At the opening of the Fourth ESG Innovation Annual Meeting (2026) and the Second ESG Expo today, Xue Zengyi, Senior Vice Chairman of CP Group in China, revealed that the conglomerate's cumulative investment in various poverty-alleviation industrial projects has surpassed RMB 28.8 billion since its entry into the Chinese market over four decades ago.
These substantial investments demonstrate that for CP Group, ESG is not an auxiliary task outside core business operations. Rather, it represents a strategic approach to creating long-term societal value through industrial development, benefit-sharing mechanisms, and responsible governance—ultimately enabling more efficient resource utilization, enhanced food safety assurance, and increased farmer incomes.
"We take a holistic view of the economic, resource, environmental, and social dimensions of our operations. Innovation is not pursued for novelty's sake but to solve practical problems: improving efficiency, conserving resources, ensuring food safety, and delivering mutual benefits to all stakeholders," Xue emphasized. He noted that the century-old conglomerate builds its foundation on integrity and quality-first principles, embedding risk identification and response throughout its operational processes.
Only when innovation, risk management, and responsibility are integrated within a unified business framework can innovation truly translate into sustainable competitive advantage, he added. Over the past forty-plus years, CP Group has remained rooted in and dedicated to serving China, steadfastly adhering to the "Three-Benefit Principle" established by Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont: benefiting the nation, benefiting the people, and benefiting the enterprise. The company consistently maintains that corporate development must align with national progress and societal needs.
"Viewed from this perspective, the 'Three-Benefit Principle' shares an inherent consistency with the long-term value philosophy advocated by ESG," Xue explained. He also outlined the company's "2030 Sustainable Development Strategic Framework," launched in 2021, which targets operational carbon neutrality by 2030 and net-zero emissions across the full value chain by 2050.
To translate these ambitious targets into operational reality, CP Group has established a three-tier governance mechanism: board-level oversight of strategic direction and overall performance, an executive committee integrating sustainability into business planning and investment decisions, and a sustainability committee driving implementation through roadmaps and key performance indicators down to the operational frontline. Since 2016, the group has published annual sustainability reports, embracing transparent disclosure and public scrutiny.
CP Group's sustainability efforts have earned global recognition, including placement in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook within the top 5% globally in the "Industrial Conglomerates" category. The company has also achieved strong CDP ratings: A- in both Climate and Water Security, and an A in Supplier Engagement. In 2026, the group was named one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" by Ethisphere for the sixth consecutive year.
Xue cited the Beijing Pinggu 3-million-layer modern egg production project as an illustrative case. With RMB 720 million invested, the project has created a modern industrial model encompassing intelligent layer farming, egg processing, quality inspection, and traceability systems. The project pioneered a "government-enterprise-bank-farmer cooperative" four-party model: government provides policy guidance, banks supply financing support, CP Group contributes technology and operations, and farmers participate through land contributions.
This structure ensures clear responsibilities and resource coordination among all parties, creating a stable benefit-sharing mechanism. For the government, poverty-alleviation and agricultural support policies gain a viable industrial platform; for banks, financing flows into agricultural projects with solid industrial backing; for the enterprise, it establishes stable production bases with closed-loop supply chain management; and for farmers, it generates multiple income streams from rent, dividends, and employment.
By the end of 2025, this model had been replicated across 11 provinces and municipalities, covering layer hens, broilers, and swine operations, with total investment exceeding RMB 18.2 billion and benefiting nearly 200,000 farmer households. Looking ahead, Xue affirmed that CP Group will continue upholding the "Three-Benefit Principle" and long-termism, further integrating sustainable development into daily operations and resource allocation, driving industrial progress through innovation, and contributing to the development of an ESG framework with Chinese characteristics.