- Taking 2020 as the baseline year, Baidu plans to
comprehensively build science-based pathways to achieve carbon
neutrality by 2030.
- Baidu has continuously explored pathways to reducing carbon
emissions in businesses such as autonomous driving and intelligent
transportation, refining them into methodologies and capabilities
open to society.
BEIJING, May 16, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888)
("Baidu" or the "Company") today released its 2021 ESG report,
providing updates on the company's efforts to help advance a more
sustainable economy through technology innovation.
"Over the past year, we have continuously explored the ESG value
in corporate governance, pursuing the new 'intersection' of ESG
value with an innovation-driven engine, as well as fulfilling our
commitments to the environment and society," said Robin Li, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Baidu.
"We have every confidence to achieve 'dual carbon' goals, which are
demanding commitments."
The report details the company's ESG performance in 2021 in key
areas including green products & solutions, corporate
governance, trust building, talent nurturing, service improvement
and society philanthropy.
According to Ms. Meng Liu, Head
of China Liaison Office of United Nations Global Compact, Chinese
companies are playing an increasingly important role in the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. "I
am pleased to see Baidu's important initiatives and progress on ESG
in recent years, including the release of a human rights system in
November 2020, and launch of a
special anti-corruption report and carbon-neutral target in March
and June 2021, as well as the release
of an annual ESG report for the third consecutive year. The UN
Secretary-General Mr. Guterres earlier this year warned the world
that 'the information superhighway is clogged with hatred and lies'
and 'we must go into emergency mode to put humanity at the centre
of technology'. I believe more and more Chinese tech companies
including Baidu have great potential to do more to support internet
security and data privacy to protect citizens' rights and make
positive contributions to shape a healthier ecosystem and
human-centered governance framework for new technologies."
Below are some key highlights from the report:
Promoting Green Ideas:
In 2021, Baidu announced the goal of achieving carbon neutrality
at the group level by 2030 and working with partners to achieve
"zero-carbon growth" with AI. Several major developments towards
this goal have been made so far:
- Smart traffic for reduced emissions
Baidu's
intelligent transportation solutions are working to build a greener
way of movement. Among the many solutions working to make this a
reality, Baidu's intelligent transportation system installed in
Baoding, Hebei Province, has
enabled a significant decrease of traffic congestion, leading to
an average carbon emission reduction rate at each intersection at
around 20% - 30%.
- Harnessing clean power for data centers
Baidu uses an
AI intelligent control system based on PaddlePaddle and is
developing deep learning models tailored to data centers to monitor
operation and optimize systems in real time. Over 600 patents have
been granted for Baidu's self-developed technologies in the field,
helping to build low-carbon, energy-saving and environment-friendly
cloud computing centers. In the case of Baidu's Yangquan Data
Center, the system has resulted in a power supply efficiency of
up to 99.5%, enabling over 98% of cooling time to be free of
charge. These achievements have led the center to be awarded
the First 5A Green Data Center Certificate in China.
- Incorporating resource conservation for a "greener"
office
In 2021, Baidu adopted several actions to improve
energy efficiency in operations including the installation of
photovoltaic power generation equipment on unoccupied roofs at
Baidu Campus and Penghuan Building which generates 1 million kWh
of electricity annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by
around 600 tons. Replacing ordinary lamps with 27,000 LED
lights at Baidu Technology Park has saved 1.81 million kWh of
electricity annually. In addition, the wastewater treatment system
of Baidu Campus reused 3,836 tons of wastewater annually in 2021,
turning wastewater into flushing water.
Corporate Governance:
Baidu gives top priority to risk prevention and management and
has established a risk management system led by the Board. In 2021,
the company upgraded its philosophy of risk management and
introduced the "three lines" risk management model to carry out
regular internal risk identification as well as analysis and
assessment. The company has also formulated the Baidu
Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility Rules for
Suppliers. In 2021, 100% of domestic suppliers were required to
comply with these rules.
Open Source for AI:
Baidu has also been leading efforts to encourage a more
inclusive and vibrant AI development community. As of 2021, Baidu
has led 21 open-source organizations and more than 1,000
open-source projects on Github, with more than 18,000 community
contributors and more than 370,000 stars gained.
Diversity and Inclusiveness:
Baidu is a firm believer in gender equality, ensuring equal
access to employment opportunities for female employees, strictly
abiding by the principle of equal pay for equal work. In 2021,
women accounted for 43.2% of Baidu's management team.
To learn more about Baidu's ESG performance in 2021, access the
full report here.
About Baidu
Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated
world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company
with strong Internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU"
and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A
ordinary shares.
Media Contact
Intlcomm@baidu.com
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/baidu-releases-2021-esg-report-pledging-efforts-towards-a-greener-future-with-technology-innovation-301547663.html
SOURCE Baidu, Inc.