On February 18, S&P Global officially released its Sustainability Yearbook 2026 (Global Edition). Nongfu Spring was selected for the Yearbook for its outstanding performance in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), ranking 10th in the global beverage industry and winning the title of "Industry Mover". Prior to this, Nongfu Spring had been listed in the China Edition of S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for three consecutive years.
Widely regarded as the "global benchmark" for corporate sustainability, the S&P Global Yearbook maintains rigorous entry requirements. Selection is limited to companies that are invited to participate in the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) and rank within the top 15% of their global industry peers. Furthermore, a candidate’s ESG score must be within 30% of the industry leader and exceed the global median across all sectors.The "Industry Mover" designation is even more exclusive, requiring a minimum 5% year-on-year CSA score improvement and the strongest improvement in the industry. For more than a decade, S&P Global’s ratings have been pivotal to the international financial community as core benchmarks for institutional giants such as Morgan Stanley and BlackRock. This year, Nongfu Spring emerged from a pool of over 9,200 eligible companies to become one of the 848 firms worldwide included in the Global Edition Yearbook，which has demonstrated to the world a practical model of the deep integration of business development and social responsibility accumulated over decades.
Currently, only 13 companies in the global beverage industry have been selected for the 2026 Yearbook. Guided by its "Natural and Healthy" brand philosophy, Nongfu Spring has deeply integrated ESG practices into its end-to-end operations, from resource management to supply chain systems..
In some of its factories, the company maintains a local hiring rate of up to 80%, with "returning youth" accounting up to 53% of the workforce, all while providing average salaries that rank in the upper-middle tier for their respective regions. Over 99% of the company’s plastic packaging for water and beverages is now recyclable. Furthermore, Nongfu Spring has catalyzed a green transition across its supply chain, with key partners now utilizing 100% recycled paper, 100% soy-based inks, and 100% eco-friendly pallets in their production processes.
In Yunnan, the company donated approximately 100 million RMB to establish five primary tea-processing facilities. By introducing advanced processing techniques and over 110 rigorous planting standards that exceed national requirements, Nongfu Spring has significantly elevated the quality of the local tea industry. Similarly, in Jiangxi, the company leveraged modern technology to modernize the Gannan Navel Orange sector. Collaborating with top-tier research institutes, Nongfu Spring helped the region become one of the few global citrus hubs to successfully bring Huanglongbing (citrus greening disease) under control.
The selection into the Global Edition Yearbook is not only a demonstration of Nongfu Spring’s achievements in deepening its ESG practices, but also a reflection of the high recognition of the company’s sustainable development practices by the international evaluation system. Looking to the future, Nongfu Spring will continue to adhere to a long-term perspective and promote the coordinated progress of business development with environmental and social values from a global perspective.
