General Secretary Xi Jinping has consistently advocated the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Ministries and commissions under the State Council, particularly the Ministry of Finance and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), have successively issued documents requiring centrally administered state-owned enterprises and listed companies to carry out ESG disclosure in a rigorous manner.
China’s international shipping and logistics companies, particularly leading enterprises and listed companies, have subsequently begun publishing ESG disclosures. By 2025, a total of 73 companies had released ESG reports.
To highlight the distinctive ESG characteristics of the international shipping and logistics industry, the Top 50 Shipping Elites Research Center (50SERC) launched the development of the association standard General Rules for ESG Evaluation of International Shipping and Logistics Enterprises in June 2024.
Following extensive research, careful drafting and detailed expert review, the association standard General Rules for ESG Evaluation of International Shipping and Logistics Enterprises (T/CCTAS 222—2025) was approved by the Standardization Committee of the China Communications and Transportation Association on June 10, 2025, and officially made its global debut in Tianjin on June 12, 2025.
Global Launch Ceremony of the General Rules for ESG Evaluation of International Shipping and Logistics Enterprises
To promote the widespread application of the association standard T/CCTAS 222—2025, 50SERC decided to collaborate with China Shipping Gazette (CSG) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University to establish the editorial committee for the 2024–2025 Annual ESG Report on the International Shipping and Logistics Industry (Green Paper).
A total of 15 organizations, including research institutions affiliated with the Ministry of Transport, universities, and representative companies from the industry, have been invited to participate in the compilation, publication and distribution of the Green Paper.
An expert meeting of the Green Paper Editorial Committee, initiated by 50SERC, was held online on the afternoon of September 7, 2026. Sixteen experts and representatives from universities, research institutions, and port, shipping and logistics companies attended the meeting and exchanged views on ESG evaluation for international shipping and logistics companies, the weighting of evaluation indicators, and the compilation of the Green Paper.
The Editorial Committee first confirmed the scope of international shipping and logistics companies covered by the study and collected ESG reports and annual reports published in 2024 and 2025 by 73 listed companies.
Through data cleaning and trial calculations based on these reports, the committee verified the applicability of the indicators and recommended calculation methodology set out in the association standard.
The primary task of the meeting was to solicit opinions from industry experts and determine the weightings of the ESG indicators for international shipping and logistics companies.
At the meeting, Zhao Yifei gave a brief introduction to the development and publication of the ESG association standard, as well as the overall concept and progress of the Green Paper project.
According to the compilation plan, the project team will produce ESG evaluation results for China’s international shipping and logistics companies and, on this basis, complete the compilation and publication of the Green Paper.
Zhao Yifei, Executive Director of the Expert Committee of the Top 50 Shipping Elites Research Center
Kou Ying introduced the data collection and preliminary trial calculations for the 73 sample companies.
The Editorial Committee has currently completed data collection covering 142 evaluation indicators for all 73 companies and conducted preliminary calculations using an equal-weighting approach.
During its data analysis, the Editorial Committee found that although some companies disclosed a relatively large number of indicators, they did not receive corresponding scores because their disclosure content and methods differed from the evaluation requirements specified in the association standard.
For some lower-ranked companies, further analysis is also required to distinguish weaknesses in their actual ESG management from the effects caused by the way ESG information is disclosed.
The findings will provide useful references for companies seeking to improve ESG information disclosure and enhance their overall ESG management performance.
Shen Xiaoyi introduced the methodology for determining the weightings of ESG evaluation indicators and the design of the questionnaires.
To more accurately reflect the relative importance of different indicators, the Editorial Committee adopted the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for weighting.
Pairwise-comparison questionnaires were designed for the first- and second-level indicators, while third- and fourth-level indicators were assessed using a direct 1-to-5 scoring method. A total of five questionnaires were developed.
During the meeting, 13 experts completed the indicator-weighting questionnaires.
To fully incorporate the perspectives of different types of institutions and companies, each expert was asked to evaluate all questions.
After the questionnaires are consolidated, the project team will conduct a consistency test and organize further reviews where necessary based on the results. The process will ultimately determine the weightings of all 142 evaluation indicators.
The participating experts also exchanged views on indicator weighting, analysis of evaluation results and compilation of the Green Paper, and provided comments and recommendations that will serve as professional references for further improving the publication.
50SERC plans to announce the overall ESG evaluation results for China’s international shipping and logistics industry, together with the ESG ratings of 73 key companies, in mid-November 2026.
The 2024–2025 Annual ESG Report on the International Shipping and Logistics Industry (Green Paper) is scheduled to be published by the end of December 2026.
Participating Experts and Representatives
Zhao Yifei
Executive Director of the Expert Committee, Top 50 Shipping Elites Research Center
Liu Xiaolei
Director, Port, Shipping and Logistics (Maritime Development) Research Office, Development Center, China Academy of Transportation Sciences, Ministry of Transport
Zhao Fangmin
Associate Research Fellow, Environmental Protection Center, Ministry of Transport
Hu Jiankun
Associate Professor, Institute of Logistics Science and Engineering, Shanghai Maritime University
Yan Heqian
Deputy Business Manager, COSCO SHIPPING Specialized Carriers Co., Ltd.
Chen Fengyan
General Manager, Securities Management Department, Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., Ltd.
Yu Pengfei
Energy Management Manager, Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd.
Zhang Yi
Environmental Manager, Yantian International Container Terminals Limited
Liu Yazhen
Securities Affairs Representative and Manager of the Securities Management Department, Ningbo Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd.
Yang Shengli
Head of the Energy Efficiency Center, Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., Ltd.
Fang Zhidong
Business Representative, COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd.
Jin Liying
Strategic Investment Department, Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., Ltd.
Kou Ying
Associate Research Fellow, Sino-US Global Logistics Institute, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Zhang Xuegang
Editor-in-Chief, China Shipping Gazette
Shen Xiaoyi
PhD Candidate, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Li Guangyao
Academic Secretary, Top 50 Shipping Elites Research Center
Editor: Li Guangyao
