Sep 26, 2021| ESG

JD’s Digital Contracting Platform Save Resources Tremendously

Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang

JD Technology kicked off a new round of promotion of its digital contracting services on September 17th, aiming to bring the blockchain-based technology to more SMEs and support them to go paperless in business operation.

To date, JD’s digital contracting platform has assisted on managing over 4 billion contracts for more than 500,000 enterprise users. If a contract uses 10 pieces of A4 paper on average, the platform has accumulatively saved 40 billion pieces of paper so far, which equates to the save of 13 million trees and reducing more than 4 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

A number of China’s well-known enterprises such as Xiamen ITG Group Corp. adopted the platform recently, and estimates show that the service will help them save 80% time in the work of contract processing, and lower costs of contract signing by 60%.

Enabled by digital certificates and blockchain, the service makes sure that all parties in a transaction can share the same view of a live contract, and every step and revision of the contract is recorded, creating a tamper-proof audit trail. The blockchain system can also enable hashlock on confidential contracts to ensure the safety of the original document and data privacy.

As a one-stop solution, the platform offers contract templates, digital stamps, e-signing, archiving services and more. All data is strictly scrutinized before being connected to the platform, and will continue to go through rigid reviews in every step of data generation, transfer, storage and other actions to secure data authenticity. More importantly, the complete evidence chain is synchronized with courts, notary offices and other judicial bodies, ensuring contacts’ judicial validity and management efficiency.

Heavy technology aside, the platform is easy to use, as it supports multi-interfaces on computers, app, Wechat mini program and more, as well as simultaneous actions by different people.

New users of the platform will not only enjoy discounts and a service package for free, but also become a certified member of JD’s “zero-carbon enterprise” program.

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

Jan 19, 2023| ESG, JD Retail

JD.com and APEC Women Leadership Forum Co-Launch Report on Women’s Contributions to Sustainable Consumption and Production

Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang

APEC Women Leadership Forum, the premier platform on fostering women’s economic empowerment among the 21 economies of the Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and JD.com co-launched the “APEC Report: Observation of Women’s Value in Sustainable Consumption and Production,” on January 14 in Sanya Hainan province, which adopted extensive surveys and consumption data to examine the role of women as both producers and consumers in advancing sustainability.

The report found that women instinctively lead the green consumption path with their actions, and their shopping choices often determine the consumption patterns of each household. Meanwhile, women demonstrate prominent leadership in driving the “Sustainability/ SDG / CSR” fields in the corporate world.

Shopping greener “before you know it”

Based on the results of a survey conducted by JD.com’s Consumption and Industry Development Institute on over 2,000 respondents on the topic of responsible consumption, women weigh “environmentally friendly” as a much higher consideration than men when considering products. In fact, it is the only factor on which they outscored men, whereas the latter showed comparatively more concerns for other factors such as brand, culture, and price.

Interestingly, when being asked about the concept and their understanding of sustainable consumption, female respondents gave themselves more moderate ratings than male did, with only 49.75 percent choosing “understand very well” and “understand,” while 31.19 percent opted for “not sure.” However, their feedback on actual shopping choices unveiled a stronger tendency towards energy-saving, trade-in, replaceable and recyclable products, especially in the categories of home appliances, furnishing and decorations, office supplies, car accessories, footwear, health products and more. These results demonstrate that women may have a deeper understanding about the concept of sustainable consumption than they give themselves credit for, as they are more likely to choose sustainable products instinctively.

When asked, “Which player is more important in promoting sustainable consumption?” Forty-four percent of female respondents chose “consumers” over “product makers” （30 percent）, and “circulators” (27 percent). Female respondents also showed higher approval of producers for behavior categories including offering job opportunities, supporting disadvantaged groups, proper waste handling and more.

Shaping sustainable producers with “SHE Power”

With more and more enterprises setting up the dedicated function of “Sustainability/ SDG /CSR,” the role to implement these initiatives is mainly led by women, accounting for over 60 percent in surveyed companies that have set up such dedicated departments, and 82 percent in other companies that have relevant positions, according to APEC Women Leadership Forum’s research on women business leaders, in a new attempt to study women’s role as producers in sustainable consumption.

According to the surveys on which the report is based, women leaders demonstrate stronger focus on long-term value and innovation for sustainable solutions, with respondents expressing that they started formulating relevant thinking 6 to 10 years ago (30 percent). A majority are driven by the factors of “enterprise development need” (76 percent), “inspired by global trends” (73 percent), and “guided by domestic policies” (73 percent).

The report also noted that it is urgent for the whole society to enhance awareness of responsible consumption and production amid global uncertainties in order to continue making progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal. Meanwhile, how to strike a balance between the Goal and enterprise ROI, and the lack of unified ESG standards, talents and corporate capacities, all pose threats to this course.

As a leading supply chain-based technology and service provider, JD.com is committed to collaborating with upstream and downstream partners and the whole society to collectively build a more productive and sustainable world. JD.com’s green supply chain efforts, known as the “Green Stream Initiative,” have so far engaged more than 300,000 enterprises in carbon reduction activities ranging from packaging, warehousing, transportation, product recycling and more. On the demand side, the company introduced the “Green Impact Initiative” in May 2022, which made nearly a million kinds of products on its platform more identifiable with environmentally-friendly labels, in order to raise awareness among its hundreds of millions users.

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

| ESG, JD Retail

JD.com Recognized for Best Practice of Women Empowerment by APEC

Vivian Yang

by Vivian Yang and Tong Shen

JD.com was recognized among those with the best innovation practices in women’s empowerment by the APEC Women’s Leadership Forum, which was held on January 14 in Sanya, China. The recognition was given based on JD Retail’s special program, known as the “Sunshine Angels,” which aims to provide physically challenged people with online customer service job opportunities with an energetic team led by women leaders.

Encouraging gender equality, enhancing women’s rights and abilities, and engaging them in the development of digital economies were among the main considerations of the APEC jury while assessing each case submitted for this year’s final nominees.

The “Sunshine Angels” program was selected mainly for its inclusiveness toward physically challenged female employees in the fast-growing e-commerce industry, enabling them not only gain confidence in themselves, but also create value for society, which is in line with the UN’s SDG to promote sustainable consumption and production.

At present, the “Sunshine Angels” team has expanded from 12 to nearly 100 people, with women accounting for 70 percent of the core members, contributing greatly to the team’s strength. The following two stories of team members shed some light on how the program raises women up in their professions and beyond.

Inclusiveness and equality

Huili Song is a congenital cleft lip and palate patient, with dysphonia. She had been rejected more than 40 times for jobs before becoming a JD.com online customer service representative in the “Sunshine Angels” Project. According to Song, the compensation and benefits, promotion opportunities, training programs, and other benefits that are same as non-disabled employees have boosted her self-esteem and ambition. Despite her struggles with pronunciation, her gift of articulate communication has been fully demonstrated and brought into play through typing in her current role. She has placed 1^st in performance for six consecutive months, demonstrating her excellent work ethic and potential to be cultivated as a leader.

Concerning the physical protection and mental support of the “Sunshine Angels,” JD has set up exclusive barrier-free facilities in office areas, restaurants, dormitories and washrooms etc., and regular gatherings and counseling are provided at no charge.

In addition, JD.com has continued co-working with third parties to enrich employment for physically challenged people, and has provided technical training for thousands of individuals so far.

For example, in 2017, JD cooperated with China Foundation for Disabled Persons (CFDP) and L’Oreal Group to provide a variety of support options for physically challenged people, such as counseling, employment training and diversified job positions, ultimately helping 400 such individuals get their jobs.

Regain confidence in life even when struggling

On the “Sunshine Angels” team, there are many women who are keen to participate in voluntary activities, using their own personal experiences to inspire more people who struggle with physical challenges. Shenghua Luo, who cannot walk normally due to a congenital disease, has taken the initiative to participate in more than 800 voluntary activities to make a difference and has set an example for many physically challenged people with her optimistic attitude towards life, helping more than 100 physically challenged people to regain their confidence in life.

During the past ten years, through working with JD.com, more and more “Sunshine Angels” have replenished their hope, recognized their own value, had more control over their lives, and provide services to society.

(vivian.yang@jd.com)

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