntary agreements by mentioning it joined the Hydrogen Council & signed
strategic cooperation agreements with domestic enterprises to build hydrogen refueling stations. Does
not mention Paris agreement. Covers emissions trading by providing figures on it. Covers carbon
reduction by providing examples of how it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
CNPC
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
primarily on environmental protection and emissions reduction. Also mentions being member of the
Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a CEO-led initiative to lead the industry’s response to climate
change. Covers direct GHG emissions by providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG
emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG emissions. Covers voluntary agreements by mentioning
the Paris agreement & associated targets, as well as OGCI targets. Covers emissions trading by
mentioning it participates it in according to regulations, figures are missing. Covers carbon reduction
by providing examples of how it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
CNOOC
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
primarily on environmental protection and emissions reduction. Covers direct GHG emissions by
providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG
emissions. Covers voluntary agreements by mentioning the Paris agreement & associated targets.
Covers emissions trading by mentioning it participates it in according to regulations, figures are
missing. Covers carbon reduction by providing examples of how it intends to reduce carbon
emissions.
CK Hutchison
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
on a variety of topics like renewable energy, sustainable resource usage, and emissions reduction.
Covers direct GHG emissions by providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, as
well as figures on direct GHG emissions. Does not cover voluntary agreements nor emissions trading .
Covers carbon reduction ( to a lesser extent) by providing examples of how it intends to reduce
carbon emissions.
Tencent
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
on sustainable resource usage. Covers direct GHG emissions by providing information on initiatives
to reduce GHG emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG emissions. Does not cover voluntary
agreements nor emissions trading . Covers carbon reduction (to a lesser extent) by providing
examples of how it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
Legend Holdings
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
on sustainable resource usage and emissions reduction. Covers direct GHG emissions by providing
information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG emissions.
Covers voluntary agreements by mentioning a voluntary agreement on waste management. Does not
cover emissions trading . Covers carbon reduction (to a lesser extent) by providing examples of how
it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
COSCO
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
primarily on environmental protection and emissions reduction. Covers direct GHG emissions by
providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG
emissions. Covers voluntary agreements by mentioning the Paris agreement, associated targets are
missing. Does not cover emissions trading . Covers carbon reduction by providing examples of how
it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
China Minmetals
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
primarily on environmental protection and emissions reduction. Covers direct GHG emissions by
providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, figures on direct GHG emissions are
missing. Does not cover voluntary agreements . Does not cover emissions trading . Covers carbon
reduction by providing examples of how it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
ChemChina
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
primarily on environmental protection and emissions reduction. Covers direct GHG emissions by
providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, figures on direct GHG emissions are
missing. Does not cover voluntary agreements . Does not cover emissions trading . Covers carbon
reduction by providing examples of how it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
Royal Dutch Shell
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
on a variety of topics like renewable energy, low-emissions solutions, energy transition, sustainable
resource usage etc. Also mentions being member of the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a CEO-
led initiative to lead the industry’s response to climate change. Covers direct GHG emissions by
providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG
emissions. Covers voluntary agreements by mentioning the Paris agreement & associated targets, as
well as a long-term ambition to reduce the Net Carbon Footprint of its energy products. Covers
emission trading by providing examples of initatives to support governments' efforts in carbon
pricing, figures are missing. Covers carbon reduction by providing examples of how it intends to
reduce carbon emissions.
BP
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
on a variety of topics like renewable energy, low-emissions solutions, energy transition, sustainable
resource usage etc. Also mentions being member of the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a CEO-
led initiative to lead the industry’s response to climate change. Covers direct GHG emissions by
providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG
emissions. Covers voluntary agreements by mentioning the Paris agreement & associated targets, as
well as supporting a resolution from institutional investors to describe in corporate reporting how its
strategy is consistent with the Paris agreement. Covers emission trading by providing examples of
initatives to support governments' efforts in carbon pricing, figures are missing. Covers carbon
reduction by providing examples of how it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
ExxonMobil
Covers climate change issues by providing information on a variety of efforts to combat it. Focuses
on a variety of topics like renewable energy, low-emissions solutions, energy transition, sustainable
resource usage etc. Also mentions being member of the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), a CEO-
led initiative to lead the industry’s response to climate change. Covers direct GHG emissions by
providing information on initiatives to reduce GHG emissions, as well as figures on direct GHG
emissions. Covers voluntary agreements by mentioning the Paris agreement & associated targets, as
well as a cooperative research agreement. Covers emission trading by providing examples of
initatives to support governments' efforts in carbon pricing, figures are missing. Covers carbon
reduction by providing examples of how it intends to reduce carbon emissions.
Summarized disclosure theme: Climate change
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
64
Table 10 – Summarized CSR disclosure on ‘other CSR initiatives’ theme
Sinopec
Covers UN SDGs by providing information on efforts to achieve
all SDGs. Places equal emphasis on all SDGs. Examples of
initiatives for SDGs are often slim in size or contribution. Covers
UN Global Compact by mentioning its report is based on the 10
principles.
CNPC
Covers UN SDGs by providing information on efforts to achieve
all SDGs. Places more emphasis on SDGs #10, #11, & #12.
Examples of initiatives for other SDGs are often slim in size or
contribution. Covers UN Global Compact by mentioning its
report is based on the 10 principles & its efforts towards the 10
principles. Is an active member of UN Global Compact.
CNOOC
Covers UN SDGs by stating it acted according to them, examples
of initiatives are missing. Covers UN Global Compact by
mentioning its report is based on the 10 principles & its efforts
towards the 10 principles.
CK HutchisonCovers UN SDGs by providing information on efforts to achieve
only SDG #12. Does not cover UN Global Compact .
Tencent Does not cover UN SDGs nor UN Global Compact .
Legend Holdings Does not cover UN SDGs nor UN Global Compact .
COSCODoes not cover UN SDGs . Covers UN Global Compact by
mentioning its efforts towards the 10 principles.
China Minmetals
Covers UN SDGs by providing information on efforts to achieve
all SDGs. Places equal emphasis on all SDGs. Examples of
initiatives for other SDGs are often slim in size or contribution.
Covers UN Global Compact by mentioning its report is based on
the 10 principles & its efforts towards the 10 principles.
ChemChina
Covers UN SDGs by providing information on efforts to achieve
all SDGs. Places more emphasis on SDGs #9 & #12. Examples
of initiatives for other SDGs are often slim in size or
contribution. Covers UN Global Compact by mentioning its
report is based on the 10 principles.
Royal Dutch Shell
Covers UN SDGs by providing information on efforts to achieve
a selection of SDGs related to the core business. Places more
emphasis on SDGs #7, #8, & #13. Covers UN Global Compact
by mentioning its efforts towards the 10 principles, and is a
founding member.
BP
Covers UN SDGs by providing information on efforts to achieve
a selection of SDGs related to the core business. Places more
emphasis on SDGs #7, #8, & #13. Covers UN Global Compact
by mentioning its efforts towards the 10 principles, and is a
founding member.
ExxonMobil
Covers UN SDGs by providing information on efforts to achieve
all SDGs. Places more emphasis on SDGs #7, #8, & #13. Does
not cover UN Global Compact .
Summarized disclosure theme: Other CSR initiatives
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
65
Table 11 – Average reporting intensity theme: Employment
Table 12 – Average reporting intensity theme: Rights
Table 13 – Average reporting intensity theme: Community
Number of pages Number of words Number of words per page
Sinopec 6 983 133
CNPC 7 1586 289
CNOOC 8 1388 217
CK Hutchison 6 1283 214
Tencent 7 1101 157
Legend Holdings 11 1979 180
COSCO 4 1666 238
China Minmetals 13 3216 247
ChemChina 6 1864 311
Royal Dutch Shell 5 1483 327
BP 7 2470 430
ExxonMobil 4 996 229
Average reporting intensity theme: Employment
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
Number of pages Number of words Number of words per page
Sinopec 4 417 52
CNPC 4 500 111
CNOOC 2 489 266
CK Hutchison 2 247 124
Tencent 5 1866 373
Legend Holdings 4 890 223
COSCO 2 585 146
China Minmetals 4 579 145
ChemChina 4 262 66
Royal Dutch Shell 4 1120 280
BP 5 1278 277
ExxonMobil 3 648 177
Average reporting intensity theme: Rights
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
Number of pages Number of words Number of words per page
Sinopec 3 330 126
CNPC 3 470 185
CNOOC 2 467 117
CK Hutchison 7 2147 307
Tencent 4 1300 325
Legend Holdings 7 1516 217
COSCO 1 129 64
China Minmetals 3 151 50
ChemChina 5 990 198
Royal Dutch Shell 4 436 113
BP 3 365 83
ExxonMobil 4 298 43
Average reporting intensity theme: Community
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
66
Table 14 – Average reporting intensity theme: Economic Impact
Table 15 – Average reporting intensity theme: Climate Change
Table 16 – Average reporting intensity theme: Other CSR initiatives
Number of pages Number of words Number of words per page
Sinopec 2 101 91
CNPC 1 291 291
CNOOC 1 115 115
CK Hutchison 4 1644 411
Tencent 3 794 265
Legend Holdings 2 253 127
COSCO 1 152 76
China Minmetals 1 5 5
ChemChina 2 120 60
Royal Dutch Shell 2 434 203
BP 2 298 201
ExxonMobil 1 65 33
Average reporting intensity theme: Economic Impact
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
Number of pages Number of words Number of words per page
Sinopec 10 3768 240
CNPC 10 2744 318
CNOOC 5 1607 179
CK Hutchison 7 2649 378
Tencent 5 1684 337
Legend Holdings 11 3365 306
COSCO 3 1361 321
China Minmetals 14 3839 274
ChemChina 6 1387 231
Royal Dutch Shell 16 9579 599
BP 14 5194 454
ExxonMobil 4 1085 271
Average reporting intensity theme: Climate Change
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
Number of pages Number of words Number of words per page
Sinopec 3 408 116
CNPC 25 8467 169
CNOOC 1 50 25
CK Hutchison 2 482 241
Tencent 0 0 0
Legend Holdings 0 0 0
COSCO 1 87 87
China Minmetals 3 1029 343
ChemChina 42 10585 252
Royal Dutch Shell 2 644 402
BP 2 404 135
ExxonMobil 1 61 61
Average reporting intensity theme: Other CSR Initiatives
Chinese NOCs
Leading private non-financial Chinese MNEs
Leading non-financial Chinese SOEs
Leading private oil & gas MNEs
67
Appendix 3 – UN Sustainable Development Goals & UN Global Compact Principles
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Appendix 4 – Illustrative quotations
Employment theme:
- CNPC: “We emphasize the employment of local residents, women, ethnic minorities and
college students in order to increase job opportunities for local communities. We strictly
implement regulations on female employees’ confinement and lactation to protect their rights
and interests. We continue to open recruitment to the public, without restrictions on applicants’
ethnicity, gender or religion”
- CNOOC: “In China, we act in strict compliance with international conventions ratified by the
Chinese Government, such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination in
Employment and Occupation, and local laws and regulations such as the Labor Law of the
People's Republic of China, the Labor Contract Law of the People's Republic of China,
Employment Ordinance, etc”
- COSCO: “We provide equal opportunities in recruitment, career development, promotion,
training and awards, regardless of skin colour, nationality, race, age, gender, religious belief
or physical ability. COSCO SHIPPING Lines works hard to safeguard legitimate and special
interests of female employees, according to the Labour Law of the People's Republic of China,
the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women
and the State Council Special Provisions on Labour Protection of Female Employees, as well
as the Special Collective Contract for Special Interests of Female Employees formulated by the
labour union”
- ChemChina: “We have strictly abided by international and domestic labor laws and
regulations, upheld the employment policy of equality and non-discriminatory, treated
employees of different nationalities, races, genders, religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds
fairly, prohibited employment discrimination and forced labor, and resolutely put an end to
child labor”
- Shell: “The Shell People Survey is one of the principal tools used to measure employee
engagement, motivation, affiliation and commitment to Shell. It provides insights into
employees’ views and has had a consistently high response rate. In 2018, the response rate was
82%, which was an increase of 2% compared with 2017, and the average employee engagement
score was 77 points out of 100, which was an increase of one point compared with 2017”
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- CK Hutchison: “CK Hutchison hires and rewards staff for their performance and follows a
stringent anti-discrimination employment policy by which staff is employed regardless of race,
gender, physical ability or faith. The Group has adopted policies that provide equal
employment opportunities to recruit, promote and assign employees based on their skillset,
abilities and how these fit the job requirements. For instance, Watsons Singapore has signed
up and adopted the Singapore government initiative of Tripartite Alliance for Fair and
Progressive Employment Practices since 2017”.
Rights theme:
- CNOOC: “We respect and support the association freedom of our employees complying with
the law. Guided by the Trade Union Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws in
foreign countries, we have established labor unions, which have the responsibility and
obligation to protect employees’ legitimate rights and interests as well as to monitor the
Company’s practices. Labor unions also oversee all operational activities related to employee
benefits and communicate with the Company on behalf of its members. We also maintain close
communication with legal department and labor unions to jointly guarantee employees’ rights
and interests. CNOOC Limited highly focuses on anti-corruption, and sets strictly internal
punitive mechanisms and management policies strictly abiding with by national and local
policies, laws and regulations related to anti-corruption and business ethics, such as the Anti-
Money Laundering Law of the People’s Republic of China, Prevention of Bribery Ordinance,
and Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China. Should there be any
practice of employee corruption and malpractice with no exception, we would take down with
no exception”
- Sinopec: “The labour union extensively solicits the opinions of employee representatives and
submits to the Workers' Congress for approval. The Company complies with all national laws
and anti-corruption regulations, and laws and regulations of countries and areas where we
operate. We keep promoting the enforcement of anti-corruption measures and carry out
punishment and prevention mechanism in order to build a clean company”
- China Minmetals: “In 2018, the labour union establishment rate was 100%, the employee
membership rate was 100%. We attach great importance to anti-corruption, focusing on key
targets that have been investigated and dealt with in recent years, especially the personnel
selection and employment, the major investment projects, the key business areas and the critical
posts, to curb and deter the corruption with strong and high-pressure for a better business
environment. The measures are as follows: Strengthening Ideological Consciousness; The
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party organizations at all levels in China Minmetals Group take the initiative to strengthen the
"Four Awareness" and practice the "Two Maintenance", which is highly consistent with the
CPC Central Committee. Improving System Construction; The party group formulates the
implementation plan for the reform of discipline inspection and supervision, clarifying the
timetable, road map and specific missions. Promoting System Implementation; We step up
efforts to ensure the effectiveness of various reform tasks, so as to strengthen the monitoring of
supervision system and enhance the ability of corporate governance”
- BP: “Our code of conduct explicitly prohibits engaging in bribery or corruption in any form.
Our group-wide anti-bribery and corruption policy and procedures include measures and
guidance to assess risks, understand relevant laws and report concerns. We provide training
to employees appropriate to the nature or location of their role. We assess any exposure to
bribery and corruption risk when working with suppliers and business partners. Where
appropriate, we put in place a risk mitigation plan or we reject them if we conclude that risks
are too high. We also conduct anti-bribery compliance audits on selected suppliers when
contracts are in place. We take corrective action with suppliers and business partners who fail
to meet our expectations, which may include terminating contracts. We are developing a more
systematic approach to managing the risk of modern slavery and other labour rights issues by
building it into our management systems, processes and procedures. Some of our business
activities and parts of our supply chain may pose a higher risk of labour rights and modern
slavery issues than others. Since 2016 we have been taking a risk-based approach to monitoring
our contractors and suppliers”
- CK Hutchison: “The Group upholds labour standards and complies with the relevant
employment guidelines and regulations throughout its businesses. The Group’s policies strictly
prohibit the use of child labour and forced labour, rigorous measures and audits are taken to
prevent such practices in the Group’s operations. For example, since 2016, ASW has become
one of the Mekong Club members to help it develop a set of tools in raising awareness towards
modern slavery. The awareness toolkit is shared with different business units and suppliers,
with a target to cover all own-brand (“OB”) suppliers”
Community theme:
- CNPC: “In 2018, we invested RMB 97.49 million in 44 projects, including infrastructure
reconstruction, education and training, healthcare, and industrial collaboration, in 13 counties
and districts, directly benefiting more than 80,000 people. We set up scholarships, offer grant
loans and subsidies to students from underprivileged families, improve teaching conditions for
71
impoverished regions, and support scientific and cultural activities as well as relevant
competitive activities. In 2018, we granted CNPC Scholarships worth a total of RMB 3.99
million to 635 students. In addition, we explore new models to support education, and call on
the public to pay attention and work together to achieve education equality. In cooperation
with China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA), Beijing Normal University Group and
Tencent Foundation, we sponsor the Xuhang Educational Program and the Teacher Training
Program to help students from poor families complete their studies”
- Sinopec: “In 2018, we invested RMB 25.83 million in education to improve education
infrastructure, purchase education and teaching equipment, and provide 1,374 student
subsidies. We set up "Spring Bud" classes to help school-deprived girls return to school. We
also have organised the Summer Camp themed with "Great Wall Lubricating Oil · Chinese
Astronauts Experience Camp" for 11 consecutive years, and helped over 70 students to
participate in winter camps so as to broaden the vision of outstanding students from
impoverished areas”
- CNOOC: “On October 27, 2018, the Zhanjiang branch collaborated with No. 2 Zhanjiang
People's Hospital to carry out medical checkups and treatment in Gantang Town, ensuring the
public to receive free medical services at their doorstep. Five doctors attended the activity and
provided medical services for nearly 100 people”
- Shell: “We spent almost $175 million on social investment. We spent $113 million on voluntary
social investment, of which around $66 million was in line with our global themes. The
remaining $47 million was spent on local programmes for community development, disaster
relief, road safety, health and biodiversity. Shell Foundation is an independent charity that
applies business thinking to the global development challenges of access to energy and
transport services. Shell Foundation provides business support, grants and market connections
to help pioneering social entrepreneurs prove new business models in low-income communities.
The charity selects partners with the potential to benefit 10 million people within a 10-year
time frame, achieve financial independence and spur international replication. Shell
Foundation has long-term strategic partnerships with UK and US international development
agencies to incubate new ideas, demonstrate the viability of market-based solutions and
support the growth of new inclusive markets. Together with Wetlands International, we
delivered a project in Brunei to restore local habitats and prevent erosion”
- ChemChina: “Donated RMB 300,000 as education poverty alleviation funds, donated a “New
Great Wall High School Student Self-improvement Class” to a high school in Gulang County,
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and provided financial support for 50 poor students with outstanding performance to help them
complete the three-year high school education. Invested RMB 132,000 to organize ten
outstanding poor students and one teacher to participate in the 23-day 28th Bluestar
International Summer Camp event for broadening horizon and gaining experience. In the
context of the “Belt and Road” initiative, Hangzhou Water Treatment Technology Development
Center and Djibouti Special Economic Zone successfully established a strategic partnership
for desalination and signed the first contract on integrated intelligent containerized
desalination plant. The partnership would help solve the problem of drinking water, industrial
water and freshwater supply in Republic of Djibouti, and provide strong support for later
investment in Djibouti Special Economic Zone and creation of a city with complete functions”
- COSCO: “We take part in the Poverty Alleviation Day actively, act on President Xi Jinping's
strategic thinking for poverty alleviation and development, as well as perform social
responsibilities as a central enterprise. On that day, all employees of COSCO SHIPPING Lines
made charity donations out of sincere love. We totally raised RMB 466,823.47. Our employees'
made great efforts on fighting poverty and supporting rural revitalization, regarding it their
responsibilities to contribute to the development of poverty-driven areas. The fund raised was
donated to the COSCO SHIPPING Charity Foundation”
Economic impact theme:
- CNOOC: “CNOOC Limited highly focuses on anti-corruption, and sets strictly internal
punitive mechanisms and management policies strictly abiding with by national and local
policies, laws and regulations related to anti-corruption and business ethics, such as the Anti-
Money Laundering Law of the People’s Republic of China, Prevention of Bribery Ordinance,
and Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China. We seek to identify and
punish Should there be any practice of employee corruption and malpractice with no exception,
we would take down with no exception”
- COSCO: “We fight against improper competition and monopoly. During the 2018 reporting
period, we consistently abide by the anti-monopoly laws and competition policies of all
countries and regions, participate in fair market competition, and provide better services to
our customers. Based on the fierce market competition situation, we made independent
judgments and decisions, followed and timely tracked changes in international anti-monopoly
policies and regulations, and adopted follow-up measures. In 2018, the anti- monopoly
compliance awareness of the company's management personnel at all levels was further
improved”
73
- CNPC: “We abide by business ethics and market rules, and adhere to the principle of honesty
and credibility, equal consultation, mutual benefit and common development, and promote
transactions with high business integrity and transparency, in order to maintain fair and
impartial competition in our business activities. We strictly comply with the Anti-monopoly Law
of the People’s Republic of China, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
and other applicable laws, regulations and international practices on commercial bribery,
extortion and fraud. We oppose monopolies and do not abuse our dominant market position.
We fight against unfair competition in any form and comply with trade restrictions, and never
conduct, participate in or support any forms of money laundering”
- ExxonMobil: “We recognize the importance of disclosing relevant payments to governments to
reduce corruption, improve government accountability and promote greater economic stability
worldwide. We consider the most successful transparency initiatives are those that: Apply to
all foreign, domestic and state-owned companies; Protect proprietary information to promote
commercial competitiveness; comply with international trade conventions and treaties; and Do
not violate host government laws or contractual obligations”
Climate change theme:
- BP: “There was a decrease in our direct GHG emissions in 2018. The primary reasons for this
include actions taken by our businesses to reduce emissions in areas such as flaring, methane
and energy efficiency as well as operational changes, such as increased gas being captured
and exported to the liquefied natural gas facility in Angola. To reinforce our ambitions, we
implemented our Advancing Low Carbon accreditation programme, which aims to inspire
every part of BP to identify lower carbon opportunities. To gain accreditation by BP, each
activity must meet certain criteria, including delivering what we call a better carbon outcome.
This means either reducing GHG emissions, producing less carbon than competitor or industry
benchmarks, providing renewable energy, offsetting carbon produced, furthering research and
technology to advance low carbon or enabling BP or others to meet their low carbon objectives.
Deloitte conducts independent assurance on the Advancing Low Carbon activities, including
assessing the application of BP’s process and criteria for accrediting activities, and GHG
emissions offset and saved within the programme. A total of 52 activities met the criteria for
accreditation or reaccreditation in 2019, up from 33 in 2018. These include emission
reductions in our operations, carbon neutral products, more efficient ships, investments in
electrification and support for low carbon technologies”
74
- ExxonMobil: “Management of environmental performance is guided by a fundamental
scientific understanding of the impacts of energy and petrochemical production and a
commitment to develop, maintain, and operate facilities using appropriate environmental
standards. One area of critical importance is climate change. We manage the risks by reducing
our emissions, helping consumers reduce theirs, participating in policy discussions, and
advancing research to find new low-emissions technologies. For example, in 2018, we outlined
measures to reduce methane emissions by 15 percent and flaring by 25 percent by 2020. We
also continued to advance our research into next-generation, breakthrough energy solutions,
including biofuels, carbon capture and storage, and technology to lower the energy intensity
of industrial processes. Since 2000, we have invested more than $9 billion in lower-emission
energy solutions. On the policy front, ExxonMobil supports the Paris Agreement and market-
based approaches to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as a revenue-neutral carbon tax”
- Sinopec: “We implemented Green and Low-carbon Development Strategy and continued to
address climate change. We set up the goal of greenhouse gas emission reduction, deployed
the Energy Efficiency Improvement Plan, and conducted evaluations on energy efficiency and
carbon emissions. The carbon trading volume reached 1.06 million tonnes, with carbon trading
turnover of about RMB 24.11 million. The Company attaches great importance to GHG
emission, sets emission reduction targets and measures, continuously carries out carbon
capture and methane recovery, and promotes the development of alternative energy such as
bio-aviation coal, biodiesel and photovoltaic power generation. In 2018, the Company emitted
172 million tonnes (CO2 equivalent) of GHG with an increase of 2.07 percent year-on-year”
- CNOOC: “The Company manages energy conservation, emission and carbon reduction
throughout the year and tackles major issues. We set up a set of metrics and KPIs for energy
conservation and carbon emission reduction in light of the regulations and reviewed the annual
performance of subsidiaries accordingly. In 2018, we established a low-carbon management
system with reference to the national policies and practices of leading energy companies in
China and abroad as well as requirements to implement climate and carbon management. The
system was found based on one measure and five rules: Low Carbon Management Measures,
Rules for Carbon Emission Statistics and Reporting, Rules for Carbon Emission Impact
Assessment and Review of Fixed Asset Investment Projects, Rules for CCER1 Project
Development Management, Rules for Carbon Asset Management, and Rules for Carbon
Assessment. Through this system, the Company has worked out the “division of work” for the
overall carbon management and the corresponding data collection methods and laid out
managing rules for carbon reduction work including CCER projects, carbon evaluation and
carbon assets assessment. In 2018, we initiated the compilation of a "Green Low-Carbon
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Development Roadmap" and its implementation plan, which outlines the short-term, medium-
term and long-term carbon emission reduction action plans for the Company. The Plan aims
to optimize and integrate the energy control and low-carbon management information system
that combines production with energy saving and carbon emission reduction. We have made a
more progressive annual plan on energy-saving and low-carbon targets, incorporating KPIs
of carbon emissions, emission intensity and emission reduction completion into the
performance evaluation of each unit”
- COSCO: “In 2018, the Company continued to promote and use various advanced energy
conservation and emission reduction technologies, and effectively reduced fuel oil consumption
through management measures such as optimizing structure of its fleet and design of its
shipping routes and improving operation efficiency of vessels at port, thereby reduced the
environmental impact and carbon emission from the business operation”
Other CSR initiatives theme:
- BP: “Our core business of delivering energy to the world contributes directly to goals 7, 8 and
13. The way we operate supports the implementation of goals 3, 6, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 17 in the
countries where we are present. We are working with our peers to create an industry framework
for human rights supplier assessments. We established EverSource Capital with Everstone to
manage the Green Growth Equity Fund aiming to raise up to $700 million of investment in low
carbon energy infrastructure projects across India. To promote an inclusive culture, we
support employee-run advocacy groups in areas such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
parenting and disability. We consider greenhouse gas reduction opportunities from the design
stage for our major projects. We developed a programme, in collaboration with local
government, NGOs and the private sector, that reduced the rate of malaria infection from 9%
in 2006 to 0.02% in 12 pilot villages in Bintuni Regency, Indonesia. We are proud to be part of
the first coalition of global businesses working together to support youth-led innovation for the
SDGs. As the challenge partner for SDG 7, we will fund and mentor an initiative with a tangible
impact on improving access to sufficient and reliable energy that is affordable and clean.”
- ChemChina: “We support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 6, Goal 7,
Goal 13, Goal 14 and Goal 15. We support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Goal 8 and Goal 9. We support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 12.
We support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 3. We support the UN
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 6, Goal 7, Goal 13, Goal 14 and Goal 15. We
support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 3, Goal 4, Goal 5 and Goal 8.
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We support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 1, Goal 2, Goal 4, Goal 9,
Goal 10 and Goal 11.”
- CNOOC: “We also actively responded to the 17 UN 2030 SDGs, and strove to enhance the
integrated value of economic growth, environmental protection, and social progress, the three
perspectives that are of most concern to our stakeholders”
- Shell: “We welcome the SDGs and believe we have an important role to play in supporting the
ambitions. All the SDGs are relevant to Shell operations to varying degrees and we are already
contributing to many of these goals. In 2018, following a review by senior executives, we
decided to focus on supporting the three goals where we can make the greatest contribution:
Goal 7 (Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy), Goal 8 (Decent
work and economic growth) and Goal 13 (Climate action). Today, around 1 billion people live
without access to electricity. The same number live with unreliable or unsafe supplies of
electricity. Access to reliable and safe energy is critical to enabling economic and social
development and improving health, education and livelihoods. Goal 7 is crucial to achieving
almost all the SDGs. For our part, we announced our ambition to provide a reliable electricity
supply to 100 million people in the developing world by 2030. We continue to work on
developing a longer-term strategy to achieve this ambition. Employment is a critical route out
of poverty and towards prosperity. We provide jobs and follow applicable labour, health and
safety standards. We encourage local businesses to be part of our supply chain and seek to
ensure our suppliers meet Shell standards. We work with governments and others to offer
training to build local skills and expertise. We support entrepreneurs through various
programmes, which helps young people start their own businesses. We also contribute to
economic growth by paying taxes and royalties to local governments”
- China Minmetals: “SDG7, ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern
energy for all; Build energy-saving and environmental-protection research and demonstration
projects to improve energy utilization efficiency. SDG8, promote sustained, inclusive and
sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all; Pay
attention to the career development of employees and provide all kinds of practical
opportunities through employee training and talent pool to broaden the development channels.
SDG11, make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable; Develop
beautiful countries, intelligent cities, sponge cities, utility tunnels”
- Sinopec: “We mapped our business operations with United Nation's 17 SDGs, and enhanced
communication with stakeholders who concern climate-related financial disclosures and
analysed the Company's climate related risks and opportunities.”