Beijing – At the recent 19th International Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility/ESG in China, TRULIVA, the professional water purification brand under Unilever China, was honored with the “ESG Competitiveness Exemplar • Strategic Philanthropy” award for its “Three-River-Source • TRULIVA Initiative” launched in partnership with the China Environmental Protection Foundation. The project was also included in the 2024 Golden Bee Responsibility Competitiveness Case Study. TRULIVA Group has actively undertaken the green mission of guarding the “China Water Tower”, exploring a sustainable philanthropy model that leverages its core strengths. Alongside innovative cases from other leading companies, it plays an exemplary role in guiding Chinese enterprises to fulfill their missions and enhance sustainable competitiveness from a global perspective.
Since its launch in 2021, the “Three-River-Source • TRULIVA Initiative” has focused on three pillars— “Guardian of the Pristine Land”, “Beautifying Hometowns”, and “Revitalizing Traditions”—to support ecological civilization in the Three-River-Source region. As a decade-long commitment to “Clean Healthy Water Sources 2030”, TRULIVA has collaborated with the China Environmental Protection Foundation, the Three-River-Source Ecological Protection Foundation, and other renowned domestic public welfare organizations. By pooling expertise and building a philanthropic platform, the initiative actively fosters a harmonious relationship between people, the environment, and communities, embodying the “Golden Bee” spirit of the TRULIVA brand and promoting coexistence between humanity and nature.
Exemplary Role for a Shared Future
ESG, as a crucial framework and pathway for high-quality development, has gained mainstream consensus globally. It also encourages Chinese enterprises to thrive under ESG principles, leverage their respective advantages, and build a distinctive Chinese ESG system.
At the “New Quality Productivity Driving Sustainable Development Summit”, participants shared insights from various perspectives including ESG disclosure, management, standards, and practice. Mr. Hua Jingdong, Vice Chairman of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), shared the latest application status of the first set of global ESG disclosure standards issued by the ISSB. Mr. Yin Gefei, Founder and Chief Expert of the Golden Bee Think Tank, noted that a new era of sustainable economic globalization has arrived, and China’s propositions and practices in this new round of globalization are demonstrating their strength. Professor Liu Xuexin, Dean of the China ESG Research Institute at Capital University of Economics and Business and Convener of the National Standardization Administration’s ESG Standardization Research Group, offered suggestions for achieving synergistic development between ESG and new quality productivity.
Since its inception in 2008, the “Golden Bee CSR • China List” has evaluated over 4,000 enterprises and organizations, with 535 “Bee” enterprises emerging to date, collectively shaping the image of responsible Chinese businesses.
After nearly three months of rigorous screening for the “2024 Golden Bee CSR • China List”, the “Three-River-Source • TRULIVA Initiative” received high recognition from the “Golden Bee CSR Expert Committee” for its outstanding performance in sustainability over the past three years. It was also included as an exemplary case in the 2024 Golden Bee Responsibility Competitiveness Case Study, providing a model of wisdom for more enterprises to follow in fulfilling their social responsibilities.
Giving Back to the Source, Painting the Beauty of the Plateau
The Three-River-Source region, known as the “China Water Tower”, holds significant ecological importance and is a sensitive area to global climate change. Protecting its headwater ecosystems impacts the drinking water health of hundreds of millions downstream. Due to the plateau’s harsh, high-altitude conditions and unstable water quality, boiling water is often insufficient for sterilization, and high mineral content poses additional health challenges. The “Three-River-Source • TRULIVA Initiative” provides customized water purification equipment for local schools, monasteries, and protection stations, supports eco-rangers in patrolling water sources, and raises public awareness of the region through diverse activities, advocating for a green lifestyle and contributing to the vision of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
Over its first three years, the project has expanded from Yushu and Maduo to Zadoi, visiting the sources of the Yellow, Yangtze, and Lancang Rivers, achieving significant results. To protect the water source environment, the project supports the daily patrol work of eco-rangers, having assisted over 3,000 rangers across 12 ecological villages, covering a patrol area exceeding 4,000 square kilometers. To improve local drinking water health, the project has established 34 TRULIVA water stations at schools, protection stations, and tourist centers, providing safe, reliable, and clean instant drinking water for residents and visitors, and set up 21 zero-waste education sites to encourage waste-free travel.
In 2023, the “Ka Jiang No.1 TRULIVA Water Station” was completed at the Yangtze River Source Water Ecological Protection Station in Tanggulashan Town at an altitude of 4,600 meters. Facing challenges like high altitude, extreme weather, and unstable water supply, TRULIVA engineers customized an integrated water storage and purification system based on the site’s specific water usage and quality. As a key “base” for scientific research and environmental protection and a popular tourist “check-in point” at the source of the Yangtze River, this water station not only meets the daily needs of volunteers and staff but also provides water supply for passing drivers and tourists. Combined with the “zero-waste education site”, it disseminates the idea of protecting water sources and biodiversity, encouraging more people to join “zero-waste travel”.
Commitment to Ultimate Protection Guides a Green Future
Guided by Unilever’s purpose to “make sustainable living commonplace”, the “Three-River-Source • TRULIVA Initiative” stands out for its unique creativity and foresight, demonstrating exceptional innovation in philanthropic practice. Leveraging TRULIVA’s 26 years of expertise in water purification, it takes concrete action to support the ecological environment of water source areas, improve local drinking water conditions, and contribute to the protection of clean, healthy water sources.
In today’s era of accelerating new quality productivity in modern industries, higher demands are placed on the high-quality “green development” of enterprises. TRULIVA owns the water purification industry’s first “Six-Star Zero Carbon Factory” certified by Bureau Veritas. By leveraging advantages in intelligence, digitalization, and renewable energy, it achieves green transformation. Through relentless pursuit of technological innovation, product craftsmanship, and filtration efficacy, it meets diverse water purification needs.
Mr. Pan Shiyang, CEO of Unilever’s TRULIVA Group, stated, “TRULIVA is a brand under Unilever focused on family drinking water health. This important award in the sustainability field indicates that the results and potential of TRULIVA’s efforts have received professional recognition. From home to homeland, TRULIVA has explored a new sustainable development model suited to itself. TRULIVA will continue to uphold the brand philosophy of ‘Every Drop with Heart, Purity Without End’ to protect drinking water health. At the same time, we understand deeply that ecological protection requires the participation of the whole society. We hope our efforts will call on more people to pay attention to the Three-River-Source region, protect drinking water health from source to tap, and contribute to building a beautiful China.”
