Fosun International's FTSE Russell ESG Rating Upgraded and Becomes First-time Constituent of FTSE4Good Index Series

 HONG KONG, June 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's leading index company, FTSE Russell, recently announced the latest ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) rating results of Fosun International Limited (HKEX stock code: 00656) ("Fosun International"). Fosun International's FTSE Russell ESG rating has improved for two consecutive years, outperforming the industry average, and has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series for the first time.

Fosun International's Inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index Series Reflects Market's Affirmation of Fosun's ESG Management Capabilities

The FTSE Rusell ESG rating mainly covers corporate governance, environmental and social. Fosun International's score has outperformed the industry average in environmental, social and governance. Compared with last year, Fosun International improved in the fields of pollution & resources, climate change, health & safety, customer responsibility, and corporate governance, among which it continued to achieve a full score in anti-corruption.

Fosun International's first inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index Series demonstrates capital market's full affirmation of the Company's ESG management capabilities, which is expected to attract more attention from investment institutions that adhere to the philosophy of ESG responsible investment. For the inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index Series, companies are required to implement corporate responsibility measures in a number of areas, including working towards environmental sustainability, mitigating and adapting to climate change, countering bribery and corruption, up-holding and supporting universal human rights, labor rights and ensuring good supply chain labor standards, and comply with strict global guidelines.

Fosun global partner system and top-down long-term ESG mechanism leads the Company's sustainable development

In order to ensure the smooth and continuous progress of ESG work, Fosun has established a top-down and long-term mechanism for ESG improvement. Fosun includes ESG management performance as an evaluation factor in the Executive Directors' performance assessment and remuneration assessment. To further improve the ESG management system, Fosun has set up an ESG Board Committee under the Board of Directors (the "Board"), at the management and decision level, Fosun has established an ESG Executive Committee under the management, at the implementation level, the Group has also set up an ESG Management Committee and an ESG Working Group to fully implement ESG strategies and related actions.

It is also critical to have a cultural base for ESG developments to better execute ESG work. Fosun's partner system is a market-based, benefit-sharing entrepreneurial mechanism. At present, Fosun has more than 140 global partners and 20 overseas partners, covering China, Japan, India, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, the United States, Israel, etc. This mechanism has enabled Fosun to cultivate talents with consistent thinking on the cultural level and a sense of identity as a member of Fosun. This sense of identity sharing across the core leadership of the Company, can help Fosun implement the ESG concepts more efficiently.

Contribute to carbon peak and carbon neutrality, act as a responsible global citizen

2021 marks the first year of Fosun's carbon neutrality. Centered around the national "carbon neutrality" strategy, the Group has set a carbon reduction target — "to achieve carbon emissions peak by 2028 and carbon neutrality by 2050" and has formulated effective strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation to align with 1.5°C temperature control target set in the Paris Agreement. To further advance Fosun's carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets, Fosun has established a Carbon Neutrality Committee and a Carbon Neutrality Working Group to actively promote implementation and enforcement of carbon neutral management across the Group.

Fosun's anti-pandemic and anti-malaria efforts demonstrate its corporate social responsibility

The COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the world since the beginning of 2020 has posed huge challenges for companies around the world.  At the beginning of the outbreak, Fosun partnered with BioNTech, a German biotechnology company, to jointly develop the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, playing an active role in the pandemic prevention and control. In the first quarter of 2022, Fosun Pharma obtained the license from the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to produce and supply the generic version of Merck's oral COVID-19 treatment Molnupiravir and Pfizer's oral COVID-19 treatment Nirmatrelvir in combination with Ritonavir to agreed low- and middle-income countries. The license includes the rights to manufacture both ingredients and the finished drug. Fosun Pharma strives to improve the accessibility and affordability of COVID-19 treatments in low- and middle-income countries or regions around the world.

Looking globally, Fosun has participated in the joint construction of a "malaria-free world" for more than 15 years. As the first Chinese pharmaceutical brand well recognized in Africa, Artesun® (artesunate for injection), self-developed and manufactured by Fosun Pharma, has been used to treat over 48 million severe malaria patients worldwide by the end of 2021. Fosun Pharma continues to innovate, its SPAQ-CO®Disp, which indicated for the prevention of malaria in children was pre-qualified by World Health Organization (WHO). Around 175 million children in high malaria transmission African countries have benefited from the "Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) Program", for which SPAQ-CO®Disp is used as the core drug. SMC with SPAQ-CO®Disp effectively reduced the morbidity of malaria in children under five years old in Africa. 

Fosun, which is about to turn 30 this year, will continue to uphold its original aspirations of developing its business for good and "Contribution to Society", actively shoulder more social responsibilities, implement ESG strategies, constantly create value and give back to the society, helping to promote high-quality development and common prosperity. With the global trend of promoting carbon neutrality, carbon emissions reduction and the sustainable development of the earth, Fosun will continue to actively cooperate with its member companies to promote the implementation of ESG strategies, especially in the areas of carbon emissions peak, carbon neutrality, energy conservation and consumption reduction, and actively promote the sustainable development of the Group.

About FTSE4Good Index Series

Launched in 2001, the FTSE4Good Index Series is the first index series to measure the performance of companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards. It aims to identify and recognize companies demonstrating strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices. Transparent management and clearly-defined ESG criteria make FTSE4Good indexes suitable tools to be used by investment advisers, asset owners, fund managers, investment banks, stock exchanges and brokers when creating or assessing sustainable investment products.

About Fosun

Founded in 1992, Fosun is a global innovation-driven consumer group dedicated to providing high-quality products and services for families around the world in Health, Happiness, Wealth, and Intelligent Manufacturing segments. In 2007, Fosun International Limited was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 00656.HK). In 2021, Fosun International's total revenue was RMB161.3 billion and total assets amounted to RMB806.4 billion. Fosun International ranks No.589 on the 2022 Forbes Global 2000 List, with a MSCI ESG rating of AA.

SOURCE Fosun