Translation Practice of ESG/Sustainable Development Report

The following content is translated from Chinese source by machine translation without post-editing.

Since the concept of ESG was first proposed by the United Nations Global Compact in 2004, it has been a development process of 20 years. With the continuous changes and developments in the international situation, the ESG market in China has continued to grow. Especially in 2024, the central and local governments have successively introduced ESG related policies and requirements. ESG has been further amplified at this stage, and the policy promotion efforts continue to strengthen. The government and related enterprises and institutions have also gradually strengthened their international cooperation. In this context, how translation companies can keep up with the pace of the times and policies, and provide real-time, accurate, and effective translation of ESG/sustainable development reports for various enterprises will be a huge challenge we face.

（1） Background of project requirements
The client is an independent professional consulting firm dedicated to providing ESG, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and Responsible Investment (SRI) services under the Sustainable Development Goals. We are committed to providing comprehensive consulting services to businesses, helping them gain competitive advantages while creating shared value for society. The translation requirements mainly include ESG reports, as well as a few CSR strategic planning reports. The translation of reports is concentrated from February to May each year, with each report ranging from 30000 to 60000 words. During the centralized translation period, approximately 45 reports will be delivered.

（2） Key Points and Countermeasures of ESG Reporting Projects
ESG reporting is a way for listed companies to actively respond to the concept of sustainable development by establishing a three-level governance structure of “environment, society, and governance” and incorporating it into investment decisions and corporate operations. Therefore, every ESG report we receive from our clients is translated around two key points: a comprehensive content structure and a high requirement for formal language expression.

The content of ESG reports is highly comprehensive, and their final online disclosure will also follow relevant standards and requirements (commonly used disclosure standards for domestic enterprises include GRI Standards, CAS-CSR4.0, ISO26000, and GB36001). Combining the content composition, disclosure standards, and requirements of ESG reports provides us with clear direction in the selection of translators. Before starting the translation work, the translator needs to be familiar with the commonly used terminology and disclosure standards in ESG reports, such as “substantive analysis”, which is commonly referred to as “Materiality Analysis” in ESG/sustainability reports; The specialized term for ‘stakeholders’ is expressed as’ stakeholders’ in English; One of the common units in the data table section of the report is Ton/tons (which is a British metric ton and is rarely used in China, so it is not used by default in the report). Tonne/tons is generally used. For reports of US and Hong Kong listed companies, reference should be made to the corresponding ESG guidance documents. According to the 12th China Responsible Investment Forum (China SIF) held in early December 2024, the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing stock exchanges have successively released guidance documents for listed companies to disclose ESG/sustainable development reports to the public in 2024, including the “Guidelines for Sustainable Development Reports” and “Guidelines for the Preparation of Sustainable Development Reports”, as well as the “Guidelines for the Work of Sustainable Development Reports for Listed Companies” issued by the China Association of Listed Companies. The latest reference outline has been provided for our upcoming translation of the 2025 report.

In terms of language expression, ESG reports require formal language (unless necessary, passive language should not be used in subject verb structures), accurate and diverse word selection, concise and appropriate sentence breaks, and avoidance of long sentence overlap. Customers will value the logical relationship between sentences and express themselves clearly. Especially for some large and well-known listed companies, in order to better link and highlight internationalization, they are increasingly focusing on westernization in word selection. Replace the commonly used term ‘Grassroots Management Cadre’ with ‘Frontline Manager’ instead of ‘Grassroots Management Cadre’; Replace ‘supplier sunshine agreements’ with’ supplier transparency agreements’. Authentic language expression not only highlights the professionalism of our translation, but also provides assistance to enterprises seeking high-quality partners for internationalization to some extent. The client’s requirements for the tense and format of the report also vary. There are many details to pay attention to in terms of format. There are mainly aspects such as titles, sentence structures, and standardized use of punctuation marks.

（3） Experience Sharing of ESG Report Translation Services
ESG reporting is an important guarantee for the comprehensive transformation of enterprises at the current stage, and its significance for enterprises is self-evident. Therefore, in the process of report translation, service providers should not only familiarize themselves with the relevant policies issued by the government in advance, but also maintain continuous communication with clients to ensure the accuracy, clarity, and confidentiality of the translated content output, that is, adhere to the best practice principles of the translation industry. The translation team not only focuses on accurate language translation, but also constantly pays attention to policy guidelines and relevant requirements. At the same time, translation service providers also need to adopt secure file transfer and storage methods to ensure maximum protection of customer information.

The preparation of ESG/Sustainable Development reports is not achieved overnight, and each report undergoes several rounds of continuous adjustment, modification, and improvement by professional personnel before being finalized in the Chinese version. Due to time constraints, many reports are translated and modified simultaneously with the Chinese version for publication. Finally, we receive the final Chinese version and proceed with updating and outputting the final translation draft. This further tests the translation company’s processes and personnel arrangements. We have set up a dedicated report translation team to seamlessly coordinate and collaborate with clients throughout the process of report translation and updates.

（4） Summary
From a relatively accidental opportunity, Tang Neng provided clients with their first ESG report translation service. By the end of 2024, a total of over 200 reports had been translated for clients, all of which received positive feedback and accumulated rich translation and service experience. From meticulous translation to word selection in proofreading, to the use of punctuation marks, every aspect reflects our control over details and requirements for quality. We will always adhere to the principle of excellence in practice and provide our clients with high-quality, safe, and reliable translation services.

With the continuous development and internationalization of ESG standards, translation work is also facing new challenges and opportunities. On November 14, 2024, ISO released the world’s first ESG international standard: ISO ESG IWA 48 “Framework for Implementing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Principles”, marking a new level of global awareness of the importance of ESG factors. This standard not only provides a comprehensive ESG management framework, but also helps organizations track progress, set goals, and transparently report their achievements by defining common and specific ESG key performance indicators (KPIs), thereby enhancing the reliability and credibility of ESG reporting. This provides new references and guidance for our future translation work, and also requires us to pay more attention to the applicability and consistency of international standards in the translation process.

In addition, with the popularization of ESG investment concepts, more and more companies are paying attention to the preparation and translation of ESG reports. Translation not only needs to accurately convey information, but also needs to consider the cultural background and legal regulations of the target market to ensure the localization and compliance of the translated content. Therefore, in future translation work, we will continue to deepen our understanding of ESG standards, improve translation quality, and provide strong support for the international development of enterprises. Based on this, we have summarized the translation experience of ESG/Sustainable Development Report and shared it with everyone.