On April 28th, the Press Conference of Foton Motor’s Sustainable Development Report was held at its headquarters in Beijing. At the conference, the company systematically disclosed its strategic layout and practical achievements in the fields of environment, society, and corporate governance. It presented a panoramic view of Foton’s sense of responsibility and innovative breakthroughs in the wave of the global energy revolution and industrial transformation. Guided by the “Double Carbon” goal, driven by scientific and technological innovation, and with a global perspective, Foton has delivered a high-quality sustainable development report to its stakeholders.
In the ESG report, Chang Rui, Chairman of Foton Motor, wrote: “With the original aspiration of ‘Planting Blessings in Many Places and Benefiting Hundreds of Millions of People’ and the corporate mission of ‘Providing Green Solutions for the Energy Revolution’, Foton Motor has always deeply embedded the ESG concept in its corporate strategy and development. It has bravely taken on the mission in the deep cultivation of green development, the realization of value creation, and the promotion of social progress. It has continuously fulfilled the responsibilities of a state-owned enterprise with the ‘Foton Speed’ and demonstrated China’s strength with the ‘Foton Solution’.”
At the press conference, Gong Haidong, Deputy General Manager and Spokesperson of Foton Motor, gave an in-depth interpretation of the 2024 Sustainable Development Report and said: “Currently, the penetration rate of new energy in China’s industries is increasing year by year, and Chinese new energy vehicles have become the core engine driving the transformation of the global automotive industry. In the key technology fields of the three-electric systems and intelligence, Chinese enterprises continue to break through the boundaries of innovation, and the global automotive industry pattern is undergoing a disruptive reconstruction.” In this wave of transformation, Foton keenly grasped the industry trend and deeply integrated the ESG concept into its corporate strategy. In 2024, it achieved a total sales volume of 614,000 vehicles, remaining at the top of the industry for many consecutive years. Among them, the sales volume of new energy vehicles increased by 34.98% year-on-year, and the number of overseas exports was 153,000 vehicles, ranking first for 14 consecutive years, demonstrating the strong driving force of the coordinated development of traditional businesses and the transformation to new energy.
Environmental Governance: Focusing on the “Double Carbon” Strategy to Drive Green Transformation
In 2024, Foton Motor reduced carbon emissions by approximately 13,000 tons across its entire value chain, a decrease of 17.71% compared to the base year, which is equivalent to planting 630,000 trees on the earth. Thanks to the carbon footprint management throughout the product life cycle, six models of Foton Motor have obtained the first batch of carbon footprint label certifications for commercial vehicles. To further achieve the strategic goals of “reaching carbon peak in 2028, achieving carbon neutrality in core factories in 2035, and achieving carbon neutrality across the entire value chain in 2050”, Foton firmly promotes the implementation of the “EPMES” Double Carbon Project, making coordinated efforts around the five core paths of “energy efficiency”, “products”, “manufacturing”, “ecology”, and “system”.
In terms of procurement and manufacturing, Foton has jointly developed green steel with leading steel mills. While promoting its own carbon reduction, it coordinates the low-carbon transformation of suppliers and jointly carries out green certification, carbon footprint management, and photovoltaic construction. At the same time, it vigorously promotes the innovative application of energy-saving technologies such as waste heat recovery and air heat pump technology. A total of 33 megawatts of photovoltaic power generation facilities have been built, and it has been rated as three national-level green factories and two green supply chain enterprises. At the same time, it actively explores methods to improve resource efficiency, optimizes resource utilization efficiency, and strictly controls pollutant emissions. Ten units have passed the ISO14001 environmental management system certification, the water resource recycling rate has reached 86%, nearly 40,000 tons of reclaimed water have been recycled, and the compliance rate of pollutant emissions is 100%. A total of 1,429.5 tons of waste have been reduced, and components such as motors, electronic controls, and high-voltage harnesses have all been returned to the factory for remanufacturing.
In terms of reducing carbon emissions through technology, Gong Haidong said: “Foton is accelerating its transformation from a traditional manufacturing enterprise to a technology-based enterprise. It adheres to the three-pronged approach of ‘pure electric + hybrid + hydrogen fuel’, actively lays out core independent modules and key technologies, and forms unique technical advantages in new energy products.” Among them, IECO’s “Electric Drive” has achieved independent research and development and in-house production of the core modules of the three-electric system. The FHS hybrid technology platform integrates more than 40 cutting-edge technologies at the exclusive hardware architecture level and achieves the optimization of 65 exclusive strategies at the software level. It can save more than 10% of energy compared to traditional fuel vehicles, and the starting and acceleration performance is improved by 30%. It has also undergone strict tests in 256 complex working conditions and scenarios and been verified over a distance of 12 million kilometers. In terms of hydrogen fuel technology, it has laid out key core technologies such as high-power fuel cells, fuel cell thermal management technology, and the integration of engineered gas-liquid hydrogen storage and supply systems with high safety and high hydrogen storage density. The independently developed 300kW hydrogen fuel cell engine has achieved three breakthroughs in “power, efficiency, and lifespan”. The engine efficiency has exceeded 63%, and its extremely cold starting ability at -35°C covers all operation scenarios in China, with a mass power density of 811W/kg.
To further accelerate technology transfer and promote the sustainable development of the enterprise, in 2024, the research and development investment reached 2.12 billion yuan. Relying on the “1+2+9+3+3” global R&D network, Foton continuously transforms its technological advantages into industry discourse power. In 2024, it formulated 21 national standards and applied for 634 patents, including 231 invention patents. Up to now, Foton has accumulated obtained more than 7,000 patents, among which there are more than 1,000 new energy patents. It has been rated as a “Science and Reform Enterprise” in a special evaluation by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, won the first prize of the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing Science and Technology Award, and the gold award of the 18th Beijing Invention and Innovation Competition and many other innovative technology awards.
Ecological innovation is also a major highlight of sustainable development. In terms of the construction of the energy replenishment ecosystem, Foton has completed the adaptation of the four technical route scenarios of charging/hydrogen energy/battery swapping/microgrid, and has built an ecological closed loop of vehicles-energy-scenarios-services. In the future, it will invest in the construction of more than 100 energy replenishment stations and add nearly 2,000 new charging piles, with the electricity for charging and battery swapping increasing by more than 120 million kWh.
In IECO’s Smart Ecology, focusing on the needs of customers throughout their life cycle, Foton continuously expands the boundaries of services, focusing on ecological services in five categories of “energy, leasing, digital intelligence, maintenance and parts supply, and used cars”. Among them, the used car and digital intelligence businesses have been successfully implemented and quickly transformed into ecological business service capabilities.
In terms of the Internet of Vehicles, based on the integration of 5.78 million pieces of user data, information of 2.9 million vehicles, 3 million pieces of road data, 12,000 pieces of cargo information, and 4.05 million pieces of vehicle operation scenario data, Foton has constructed a big data model for the Internet of Vehicles. Through the B-end fleet system and the C-end “Foton e Home” APP, it provides customers with full life cycle services. Facing the trend of the intelligence of the global automotive industry, adhering to digital transformation as the engine, with the industrial Internet technology foundation of “one cloud, four connections, and four modernizations”, with the resolution of more than 23 million industrial identification codes and the traceability of 53.2 million key components as the core, it has unblocked the data artery of the industrial chain.
Social Responsibility: Planting Blessings in Many Places to Create a Community for Sustainable Development
In the field of social responsibility, Foton Motor adheres to working in the same direction as suppliers, dealers, users, the government, and investors, achieving mutual success, and jointly building an open, inclusive, and mutually beneficial ecological system.
In terms of the comprehensive international layout, Foton continues to deeply promote the transformation of its overseas business from trade to industrialization, focusing on the overseas “GREEN3030” strategic goal. It deeply promotes the transformation of its overseas business from trade to industrialization in six aspects, including commodity definition, product research and development, supply chain system, manufacturing and delivery, marketing, and customer operation. It has constructed a full-chain overseas expansion model of localized research and development-manufacturing-service closed loop, continuously contributing to local construction.
In terms of social service guarantee and social responsibility, Foton Motor has successively provided services and guarantees for national grand events and international events such as the 70th National Day Celebration, the G20 Summit, the APEC Meeting, the Beijing “Double Olympics”, and the National “Two Sessions”. It has received thank-you letters from the Beijing Municipal Government, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and the Red Cross Society of Jilin Province, etc., interpreting the statement of “Where there is a great national event, there is Foton” with actions. In addition, it actively fulfills its social responsibility. In 2024, it successively invested 8.11 million yuan to support rural revitalization, established a technician college in Xinjiang, and trained skilled talents from ethnic minorities in the western region. At the same time, the public welfare action of “The Whistle in the Mountains” has benefited left-behind children in six provinces. In critical moments such as the mountain fires in Chongqing and the floods in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, the Foton motorcade has always been at the forefront. A total of 1,227 volunteers have provided services for 2,160 hours, demonstrating the enterprise’s sense of responsibility with practical actions.
In terms of employee care, in 2024, the employee training coverage rate of Foton Motor was 100%. It cultivated seven national technical experts and 14 senior skilled talents of various types in Beijing. It coordinated employees’ work and life in many aspects such as housing security, cultural and sports activities, and health care, comprehensively improving employees’ happiness.
Corporate Governance: Strengthening the Foundation of Governance to Escort High-quality Development
Through the innovation of the governance system and the shaping of a compliance culture, Foton Motor has won many corporate governance honors, such as the Class A evaluation for information disclosure of listed companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the “Golden Round Table Award” and the “Board of Directors Value Creation Award” of the 19th Board of Directors of Chinese Listed Companies, and the “Best Practice of the Board of Directors Office of Listed Companies”. Based on the risk management model of “unified leadership, hierarchical responsibility, and classified management” and the comprehensive risk management organizational structure, Foton Motor has clearly established a “three lines of defense” mechanism for risk management, deepened the coordination of the business and finance teams, and provided a solid guarantee for the stable operation and sustainable development of the company. By adhering to the integrity system, continuously establishing a bottom-line thinking in ideology, and strengthening the awareness of the red line, it has laid a solid foundation for promoting the “Double Carbon” goal and continuously moving towards a world-class commercial vehicle enterprise.
Facing the future, based on the strategic direction of “comprehensive new energy transformation, comprehensive intelligence, and comprehensive internationalization”, standing at the historical node of the conclusion of the “14th Five-Year Plan” and the goal of “striving to become a world-class commercial vehicle enterprise”, Foton Motor is reshaping the industrial pattern of commercial vehicles with new-quality productivity. With the power of scientific and technological innovation, the aspiration of jointly building an ecosystem, and the strategy of global layout, on the road to sustainable development, it is moving forward towards the goal of “achieving carbon neutrality across the entire value chain in 2050” and providing a “Chinese sample” for the green transformation of the global transportation industry.
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