On April 28, Lead Intelligent (hereinafter referred to as LEAD) officially released its 2025 Annual ESG Report. This is the first report compiled by LEAD aligning with both the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s “Sustainability Report Guidance” and the Hong Kong Exchange’s “ESG Reporting Code” after its A+H dual listing. It also marks LEAD’s sixth consecutive year of proactively disclosing its sustainable practices.
Over the past year, LEAD has shown an overall upgrade in ESG management levels, winning multiple authoritative ratings and honors both domestically and internationally. Its S&P Global ESG score increased to 48, earning it a spot in the Sustainability Yearbook 2025 (China Edition). It achieved an “A” rating in CDP’s Supplier Engagement Assessment for the first time, and an “AA” rating in the Wind ESG Assessment. The company also won a silver medal in EcoVadis Social Responsibility Assessment, ranking among the top 15% globally. Besides, LEAD has been awarded the highest “A” rating in information disclosure by Shenzhen Stock Exchange for the seventh consecutive year, and simultaneously received prestigious honors, such as Forbes China 50 Most Innovative Companies, Global New Energy ESG Top 100 Award, Wuxi City Tax Payer Top 100, and LinkedIn’s Global Talent Attraction Employer.
As the first company in China’s new energy intelligent equipment sector to publish a carbon neutrality target, LEAD is moving from system improvement to value realization, and transforming ESG from a management framework into a core capability driving long-term growth through more transparent and systematic sustainable practices.
Intelligence for Green
Focusing on “carbon neutrality at the core operational level by 2035,” LEAD has integrated green development into its manufacturing system, promoting coordinated optimization of energy structure and resource efficiency.
In 2025, the company’s grid-connected rooftop photovoltaics reached 4.62 MW, cumulatively reducing carbon emissions by 1,170 tons and making a 14.77% green electricity usage. Through process optimization and energy-saving renovation, the company has made significant advances in both energy consumption and emissions, with the year-on-year reductions of natural gas consumption per unit revenue, hazardous waste disposal volume, and pollutant emission volume all exceeding 30%. In terms of recycling, the company started with source design to promote continuous improvement in resource utilization efficiency — the average usage of packaging wood and vacuum bags per unit equipment decreased by 25% and 60% respectively compared to the previous year, marking its green manufacturing transition from “reduction” to “system optimization.”
At the same time, its Wuxi Plant 2 has passed the ISO 14068 carbon neutrality certification for two consecutive years, achieving carbon neutrality in operations. This signifies that the company’s zero-carbon practice has upgraded from phased results to stable operation.
People-Centered Philosophy
The company has adhered to people-centered principles, fully ensuring employee occupational health and career development. In 2025, the employee training reached 570,000 hours, with a 100% coverage. All of its Chinese production bases have obtained ISO 45001 occupational health and safety management system certification, and front-line safety training and full-staff emergency drills have been fully covered, consolidating the bottom line for production safety and development.
Moreover, LEAD has been expanding the boundaries of social responsibility. By establishing the Warm Light Public Welfare Fund with a total of 30 million yuan, the company has transformed its public welfare model from scattered assistance to systematic empowerment. In addition, the company cumulatively donated 6.08 million yuan in charity throughout the year, and contributed 769 hours of volunteer service, linking corporate and social values over a broader range.
Governance Foundation
During the reporting period, the company has optimized its governance system. On the board, independent directors account for 42.86% of the total, and female directors, 28.57%, showing a balanced and diverse governance structure. The company has disclosed 175 announcement documents throughout the year, and participated in and conducted more than 120 domestic and foreign roadshows and exchanges, improving information transparency and market communication efficiency.
In terms of risk and compliance management, the company has strengthened the “three lines of defense” for risk governance framework and internal control compliance management system. The signing rate of the “Employee Integrity Commitment Letter” and the “Supplier Integrity Notice” has reached 100%. The business ethics training has achieved full coverage.
Innovation-Driven Development
Taking technological innovation as the core engine, LEAD has continued to increase R&D investment, with 1,605 million yuan invested in R&D in 2025, or 11.11% of its revenue. 778 authorized patents were added throughout the year, with a total of 3,592 patents secured. The company has furthermore established comprehensive smart manufacturing solutions in fields of lithium-ion batteries, all-solid-state batteries, energy storage, photovoltaics, and hydrogen energy.
Multiple breakthroughs have been made in core technologies, with significant implementation results:
- The dry electrode mixing and coating equipment for solid-state battery has been verified through actual production, saving over 35% energy and over 15% cost;
- The AI-empowered quality inspection system shows a 90% efficiency increase and reduces the false alarm rate to one in a million;
- The AI predictive maintenance system is over 25% more accurate than conventional methods in fault prediction;
- The intelligent solution for large-scale energy storage manufacturing secures an OEE of over 75%, a first-time yield of over 93%, and a comprehensive yield of over 96%;
From single technological breakthroughs to systematic capability building, LEAD has been strengthening its global competitiveness in new energy intelligent manufacturing.
Amid the accelerating global energy transition, ESG is no longer a bonus question, but an underlying logic supporting corporate development. Looking forward, LEAD will continue to deepen its ESG system construction, leveraging intelligent manufacturing with global partners for a better global green and low-carbon transition.
