SSE Publishes ESG Practice in Two Decades Guided by "Two Mountains" Philosophy
August 15, 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the birth of the "Two Mountains" philosophy1, which holds the belief that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets". To celebrate this milestone, Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) publishes SSE ESG Practice in Two Decades Guided by "Two Mountains" Philosophy (the "ESG Practice"), to share with the market the SSE progress on the ESG front in the past two decades.
The "Two Mountains" philosophy proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping in 2005 is a core principle of China's ecological civilization and an important theory guiding Chinese modernization. Under the overall guidance of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the SSE is committed to implementing the "Two Mountains" philosophy. Leveraging its pivotal role and function as a platform of the capital market, the SSE prioritizes ESG reforms in institutional framework, financial instruments and services, and guides listed companies, investors and other market participants to allocate more resources toward green and low-carbon transition as well as social responsibility, thereby facilitating the transformation between ecological conservation and economic prosperity.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the philosophy, the SSE releases the ESG Practice to provide a comprehensive review of two decades of ESG efforts in the Shanghai market. By compiling major ESG milestones, representative cases and market-building achievements, it seeks to present the profound impact of the "Two Mountains" concept on the capital market from the perspective of ESG practice in Shanghai. First is a comprehensive timeline of milestones. ESG Practice traces the path of major policies and development milestones to illustrate the three stages of Shanghai's ESG journey: from budding and initiation, exploration and growth, to systematic enhancement. Second is "annual snapshots" of company practice. ESG Practice selects 32 leading companies in green development from 17 industries including biomedicine, oil and petrochemicals, power equipment, and public utilities. It presents the benchmark cases or significant breakthroughs in each year in the form of "annual shapshots". These clips are a microcosm of the whole journey that SSE-listed enterprises have taken from sporadic voluntary ESG disclosure to standardized and systematic reporting, showcasing their achievements in green and low-carbon transition and in undertaking social responsibilities. Third is an ESG story told through data points. ESG Practice presents the SSE's ESG achievements over the past two decades by data. As of now, over 1,300 companies listed on the SSE have disclosed separate ESG related reports for 2024, setting a new record of 57% in terms of disclosure rate. The SSE owns a globally leading green bond market with a cumulative issuance of 862.7 billion yuan. A total of 90 products are tracking indices related to sustainable development, with a combined market cap of 73.192 billion yuan. 157 broad-based index products are tracking "A series" indices including CSI A500 Index, as well as SSE 180 Index and other indices that apply the CSI ESG evaluation methodology, with a combined market cap of 252.848 billion yuan. As the concept of ESG continues to evolve in scope and depth, ESG investment and financing have grown significantly on the SSE market, further enhancing the global competitiveness of China's capital market.
The release of ESG Practices aims to guide all market participants to further engage in and implement sustainable development principles. The SSE will further optimize ESG disclosure standards, improve ESG rating levels, and diversify ESG financial products to enhance corporate performance in ESG and foster a collaborative ESG ecosystem. These efforts will help to promote wider and more in-depth adoption of the "Two Mountains" philosophy, contribute to the "Five Major Areas of Finance" and better serve high-quality economic and social development.
SSE ESG Practice in Two Decades Guided by "Two Mountains" Philosophy
1.The literal translation of the original Chinese phrase is "clear waters and green mountains are as good as mountains of gold and silver", hence the abbreviation "Two Mountains".