by Vivian Yang

On June 20, 2023, JD.com released its 2022 ESG report, which underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to integrating responsible practices throughout its operations. The report highlights JD.com’s seamless integration of its business development philosophy with the concept of building a “Responsible Supply Chain.” This strategic approach drives continuous improvements in environmental, social, and governance practices, solidifying JD.com’s position as a forward-thinking real economy enterprise.

By successfully implementing this integrated approach, JD.com is better poised to navigate external uncertainties while reinforcing its commitment to sustainable growth. The company combines the foundational attributes of the real economy in its DNA with cutting-edge technologies and expertise, enabling it to serve as a catalyst for the digital transformation of tangible businesses. In doing so, JD.com fosters high-quality growth, positioning itself at the forefront of innovation and driving positive change in the industry.

The full report provides a deep dive into the company’s achievements. Notable data highlights include:

Green Warehouses: By the end of 2022, JD Property, a subsidiary of JD.com and the infrastructure asset management and integrated service platform within the group, equipped 23 intelligent industrial parks with distributed photovoltaic power generation systems. This generated 132.5 MW of capacity, resulting in 81,970 MWh of green energy usage.

Innovative Green Stream Boxes: JD Logistics has deployed 200,000 reusable Green Stream boxes across 30 cities, resulting in more than 20 million deployments to date.

Direct Shipping and Packaging Reduction: Through collaborations with thousands of merchants, JD pioneered direct shipping in original packaging,  leading to an anticipated reduction of 10 billion disposable packages, thereby conserving approximately 20 million trees.

Transition to New Energy Transportation: By the end of 2022, JD Logistics deployed 5,418 self-owned new energy vehicles across the country. The company aims to achieve 100% new energy logistics transportation by 2030.

Energy Management Solutions: JD Cloud has achieved a clean energy usage rate of over 35% in operating its data centers. Based on its sophisticated IoT operating system, JD Industrials, a subsidiary of JD.com and a leading industrial supply chain technology and service provider, has launched a comprehensive energy management solution that can monitor and track energy consumption, including carbon emissions, in real-time. Currently, this solution has served over 40,000 customers in 62 of JD’s Asia No.1 logistics parks.

Promoting Green Consumption: In 2022, JD Retail facilitated over 100,000 household appliance trade-ins, with user participation increasing by over 200% year-on-year, and order volume increased by 300%. JD Retail and Five Star Appliances, an offline home appliances company owned by JD.com, have recycled more than 5.94 million discarded electrical appliances.

Growing Workforce: The total number of employees in the JD system (including staff from non-listed affiliates) has exceeded 560,000, with 80% of front-line warehousing and delivery employees coming from rural areas.

Improved Employee Accommodation: JD.com launched the “JD Youth City” project in May 2022. It is expected to provide 4,000 fully furnished apartments for its employees to alleviate their housing burdens and enhance their work-life balance. Similar apartments are available in various workplaces and industrial parks across the country, totaling 25,000 units.

Expansive Supply Chain Services: JD provides supply chain services to over 8 million active enterprise customers, including more than 90% of Fortune Global 500 companies with operations in China, as well as nearly 70% of “specialized, innovative, and small-and-medium-sized enterprises” across the country.

Rural Revitalization: JD’s “March to Rich” initiative for rural revitalization has achieved deep cooperation with more than 2,000 industrial belts nationwide, set to surpass its target of driving over RMB 1 trillion in rural output value.

Customer Service Excellence: JD has built a robust 20,000-strong customer service team to respond to customer needs 24/7. JD has invested nearly RMB 80 billion over the past five years to provide over 200 unique of services for customers. Among them, more than 80 services, including “211 Express” same or next-day delivery service and “Door-to-Door Replacement,” are industry-first and unique.

Empowering Offline Stores: JD’s supply chain also supports 3.67 million brick-and-mortar stores, such as pharmacies, franchised stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, and auto repair shops. JD Electronics’ flagship stores cover 60,000 villages nationwide through its 15,000 stores. Through JD’s omnichannel programs, including JD Show Now, JDDJ and more, 380,000 physical retail stores in 2,000 districts and counties across the country can provide customers with instant retail services.

ESG Committee: In early 2023, JD.com officially established a board-level ESG committee, overseeing key areas such as climate, environment, risk, health and safety, business ethics, product safety and services, and diversity and inclusivity. Women directors on JD’s board comprise nearly 43% of the total, exemplifying the company’s commitment to gender diversity and inclusivity. Notably, Sandy Xu, CEO of JD.com, made history as the industry’s first female CEO, setting a powerful precedent for women in leadership roles. Furthermore, JD.com proudly maintains a workforce where women make up 46% of employees, fostering an environment that values and promotes gender equality throughout the organization.

On June 18, 2023, JD released its “35711 Vision,” pledging to create vast social value over the next 20 years. It also outlines ambitious goals to fulfill its social responsibility including investing more than RMB 3 trillion yuan in salaries and benefits for frontline employees, helping over 100 million farmers increase their income through JD’s “March to Rich” initiative for rural revitalization, collaborating with 60 million small and micro-enterprises for digital transformation, establishing supply chain infrastructure services in markets accounting for 80% of the world’s economy, and achieving comprehensive carbon neutrality.

(vivian.yang@jd.com)