On 22 May, which is the International Day for Biological Diversity, Yili held the ‘WISH2030 Conference’ and released its latest ESG report. The Weibo (China’s Twitter equivalent) topic #ESG 20 years of Yili’s goodness# (esg20周年伊起美好) gained 160 million views. Additionally, Yili presented two low-carbon milk products – Yili’s first ‘Double-reduced Environmentally Friendly Pure Milk’ and the first ‘Methane-reduced QQ Star Student Environmentally Friendly Pure Milk’.
Yili’s first ‘Double-reduced Environmentally Friendly Pure Milk’ adopts innovative low-carbon feed technology, which can significantly reduce methane emissions from the rumen of dairy cows by 20% to 30%. Moreover, the product’s packaging is innovative in its environmental process, using reduced aluminium foil and ink technology, which has been certified by SGS to effectively reduce the product’s carbon footprint by up to 30.81%.
The ‘Methane-reduced QQ Star Student Environmentally Friendly Pure Milk’, designed for the youth group, uses the same low-carbon feed technology and has an environmentally friendly packaging design to communicate the importance of a low-carbon lifestyle and guide them to cultivate such habits from an early age.
Yili Group owns more than 20 brands, including Yili, SATINE, and Ambrosial, with products ranging from liquid milk, milk powder and cheese. As the official dairy partner of the Chinese Sports Delegation for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Yili is one of the biggest and most all-encompassing dairy companies in China. It ranks among the top 5 dairy companies worldwide. Yili sells its liquid milk, milk powder, yoghurt, cheese, and cold beverages in more than 60 countries and regions; it has 15 R&D and innovation centres and 75 production bases worldwide.
Comparing market share and revenue capacity, Yili and Mengniu Dairy ranked as the top 2 in 2023. Also, since China is calling for ESG considerations, both are increasing their competitive advantages from profitability to sustainable development. With a “carbon footprint + water footprint” program, Yili has developed the “WISH 2030” Golden Key Sustainability System and a “double footprint” carbon reduction program for the whole chain for 2023.
In the field of biodiversity conservation, Yili has made significant efforts in recent years: eco-friendly management of the Hulunbuir grasslands, planting pine trees in Alxa League, guarding a wetland paradise for trumpeter swans, building an ‘elephant canteen’ for Asian elephants, and creating a new home for the endangered Chinese spot-billed duck.
