On December 24, Fadada and the Enterprise Green Development Research Institute jointly released the “Contracting for Carbon Reduction and Low-Carbon Offices White Paper 2024”, which delves into the key role of e-signatures in promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of enterprises, providing new ideas for enterprises to achieve environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. Yuexiu Property Co., Ltd. successfully won the 2024 “Contracting for Carbon Reduction” Pioneer Enterprise Award and was featured as a case study in the “Contracting for Carbon Reduction and Low-Carbon Office White Paper 2024” through the use of the e-signature system to realize the use of e-signature and paperless business. It is the only company in the real estate industry to be selected.
Vigorously developing e-signature to reduce paper use, helping Yuexiu Property reduce carbon emissions by more than 400 tons
As a low-carbon and high-efficiency way of signing contracts, e-signature can reduce paper usage and carbon emissions during the mailing process, which involves multiple carbon-reducing stages in the product lifecycle, such as raw material procurement, manufacturing, transportation and packaging, office activities, marketing activities, etc., thereby helping to reduce the total carbon emissions from the operation of the enterprise. Yuexiu Property upholds a green development philosophy and incorporated e-signature into its long-term development strategy as early as 2020. The establishment of an e-signature office and coordinated deployment at the headquarters have led to a positive and collective “‘high efficiency” operational environment across its subsidiary companies.
Through over three years of efforts since the e-signature began in 2021, as of December 31, 2024, a total of 3,366,000 e-documents have been signed, saving 13,714,000 sheets of paper. This effort has led to a cumulative carbon emission reduction of 458.2 tons, which is equivalent to saving approximately 7,636 trees – about the amount of carbon dioxide that 0.79 square kilometers of forest can absorb.
Low-carbon office practices
Yuexiu Property integrates its e-signature system with the front-end business system, connecting it to the archive system and ESG system at the back end, forming a closed-loop management model of “front-end approval, mid-end stamping and back-end archiving”, enabling “one-stop” paperless office for document approval, sealing, filing and accessing, and supports Yuexiu Property’s ESG management efforts.
（The Blueprint for e-signature coverage of Yuexiu Property）
ESG management system drives engagement
In September 2023, Yuexiu Property completed the establishment of the “ESG Management System”, utilizing digital technology to empower ESG data management and ESG decision-making. On January 1, 2024, the “Personal Carbon Footprint” module was officially launched in the ESG Management system, ranking employees based on their carbon emission savings to stimulate friendly competition among employees to increase actions for carbon reduction, and demonstrate individual social responsibility and public welfare qualities. In addition, various innovative and visual approaches have been employed to promote carbon reduction, such as using the equivalent number of trees planted to showcase carbon reduction achievements. At the same time, the company actively promotes the “10,000-ton carbon reduction plan” through measures such as conducting video conferences opting for a reasonable selection of travel trips and flights (priorities green flights), and turning off the lights when not in use.
Incentives for low-carbon actions
The company incentivizes the practice of low-carbon office from top to bottom, linking carbon reduction to the internal points system to motivate employees to provide ideas on “lean management”. Through a combination of material and spiritual incentives, the aim is to create a strong culture of green and low-carbon practices within the company, thereby advancing a more in-depth and effective implementation of Yuexiu Property's low-carbon initiatives.
Environmental protection is not only a fundamental principle that Yuexiu Property upholds but also a key to its survival and development. Looking ahead, Yuexiu Property will unswervingly pursue its sustainable development strategy, prioritizing carbon neutrality and proactive climate change responses across all operations. The company will continue to promote lean management, dedicate itself to deepening and practicing green and low-carbon operation models, deeply rooted this concept in every link of the value chain, promote the synergistic transformation of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, promote energy conservation and emission reduction at the source, enhance resource utilization efficiency, and jointly contribute to the high-quality development of the real estate industry, and help build a better future in which human beings and nature coexist harmoniously.
