High-quality Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) information disclosure is not only an opportunity for companies to showcase their ESG practice achievements but also an important reflection of their capabilities in environmental, social, and corporate governance. On June 4, 2024, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) issued the "Guiding Opinions on High-standard Fulfillment of Social Responsibility by Central Enterprises in the New Era" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Opinions"), aiming to promote central enterprises to achieve higher standards in the ESG aspect. Optimizing ESG information disclosure will become an important window for central enterprises to do a good job in financial "five major articles" and showcase the achievements of green financial practices, and it is also a bridge connecting the capital market with green finance.

ESG information disclosure policies continue to be introduced, guiding the high-quality development of central enterprises. In March 2022, after the SASAC established the Bureau of Social Responsibility and included ESG in the scope of social responsibility work, the coverage rate of ESG-related reports of state-owned listed companies has significantly increased, and the quality of information disclosure has been well improved after two years of effort. Specifically, in 2023, there were a total of 929 local state-owned enterprises listed on the A-share market, with 478 having disclosed ESG or social responsibility reports, with an annual disclosure rate of 51.45%, among which the disclosure performance of key industries for carbon emission reduction was relatively outstanding.

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In 2024, ESG information disclosure standards will be further updated. On May 22, the Ministry of Finance issued the "Enterprise Sustainable Disclosure Standards - Basic Standards (Draft for Comments)" and the drafting explanation, aiming to steadily promote the construction of China's sustainable disclosure standard system and standardize the disclosure of enterprise sustainable development-related information. The "Guiding Opinions" issued by the SASAC puts forward requirements for promoting central enterprises to fulfill their responsibilities at a higher level in the new era, and central enterprises should play an exemplary role in ESG information disclosure. On the same day, the "China Enterprise Sustainable Development Report Guidelines (CASS-ESG 6.0) General Framework" was officially released, providing the most core and basic guidance for enterprises that need or wish to compile reports according to regulatory guidelines. These policies together form an important support for the ESG construction of central enterprises, providing strong institutional guarantees and action guides for the high-quality development of central enterprises.

The "Guiding Opinions" emphasizes the promotion of central enterprises to fulfill ESG responsibilities with high standards, explicitly requiring central enterprises to strictly implement environmental management standards, strengthen resource conservation and environmental protection, ensure the fulfillment of environmental responsibilities, and improve the quality and transparency of ESG information disclosure. In terms of social responsibility, central enterprises need to actively participate in major social projects, such as rural revitalization and regional coordinated development, improve public services, and enhance support and services for people's livelihoods. In terms of corporate governance structure, enterprises are required to improve governance mechanisms, strengthen internal control and risk management, and ensure the legality and integrity of operations. The "Guiding Opinions" promote central enterprises and listed companies they control to implement high-standard environmental management requirements around ESG issues, actively fulfill social responsibilities, improve and perfect corporate governance, strengthen high-level ESG information disclosure, continuously improve ESG governance capabilities and performance levels, and provide important institutional support and action guidance for the healthy development of green finance.

These measures help central enterprises play a positive role in promoting green transformation, improving environmental governance levels, and enhancing social trust, thereby promoting the in-depth development and widespread application of green finance concepts in the capital market. Clear, detailed, and verifiable ESG information disclosure allows third-party organizations to more accurately assess corporate performance, thereby granting enterprises higher ESG ratings and making them more attention in the ESG investment field. It can be anticipated that in the future, as ESG investment gradually becomes the mainstream, central enterprises with high ESG ratings are more likely to attract the attention of investment institutions, thereby bringing more capital inflows to the enterprise. Therefore, by improving the quality of ESG information disclosure, central enterprises can not only promote the improvement of their own ESG construction level but also play a greater industry-leading role in the field of green finance.

Enterprises with good performance in ESG risk management often gain higher trust from investors. This trust is transformed into actual financial support, enabling these enterprises to finance at lower capital costs, thereby promoting the continuous and healthy development of the enterprise. Therefore, ESG information disclosure is not only related to corporate social responsibility but also directly affects the economic benefits and market competitiveness of the enterprise.

The ESG information disclosure ability of central enterprises more reflects financial risk control ability and brand value. When examining investment targets, one of the elements that investors currently pay attention to is the enterprise's ESG risk. This risk area not only covers the impact of the enterprise's operations on the environment but also includes its assumption of social responsibility and the transparency of corporate governance. ESG information disclosure can effectively alleviate the information asymmetry between companies and investors, allowing investors to have a more comprehensive understanding of the company's operations. In essence, it paints a more three-dimensional image of the company for investors, enabling them to assess the company's long-term value and potential risks based on more comprehensive information. If investors regard ESG as a signal of corporate sustainable development and are optimistic about it, it will lead to higher stock prices, better bond returns, and more resilient fund market performance. Thereby, the enterprise can achieve a wider range of financial products. For example, a company that actively engages in environmental protection and has achieved significant results in this area may be more investment-worthy due to its alignment with future sustainable development trends. On the contrary, companies that perform poorly in ESG may face greater operational risks and market distrust. Investors, with more information about the company's operations and governance, can make wiser investment decisions. This not only protects the interests of investors but also promotes the healthy development of the capital market and the healthy competition of enterprises.

Against this background, enterprises have the responsibility and necessity to fully demonstrate their professional capabilities in ESG risk management and efficient corporate governance mechanisms to stakeholders, especially the financial market. This is not only to comply with increasingly strict regulatory requirements but also to establish and maintain the reputation of the enterprise.

ESG information disclosure can enhance the image and brand value of central enterprise listed companies. Central enterprise listed companies that actively disclose ESG information can usually establish a good corporate image in the minds of the public and investors. This image shaping stems from the company's profound understanding and active assumption of social and environmental responsibilities. Central enterprises demonstrate their firm commitment to sustainable development by publicly and transparently displaying their efforts and achievements in environmental protection, social responsibility, and corporate governance. Through specific cases of central enterprise listed companies, we can see that actively disclosing ESG information not only helps enterprises establish a good social image but also can effectively enhance the company's brand value and market competitiveness. In today's increasingly emphasis on sustainable development, this responsible approach will undoubtedly attract more investors with a long-term investment perspective, thereby bringing a more stable and sustainable development prospect for the enterprise.

Central enterprises should work hard on the construction of green finance ESG system information disclosure. The ESG report, as the enterprise's "second financial report," is a key handle for comprehensive information disclosure of the enterprise. It not only helps enterprises enhance their attractiveness in the capital market and improve value creation ability but also significantly improves the efficiency of market value management. For central enterprises, optimizing the ESG report is the only way to high-quality development and also an important entry point for promoting enterprise green transformation. In order to more deeply promote ESG construction and management, and more fully utilize the dividends of ESG investment and financing channels, it is necessary to optimize the ESG reports of central enterprises and improve the ESG information disclosure rate.Central enterprises' green finance ESG-related work should follow new standards and draw on advanced practices. For a long time, ESG reporting has lacked unified standards in terms of disclosure formats, evaluation indicators, and market regulation. The release of the "Enterprise Sustainable Disclosure Standards - Basic Standards (Draft for Comments)" marks that the standards and frameworks for ESG reporting in China are gradually moving towards unification, with a clear timetable and implementation plan already established. Therefore, it is recommended that central enterprises follow the guidance of the new standards to optimize the structure of ESG reports to enhance their clarity and rationality. In addition, each central enterprise can actively learn from the ESG reporting disclosure models and mechanisms of leading companies in the industry to absorb their successful experiences, and continuously optimize and improve their own ESG report preparation and disclosure levels based on their actual situation.

Furthermore, it is necessary to further enrich the information disclosed in ESG reports and promote green transformation and enhance social trust. In terms of environmental information disclosure, central enterprises have significantly improved environmental transparency and corporate responsibility by detailing their pollution reduction and resource-saving measures, and have also strongly promoted green transformation. Taking Huadian International as an example, the company's ESG report highlights carbon dioxide emissions and power supply standard coal consumption, fully demonstrating the company's determination and effectiveness in environmental protection. However, there are also some shortcomings, such as insufficient data quantification in environmental information disclosure by some central and state-owned enterprises, lacking specific data support, making it difficult for the outside world to accurately assess their environmental protection effects. To improve the comparability and readability of environmental information, central enterprises need to strengthen the collection and quantitative analysis of relevant data. For example, carbon emissions and energy consumption can be regularly monitored and recorded to provide specific and accurate values in ESG reports. In addition, professional analysis tools and methods can be used to deeply analyze the data, thereby revealing the company's strengths and weaknesses in the environmental aspect.

In terms of social responsibility information disclosure, central enterprises have demonstrated their active actions in protecting employee rights and supporting public welfare undertakings, not only highlighting their social responsibility but also enhancing social trust. However, there are issues with selective disclosure and lack of third-party verification. To improve this situation, central enterprises should fully and objectively disclose social responsibility information, avoid evading or downplaying unfavorable information, and ensure the completeness and objectivity of the information. At the same time, a third-party independent verification mechanism should be introduced to check the authenticity and reliability of corporate social responsibility information, thereby further enhancing the company's social image and credibility.

In terms of corporate governance information disclosure, central enterprises have improved the transparency of corporate governance and promoted standardized operations by showcasing their internal management structures and decision-making mechanisms. However, there are still issues with limited disclosure content and uneven disclosure quality. To optimize corporate governance information disclosure, companies should more fully disclose sensitive information, such as the composition of executive compensation and related party transactions, to enhance the comprehensiveness of the information. At the same time, efforts should be made to establish unified corporate governance information disclosure standards and specifications to improve the comparability and usefulness of information between different companies. This will help investors make wiser decisions and further enhance the transparency and credibility of central enterprises.

In summary, central enterprises need to actively respond to the call and deployment of the central financial work conference, adhere to the path of high-quality development that is green and low-carbon under the top-level design promotion of the financial "five major articles", and strengthen the construction of green finance ESG system in subsequent financial work, especially focusing on the construction of ESG information disclosure capabilities, to build a new development model that is green and sustainable.