Advancing Sustainability: Driving a Circular Economy with Green Innovation
As COP30 converges global efforts to address the climate crisis—urging industries to move beyond incremental changes toward systemic transformation—Wanhua Chemical reaffirms its unwavering commitment to green, low-carbon development. Rooted in the principle of a circular economy, we are reshaping industrial value chains through technological breakthroughs, operational precision, and deep collaboration with partners across upstream suppliers, downstream customers, and research institutions. Our mission extends beyond reducing environmental impact: we strive to create a self-sustaining ecosystem where waste is minimized, resources are reused, and emissions are neutralized—turning sustainability into a driver of long-term growth.
Wanhua Chemical is proud to uphold its ambitious climate targets: achieving carbon peak no later than 2030 and striving for carbon neutrality by 2048. This roadmap is not just a commitment to global climate goals, but a strategic imperative that guides every aspect of our operations, from R&D to production, and from supply chain management to product lifecycle design.
To turn these targets into reality, we focus on three interconnected pillars—clean energy transition, energy efficiency optimization, and low-carbon technology innovation—each reinforcing the circular economy model:
🔋 Clean Energy: Powering a Greener Future Through Diversified, Zero-Carbon Sources
Wanhua Chemical is accelerating its clean energy transition with a clear, actionable roadmap: 50% of electricity consumed across all domestic production bases will come from clean sources by 2030, and 100% by 2035. This is not merely a shift in energy procurement, but a holistic transformation of our energy ecosystem.
We leverage regional resource endowments to build a diversified clean energy portfolio: in wind-rich regions like Inner Mongolia, we have invested in onshore wind farms with a total installed capacity exceeding 500 MW; in solar-abundant areas such as Qinghai, our distributed photovoltaic (PV) projects on factory rooftops and unused land now generate over 180 GWh of electricity annually—enough to power 50,000 households for a year. Beyond self-developed projects, we have pioneered innovative energy procurement models, including long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with renewable energy generators and participation in green electricity trading platforms. In 2024, our joint ventures in wind, solar, and nuclear energy achieved remarkable milestones: a 200 MW offshore wind project in Jiangsu began operations, supplying 450 GWh of clean electricity to our Yantai production base; our partnership with a leading nuclear power company secured a 10-year supply of low-carbon power, reducing our scope 2 emissions by 120,000 tons of CO₂ equivalent. These efforts not only decarbonize our own operations but also contribute to the broader societal shift toward a low-carbon energy grid.
🔥 Energy Efficiency: Smarter Use, Circular Flows, Greater Impact
At the core of our circular economy strategy lies energy efficiency—maximizing value from every unit of energy while minimizing waste. We have implemented a robust, ISO 50001-certified energy management system that integrates digitalization, process optimization, and waste recycling across the entire production lifecycle.
Our smart energy management platform, powered by AI and IoT technology, enables real-time monitoring of over 10,000 energy-consuming points across our factories—tracking electricity, steam, and thermal energy usage with precision. Through data analytics, we identify inefficiencies and implement targeted optimizations: for example, our Qingdao production base upgraded its ethylene cracking furnace with heat recovery technology, reducing energy consumption per ton of product by 15% and capturing 80,000 tons of waste heat annually for reuse in heating and power generation. We also set clear, department-level energy efficiency KPIs, linking performance to sustainability incentives, which has driven a 9% year-on-year improvement in overall energy efficiency since 2020. Beyond internal optimization, we extend efficiency gains to the supply chain: we work with suppliers to optimize packaging and transportation, reducing carbon emissions from logistics by 12% through consolidated shipments and electric vehicle fleets. These measures not only cut costs but also create a closed-loop system where energy and resources are reused rather than discarded.
🌱 Innovative Technology: Pioneering Low-Carbon Solutions for a Circular Industry
Innovation is the lifeblood of Wanhua’s sustainability journey—and the key to unlocking a truly circular chemical industry. We allocate over 3% of annual revenue to R&D, with a dedicated focus on reimagining production processes, developing renewable materials, and advancing carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology.
Our R&D teams have made breakthroughs in bio-based chemicals: we have developed a process to produce polyurethane raw materials from agricultural waste such as straw and corn stover, reducing reliance on fossil fuels by 30% compared to traditional methods. This technology is now scaled up at our Ningbo production base, with an annual output of 50,000 tons of bio-based polyols—used in green building materials and low-carbon furniture. We are also leading the development of CCUS technology tailored to the chemical industry: our pilot project in Yantai captures CO₂ from flue gas, purifies it, and reuses it as a feedstock in polyurethane production, achieving a carbon utilization rate of 75% and reducing direct emissions by 30,000 tons annually. Additionally, we are exploring hydrogen as a clean energy carrier, partnering with research institutes to develop low-cost green hydrogen production via water electrolysis, which will power our future production lines and replace fossil fuels in high-temperature processes.
By integrating these pillars—scaling clean energy, optimizing resource efficiency, and pioneering low-carbon technologies—Wanhua Chemical is not just reducing emissions, but redefining what a sustainable chemical industry can be. We are building a circular ecosystem where every waste stream becomes a resource, every product is designed for recyclability, and every operation contributes to a net-zero future. As we move forward, we will continue to collaborate with global partners, share our technologies and best practices, and lead the industry toward a cleaner, more resilient, and circular tomorrow.
