Cainiao Group, the logistics arm of Alibaba Group Holding Limited, has announced its ESG achievements and highlights as reflected in the newly-released Alibaba Group Environmental, Social and Governance Report 2023 (ESG Report). Cainiao has built a full-chain green logistics system spanning five major logistics links across ordering, packaging, transportation, warehousing and recycling, in order to promote the achievement of carbon reduction goals and facilitate the transformation of the entire logistics system.

During the fiscal year 2023, Cainiao championed the reduction in packaging material usage within the industry and among consumers through measures such as the introduction of industry-specific packaging solution to reduce the use of carton boxes.

As part of its recycling initiative, Cainiao also leveraged its Cainiao Post stations to drive packaging recycling campaigns which included consumers leaving cartons at the post stations to be reused. Here, Cainiao promoted shipping in original or reused packaging which resulted in a total reduction of packaging material usage by more than 184,000 tons in one year. In the fiscal year 2023, Cainiao was able to recycle 23.82 million cartons through its Cainiao Post stations, setting a new recycling record.

Cainiao also advocated for the use of electric vehicles for short distance urban deliveries. As of March 31, 2023, electric vehicles for urban deliveries accounted for 33 percent of total vehicles used by Cainiao Express. For last-mile logistics, Cainiao is promoting the implementation of autonomous logistics robots – Xiaomanlv, which has since completed delivery for more than 29 million orders as of March 31, 2023. This marks a new record for autonomous last-mile delivery in China.

The photovoltaic capacity of Cainiao’s solar-powered warehouses expanded from 24.9 megawatts last year to 30.0 megawatts, a year-on-ear increase of 20.5 percent. By integrating the use of clean energy, Cainiao achieved a significant reduction in carbon emissions totaling 21,003.2 tons in the 2023 fiscal year.

Apart from reducing its own carbon footprint, Cainiao also leverages its digital technologies and logistics platform to provide full chain low-carbon logistics solutions and digital recycling capabilities to support its ecosystem partners. In July 2022, Yili and Cainiao signed a green strategic cooperation agreement to jointly establish a green recycling chain for used packaging which spans the entire process including consumer engagement, goods transfer and clearance, recycling, returns, re-production, and predictive modeling.

Referencing Alibaba’s ESG report, in addition to green logistics, Cainiao has made significant progress in promoting its emergency logistics. For example, Cainiao has cooperated with 28 charity organizations, including the China Rural Development Foundation, Shenzhen One Foundation Public Welfare Fund, and the Amity Foundation. It has also launched a public welfare material tracking system to enable real-time visualization and online tracking of the entire material distribution process. This has played a key role in fostering digital transformation for charity organizations.

As of March 31, 2023, Cainiao has delivered more than 300 million pieces of medical and other supplies to more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. In March 2023, Cainiao and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) signed a global logistics cooperation agreement in Rome, Italy, becoming the first logistics company in China to become a global logistics partner of the WFP.

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