General Motors China was recognized today as the fourth-best Fortune 500 company in the area of corporate social responsibility at the 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Conference in Beijing.
For the second consecutive year, Southern Weekly, an influential Chinese newspaper, honored General Motors China as one of the top companies in the area of corporate social responsibility for its civic spirit and sensitivity to the environment.
The Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Conference, which is sponsored by Southern Weekly, helps increase awareness of CSR among companies while honoring their significant achievements.
Southern Weekly is described by western journalists as one of China’s most outspoken and independent news organizations; however, it is part of provincial newspaper group supervised by Guangdong Provincial Party Committee of China’s ruling Communist Party in Southern China in a province that has been leader in modernizing and expanding the Chinese economy.
GM officials hailed the results of the CSR survey, which largely keys in on contributions to limiting pollution.
“GM China has launched a range of programs across the country that are supporting environmental protection, road safety and public health,” said GM China Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations Albert Xie.
“Our employees, partners and the public have also gotten involved to help create a greener, safer and healthier community,” Xie said, adding that GM China hosted several key CSR activities in 2013.
In April, GM China and its employees donated more than $675,000 to support relief and rebuilding efforts in earthquake-hit Ya’an, Sichuan. At the end of the year, GM China launched the “Let Me See You” traffic safety schoolbag initiative in partnership with the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation at the Laochang Central Primary School in Ya’an. The ongoing program will benefit more than 14,000 migrant children and children in China’s poor rural areas.
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In August, the second GM Safe Road Project wrapped up. Individuals posted more than 5,000 posts and 2,760 pictures on a microblog to highlight the theme of “Safety Belt, Safe Journey.” The microblog attracted 220,000 followers and generated 430,000 forwarded posts and received 330,000 comments.
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In November, GM China employees visited the Shanghai Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve to increase public awareness of environmental protection in China. This is part of the three-year GM Restoring Nature’s Habitat Project, which is helping preserve three migratory bird sanctuaries in eastern China.
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In December, Haikou served as the venue for the final leg of the 2013 GM China Consumer Fuel-Saving Challenge. Six models from five GM passenger car brands were featured in the annual event, which also visited Kunming, Xining, Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang.
The program demonstrated GM’s commitment to developing fuel-efficient products while educating consumers about how to maximize the fuel economy of the vehicles they drive and thus have less environmental impact.
In recent months, Communist officials have been critical of the business practices of some western companies. Western and Japanese automakers, however, have not been targeted or criticized through the campaign. The Southern Weekly also honored a list of Chinese companies for their social responsibility.