The First and Only in the Industry! New Higher Education Group (2001.HK) Has Outstanding ESG Performance and Was Selected into S&P Global “Sustainability Yearbook (China Edition) 2024”

(July 16, 2024 - Hong Kong) A leading higher education group, China New Higher Education Group Limited (“New Higher Education Group”, collectively called the “Group” together with its affiliated companies, stock code: 2001.HK) is pleased to announce that with outstanding performance in the field of sustainable development, the Group stands out from over 1,700 enterprises and is successfully selected to be included in the S Global “Sustainability Yearbook (China Edition) 2024” (hereinafter referred to as the Yearbook). Out of around only 120 Chinese companies selected this time, the Group outperformed 110 companies in the CSV Diversified Consumer Services Industry, making it the first and only company in the industry to be included. 

The S Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) evaluates companies’ sustainable development performance based on a wide range of industry-specific economic, environmental, and social criteria. The CSA score of New Higher Education Group is 34 points, ranking seventh globally in the CSV Diversified Consumer Services Industry and the first in China, significantly exceeding the industry average level. With its unremitting efforts and excellent performance in ESG, New Higher Education Group stood out from various companies and successfully made it into the Yearbook. Not only is New Higher Education Group the only chosen enterprise in the higher education industry but it is also the first and only enterprise to be selected among the S Global CSV Diversified Consumer Services Industry (110 companies in total). S Global Sustainability Yearbook summarized the main Sustainability risks and opportunities in various industries in the past year, aiming to identify and recognize companies with sustainable development advantages in various industries. The Yearbook continues to receive great attention from global companies and stakeholders. With more than 1,700 companies participating, it is highly competitive this year and ultimately only around 120 companies with the best performance from different industries were selected. 

The Group always adheres to the long-term development and firmly promotes the Group’s internal ESG performance. The Group has implemented environmental education and emission reduction actions. The Group integrated “double carbon” education into teaching content, gradually set targets and implemented emission reduction actions; promoted the pilot photovoltaic projects in Yunnan School, Gansu School, and Guangxi Schools; carried out effective resource management in the whole process of procurement, used of resources and waste management; and followed the national Green Building Evaluation Standards in the construction of new buildings. Yunnan School, Guizhou School and Central China School were selected as “Water-saving Universities”. The Group has actively fulfilled its social responsibilities by providing educational assistance. The Group continued to host the “One Heart – Rainbow Action” and “Spring Rain Action” of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy to train teachers for 27 rural support sites in Yunnan and Guizhou, and sent teachers and students to more than 20 primary and secondary schools to provide teaching support. A total of 830 rural wealth leaders have been trained, and nearly 4,000 farmers have been employed through the training of these leaders. The Group continues to optimize its governance structure and operational model, promote internal institutional construction and process improvement, enhance the level of governance and management efficiency of the Group, improve the teaching and employment quality of its schools. The employment rate of the graduates has exceeded 95% for four consecutive years, cultivating high-quality applied and technical skilled talents for society. 

While firmly adhering to the sustainable development pace, the Group actively benchmarks against external standards, refers to international standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards) and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), learns from the best practices of well-known universities at home and abroad, and continuously improves ESG work and report disclosure. In financial year 2023, the Group quantified its ESG environmental goals for the first time, formulated energy-saving and emission-reduction measures, and actively communicated with rating agencies and the capital market to fully demonstrate the Group's high-quality ESG development results. The performance of New Higher Education Group in the ESG field has also been recognized by other authoritative rating agencies and media in the capital market: the Group has received a “Low Risk” rating from Morningstar, and has been won the “Best ESG Information Disclosure Award” in the 8th Zhitong Finance Listed Companies Selection in 2023. 

In the future, the Group will continue to promote the integration of ESG into the Group’s development strategy, attach great importance to and voluntarily implement the ESG development concept, focus on environmental protection, actively fulfill social responsibilities, optimize the governance of the Group and schools, benchmark international standards and global best practices, continuously improve the Group’s ESG level, and unswervingly follow the path of sustainable and high-quality development. Meanwhile, the Group is committed to the ESG philosophy and uses ESG as a guide to integrate financial indicators such as stable performance growth, steady investment returns, abundant cash flow and stable dividends with ESG, so as to create value in a sustained and steady manner, thereby realizing long-term benefits and sustainable development, and achieving a win-win situation for both investors and the Group in the long run. 

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About China New Higher Education Group Limited (2001.HK): 

China New Higher Education Group, a leading higher education group in China, was founded in 1999. The Group fully implements Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, implements the fundamental task of building moral character and cultivating people, "enabling every student to achieve career success and happiness in life" as its mission, and committing to "building the most student-oriented university". The Group has established 8 full-time universities and colleges in 7 provinces in China, with more than 140,000 students and nearly 10,000 faculty members. The Group has cultivated more than 400,000 high-quality applied and technical talents for society, making positive contributions to the high-quality development of national strategy and regional economy and society. As a leader in high-quality employment, the Group’s schools have won many honors such as the “Top 50 National Employment”, “The Top 100 National Typical Cases of Employment and Entrepreneurship for College Graduates”, “National College Graduate Grassroots Employment Excellence Award”, and the employment rate of the graduates is far higher than the average level in China for consecutive years. 

For more information, please visit the Group’s website: https://www.xingaojiao.com