(Yicai Global) May 8 -- BEST Inc., a New-York listed integrated supply chain and logistics services provider, released its annual environmental, social and governance (ESG) report yesterday, outlining the company’s ESG initiatives and progress in 2019, as well as its recent relief efforts during the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Hangzhou-based company highlighted in its report that it had set up an internal response team and a "green channel" at the beginning of COVID-19 to ensure the shipping of medical and relief supplies in China and around the world.

According to the report, the company delivered over 170,000 items of medical and relief supplies worth CNY50 million across China. It has also leveraged its advantages in cross-border logistics, sponsoring shipments of epidemic relief materials to communities in France, Vietnam and Malaysia while distributing 400,000 masks to its overseas subsidiaries.

“In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we responded quickly and remained committed to helping our employees, customers and communities during this critical time,” Johnny Chou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BEST, said in a statement. “Looking forward, we will continue to identify and invest in more sustainable growth channels and develop a smarter, greener supply chain and logistics platform in China and beyond.”

The ESG report also listed BEST’s a few initiatives such as green express packaging and low-carbon delivery that drive sustainable growth for the logistics industry.

For example, by converting its digital waybills from multiple copies to one copy, BEST’s express business saved 3,397 tons of paper in 2019, a 25% reduction of paper usage from a year ago, while its parcel volume still increased by 39% last year. Meanwhile, by using over 35 million eco-friendly express satchels, BEST reduced the use of plastic by 105 tons.

“We believe that our success is based on our ability to positively impact our community as we all seek to improve the world around us. In 2019, we continued to execute on our ESG goals, including allocating resources and making investments in areas that help us conduct business in a sustainable, socially responsible and ethical way,” Chou commented in the statement.

In addition to its COVID-19 response and environmental sustainability practices, the report covered three other areas:

For the community, BEST participated in 20 public welfare activities in 2019 and built over 20,000 rural delivery service stations to revitalize regional economies in China. Its “Agricultural Excellence” project helped farmers from 30 impoverished counties sell 4.3 million kilograms of fresh produce, generating over CNY35 million (USD4.94 million) of revenue.

For the workplace, BEST’s internal training platform “BEST University” provided over 25,500 hours of training online or in-person for the staff.

For its customers and clients, BEST takes active steps to promote information security, service quality and operational efficiency. In 2019, the company received the ISO 27001 information security management system certificate and the ISO 9001:2015 quality management system for its express business.

The full report is accessible on the company’s IR website: http://www.best-inc.com/#/investor/esg