CGN released a 2018 Global Sustainable Development Report in Paris, capital of France, on Sept 3 to detail its actions and contributions to economic, environmental, and societal sustainable development.
It is the first time that a Chinese enterprise released a sustainable development report in France. More than 150 people, including Lu Shaye, Chinese ambassador to France, Chen Wenxiong, chairman of the France-China Friendship Group at the French National Assembly, and Martin Neureiter, chairman of the ISO 26000 Standard on Social Responsibility, attended the release conference.
At present, climate change has become a serious challenge that mankind is facing in the 21st century. Addressing climate change, reducing carbon emissions, and achieving green environmental protection is the top priority of global sustainable development, and is one of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
As a clean energy supplier and service provider, CGN adheres to the highest compliance standards to maintain its own business behavior, creating jobs and making economic contributions to the society. It has been strengthening communication with global partners to promote the development of energy technology and the clean energy industry, while supporting the sustainable development of local communities, said CGN Chairman He Yu at the conference.
As of late August, the installed capacity of CGN’s in-service clean energy projects totaled 53.53GW. The on-grid power generation in 2018 reached 220.5 TWh, which is equivalent to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 160 million tons and planting more than 440,000 hectares of forests.
Noticeably, CGN’s clean energy projects in Europe have exceeded 1GW in installed capacity and generated more than 4.3 TWh of electricity, equivalent to planting 10,000 hectares of trees. CGN released its first global sustainable development report in the birthplace of the Paris Agreement to demonstrate its firm commitment to develop clean energy and make contributions to global energy conservation, emission reduction, and the fight against climate change.
Chinese and French enterprises have had a long-standing cooperation. More than 30 years ago, CGN cooperated with Electricite De France, Framatome, and others to build the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, the first large-scale commercial nuclear power plant in the Chinese mainland. In the 21st century, CGN and EDF teamed up again to build the Taishan Nuclear Power Plant using France’s third-generation European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) technology. It’s Unit 1 was put into commercial operation last December becoming the world’s first EPR reactor in the world.
In recent years, the China-France nuclear energy cooperation has entered a new chapter. CGN signed an agreement of investment with EDF on Oct 21, 2015 to jointly build the Hinkely Point C, Sizewell C and Bradwell B projects in the UK, as well as explore the third-party market, creating flagship projects for China-France-UK cooperation.
CGN has always been the main force in China-France nuclear energy cooperation. Over the past 30 years, the close cooperation with French companies in nuclear power has never been stopped, during which new model of cooperation has been produced, and bilateral friendship has been promoted, said Lu Shaye, Chinese ambassador to France.
The release of the global sustainable development report highlights the initiative of Chinese companies to take on social responsibility. It is expected that CGN will deepen its cooperation with its French partners in nuclear energy and new energy, while conducting more exchanges in environmental protection, culture, and public welfare undertakings, said Lu.
Xavier Ursat, Group Senior Executive Vice President of EDF, stressed the importance of the partnership between two enterprises, which will continue to explore an all-round cooperation, not only in technology and business, but in green finance and energy conversion.
Monique Vanvi, president of Framatome China, noted that there is a huge space for cooperation between China and France in the nuclear industry. The two can further deepen mutually beneficial cooperation in the international nuclear power market development, nuclear energy industry chain, as well as technology research.
From nuclear energy to new energy, the scope of the China-France energy cooperation has been expanded and the model has been innovated. Back in 2014, CGN European Energy Company was established in Paris to aim at exploring the European clean energy market.
Currently, CGN operates 13 clean energy projects in France, Britain, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden, according to Huang Yuanzheng, president of CGN European Energy Company. The Swedish North Pole wind power project, with an installed capacity of 650 MW, is the largest standalone onshore wind farm in Europe. It will be able to satisfy the electricity needs of 400,000 households upon completion.
Groix Wind Farm in France is the first large-scale offshore floating wind power demonstration project in France and Europe. Its Douvan wind power project in Ireland is the largest investment project of Chinese new energy enterprise in Ireland.
According to CGN spokesman Huang Xiaofei, the company adheres to the integration of business operation and sustainable development, as well as the environmental and production management systems. Environmental protection will run through project planning, construction, and production under short-term, medium-term, and long-term objectives.
CGN is an active advocate of the “ecological nuclear power” concept and boasts the co-existence of nuclear power with the surrounding natural and societal environment. More than 200 animal and plant species have been found on land and in the surrounding waters of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Base in Guangdong province, among which eight are under state key protection. CGN has retained the original 200-mu (13-hectare) tea garden and hired local villagers to take care of it at the Ningde Nuclear Power Base in Fujian province.
In France, CGN gives priority to the protection of local rare species, respects the land planning, as well as the animal and plant protection measures advocated by environmental assessment. It prefers to reduce installed capacity in the wind farm’s matrix design rather than destroy areas with protected species.
The Husab uranium mine in Namibia is China’s largest entity investment project in Africa. During the development of the project, CGN modified the design route many times to avoid the transplantation of more than 100 welwitschia plants, the national flower of Namibia.
In terms of promoting community development, CGN has supported the development of local culture, education, medical care, and sports through the establishment of public welfare funds, scholarships, grants, and donations. The total amount of global public welfare donations of CGN reached 33.83 million yuan ($4.8 million) in 2018.
In Bangladesh, CGN occasionally organizes women’s and children’s medical camps in local communities and invites doctors from local general hospitals to conduct free physical examinations. It has provided eye examinations for 1,800 primary and secondary school students in collaboration with local schools and general hospitals.
In Egypt, CGN’s gas-fired power plant has sponsored hemodialysis equipment to the local El Hedaia Medical Center and Suez Canal Public Hospital. In France, CGN has held public Open Day activities at Charmon-Wotlek Wind Farm for two consecutive years, inviting teachers and students from primary schools to visit the internal part of the wind turbine to increase their knowledge of new energy.
“CGN is clean, green, and nature,” and “CGN is a responsible company” were just some of the descriptions made of CGN by Antoine Badnier of EDF’s Sustainable Development Department, Jean-Baptiste Breban of CGN European Energy Company, and Frieda Abraham of the Husab uranium mine project at the conference.
Source: CGN
