Ant Group’s ESG strategy aims to support 100 million SMEs by 2030
1.6.2022 06:07:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Ant Group, a global technology provider, today announced its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy as part of its latest sustainability report. The ESG strategy, which lays out Ant Group’s sustainable development objectives by 2030, will be implemented across all aspects of the Company’s operations.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531006112/en/
Four pillars of Ant Group’s ESG strategy and objectives by 2030 (Graphic: Business Wire)
Ant Group’s ESG strategy is focused around four pillars: Digital Inclusion, Green and Low-carbon Development, Open Ecosystem, and Technological Innovation. Each of the pillars has a corresponding sustainable development objective by 2030:
- Digital Inclusion: support 100 million small and micro-sized enterprises (SMEs) and serve communities globally
- Green and Low-carbon Development: achieve corporate carbon neutrality and support business partners and the general public to significantly reduce their carbon footprint
- Open Ecosystem: continue to provide a safe, trusted, diversified and open ecosystem to drive common development with partners
- Technological Innovation: continue to invest in core technology research and development to provide world-leading technological products and services
"We believe these are the most important pillars for Ant Group to achieve sustainable growth in a future-facing, responsible, and responsive manner,” wrote Eric Jing, Ant Group’s Chairman and CEO, in the sustainability report. ”This framework will guide Ant Group’s value creation and sustainable development in the future.”
Ant Group formulated its ESG strategy based on a comprehensive assessment of changing macro environment and policy trends, its own development strengths, and inputs from the Company’s stakeholders, including customers, users, employees, partners and governments. The ESG strategy was finalized after extensive management discussions and a detailed Board review.
After solicitating feedback from stakeholders, Ant Group defined 19 material issues for its ESG strategy, ranging from “responsible products and services,” “facilitating industry-wide carbon neutrality,” “cutting-edge technology discovery and R&D” and “transparency & risk management.”
To provide organizational support to effectively implement the ESG strategy, the Company’s Board of Directors has approved the establishment of an ESG sustainable development committee, comprised of a subset of the Board, responsible for decision-making supervision, risk management and policy making. The Company is setting up an advisory committee consisting of internal and external ESG experts to provide input and support. Ant Group has also set up an ESG sustainable development leadership team, led by the CEO and the Chief Sustainability Officer, as well as working groups for each of the 19 ESG material issues.
“Our ESG strategy originated from our own long-term needs and was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The pursuit of sustainable development has been inherent in every step of our journey and is not designed to cater to short-term trends, but rather a necessary driver to realize our vision to be a good company that will last for at least 102 years,” added Mr. Jing. “A good company is never independently defined. We will listen to the opinions and suggestions from all parties with an open mind and welcome supervision and guidance from all of our stakeholders.”
As part of its “Technological Innovation” pillar, Ant Group has been increasing its R&D investments, which grew at an annual rate of more than 39% for three consecutive years (2018-2021), with total R&D spending in 2021 exceeding RMB 18.8 billion (approx. USD 2.77 billion). These investments enabled the Company to continuously turn technological breakthroughs into innovative, inclusive and reliable products and services to support the digital transformation of industries and better anticipate the evolving needs of an increasingly digital global economy. In 2021, MYbank, an Ant Group associate and an online SME bank, leveraged digital technology to deliver convenient, accessible and responsible collateral-free financing services to 45 million SMEs.
In February 2022, Ant Group was recognized as a Top 100 Global Innovator™ 2022 by Clarivate™. This prestigious annual list identifies global companies and institutions that contribute new ideas, solve problems and create new economic value.
Since 2017, three years after Ant Group’s establishment, the Company has steadily introduced and advanced its ESG assessment framework and published an annual sustainability report, compiled according to the Global Reporting Initiative standards. These reports, including the latest 2021 edition with the Company’s ESG strategy, can be found on Ant Group’s website (Chinese only for now, English edition will be online in the coming weeks).
About Ant Group
Ant Group aims to build the infrastructure and platforms to support the digital transformation of the service industry. Through continuous innovation, we strive to provide all consumers and small and micro businesses equal access to digital financial and other daily life services that are convenient, sustainable and inclusive.
For more information, please visit our website at www.antgroup.com or follow us on Twitter @AntGroup.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220531006112/en/
Contact information
Media Inquiries
Le SHEN
Shenle.sl@antgroup.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Uptime Institute and Indonesia Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (KOMDIGI) Sign Letter of Intent (LOI) to Support Data Center Policy, Governance, and Industry Development2.11.2026 07:04:00 EET | Press release
Uptime Institute, the Global Digital Infrastructure Authority, and the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) today announced the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) to explore collaboration aimed at strengthening Indonesia's data center ecosystem through policy development, governance frameworks, operational excellence, security, sustainability, and workforce capability development. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261101628182/en/ Uptime Institute and KOMDIGI sign LOI. The Letter of Intent reflects a shared interest in exploring international best practices that may support the development of reliable, secure, efficient, and sustainable digital infrastructure aligned with Indonesia's national priorities and regulatory framework. The LOI was signed by Mustapha Louni, Chief Business Officer, Uptime Institute, and Wayan Toni Supriyanto, Director General of Digital Infrastructure, Indonesia's Min
Uptime Institute Signs Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Indonesian Data Center Providers Association (IDPRO) to Advance Indonesia's Data Center Industry2.11.2026 07:02:00 EET | Press release
Uptime Institute, the Global Digital Infrastructure Authority, today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Indonesia Data Center Provider Organization (IDPRO) to support the development of a reliable, sustainable, and globally competitive data center industry in Indonesia. IDPRO is the official industry association representing data center providers and digital infrastructure companies in Indonesia. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261101556619/en/ Signing of Uptime Institute and IDPRO MOU. The goal of the collaborative agreement between the two organizations is to promote international standards and best practices in Indonesia across the data center lifecycle, strengthening infrastructure availability and operational resilience, advancing resource efficiency and sustainability, and supporting the development of a skilled industry workforce. These priorities will help raise indus
AIT Worldwide Logistics Expands Global Footprint to Oceania with Acquisition of Australia-Based Forwarder Connor Anderson International2.11.2026 06:01:00 EET | Press release
Supply chain solutions leader AIT Worldwide Logistics (“AIT”) has finalized an agreement to acquire Connor Anderson International (“CAI”), a global freight forwarder based in Sydney. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261028626874/en/ Acquiring Connor Anderson International serves as the foundation for AIT's long-term expansion to serve Oceania more broadly. Founded in 1974, CAI delivers comprehensive logistics support, including sea, air and road transport, customs brokerage, warehousing, and project cargo management for customers across a wide range of industries. Notably, CAI’s long-tenured team manages a wide variety of specialized cargo while increasingly emphasizing distinctive services for technology companies serving the Australia and broader Oceania markets. The acquisition will strengthen AIT’s specialized services for shippers in the technology industry who require world-class logistics support to secu
Emirati Mohammed Al Hakim Appointed Vice Chairman of MultiBank Group, Valued at US$32 Billion, and CEO of MB.io2.11.2026 04:00:00 EET | Press release
MultiBank Group, one of the world’s largest financial derivatives institutions, has appointed Mohammed Al Hakim as Vice Chairman of MultiBank Group and CEO of MB.io, who will strengthen the Group’s global presence, lead MB.io into new international markets and oversee the expansion of MultiBank Exchange. The appointment supports the Group’s ambitions across financial markets, digital assets and financial technology. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261101934535/en/ MultiBank Group, one of the world’s largest financial derivatives institutions, has appointed Mohammed Al Hakim as Vice Chairman of MultiBank Group and CEO of MB.io Working directly with Naser Taher, Founder and Chairman of MultiBank Group, Al Hakim will strengthen partnerships with financial institutions, governments and sovereign wealth funds. His responsibilities include advancing the Group’s capabilities in real-world asset tokenisation, institut
MultiBank Exchange, Part of MultiBank Group, Unveils World’s Fastest Interbank Matching Engine and Digital Asset Settlement2.11.2026 04:00:00 EET | Press release
MultiBank Exchange, part of MultiBank Group, one of the world’s largest financial derivatives institutions, has announced the world’s first interbank trading platform to offer double exotic currency pairs with settlement in both fiat currencies and digital assets. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261101073341/en/ MultiBank Exchange is designed to connect banks and financial institutions across the GCC, BRICS and other emerging markets with Western trading technology and global liquidity. Its objective is to enable these institutions to participate in international foreign exchange markets on an equal footing with their Western counterparts. With daily trading volumes of up to US$ 21 billion (AED 77 billion), the MultiBank Exchange platform connects more than 30 tier-one banks and liquidity providers. It features the fastest matching engine in interbank trading history, operating at 400 nanoseconds, and is the f
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom