The European Chamber Shanghai Chapter hosted its ninth annual Sustainable Business Awards Conference and Ceremony in Shanghai on Dec 11, underscoring the importance of environmental, social, and governance principles as long-term strategies rather than short-term compliance exercises.

This year's event reaffirmed the Chamber's commitment to deepening EU-China collaboration on decarbonization, drawing on European companies' strengths in green technologies to support China's goals — peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060.

China currently accounts for 39 percent of global energy transition investment and two-thirds of the global increase.

"EU-China collaboration on sustainability creates real opportunities for both sides, with European companies' decarbonization objectives aligning closely with China's ambitions," said Carlo D'Andrea, vice president of the European Chamber and chair of the Shanghai Chapter.

He added that the Sustainable Business Awards are designed to inspire progress: “We are extremely proud of our Sustainable Business Awards, which help to build momentum toward a sustainable future by showcasing innovative solutions and best practices, and celebrating European companies that are driving meaningful change.”

Steven Basart, general manager of the European Chamber Shanghai Chapter, emphasized the evolution of the SBA program.

"Over the years, the SBA has evolved from a simple awards initiative into a platform for dialogue where learning and collaboration are being shared," he said. "We are helping companies in China to move from short-term checking the box in terms of compliance to more long-term ESG strategies."

Basart noted that the awards are inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and China's long-term policies for rural revitalization, green development, and environmental protection.

This year’s SBA recognized achievements across 11 categories, spanning efforts in biodiversity conservation, circularity and innovation, climate action, community excellence, decarbonization, diversity, equity, and inclusion, environmental governance, intelligent technology enablement, resilient supply chain and industry development, Sino-European sustainability collaboration, and talent empowerment.

Judge Stina Hinderson, head of the CSR Center at the Embassy of Sweden in Beijing, praised the Chamber's rigorous evaluation framework, commenting on her experience evaluating applications in decarbonizing leadership, environmental governance, and DEI.

"Across these areas, we have seen many innovative and impressive solutions both from multinational enterprises and small and medium enterprises, showing that all companies have a part to play," Hinderson noted, emphasizing that the highest scores were awarded to companies demonstrating clear commitment to measurable and ambitious targets across their entire value chain.

This year's awards drew a record high of 78 applications from 45 companies.

Looking ahead, the European Chamber plans to continue advancing sustainability through thematic conferences, factory tours, and ongoing dialogue, ensuring that ESG remains central to business development in Shanghai.