PRESS RELEASE: Recently, the First International Engineering ESG Management Forum and the Award Ceremony hosted by CHINCA(China International Contractors Association) were successfully held in Beijing, China. ZTE won the title of “Overseas Sustainable Infrastructure Project 2022” for its outstanding contribution to the DITO Project in Philippines. Li Weizheng, Vice President of ZTE, was invited to attend the meeting and shared experience in the sustainable infrastructure project in the Philippines.

As an important activity under the “International Sustainable Infrastructure Promotion Mechanism” (MISIP), this forum aims to further advocate the concept of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance), helps enterprises improve their ESG management level, and improve their ESG practice in overseas projects. Representatives from government departments, such as the Ministry of Commerce and the SASAC, as well as CHINCA, international organizations, financial institutions, and enterprises, gathered together to make in-depth discussions about the latest trends of ESG at home and abroad, international standards and regulations, and management practices of enterprises.

Li Weizheng, the representative of the award-winning enterprises of “Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Outside China” in 2022, shared ZTE’s concept and experience in Philippine DITO Project.

As the core equipment supplier and the Engineering Project Construction(EPC) general contractor of DITO, the third largest operator in the Philippines, ZTE is in charge of the land and right-of-way acquisition, survey and design, network construction, optimization, and maintenance of wireless network sites and optical cable transmission(Phase 1) in over 700 cities, as well as regional data center rooms across the country. With its AMB innovation management methods, cloud-based delivery models, digital and intelligent tool deployment, BCM emergency mechanisms, and other digital delivery methods, ZTE has successfully delivered full turnkey network construction projects of 4G and 5G, set the fastest commercial use record for local communication networks, and helped the Philippines upgrade its communication facilities. Meanwhile, ZTE has incorporated the ESG concept into project delivery, and practiced sustainable development.

Innovation and Minimalism, Protecting Ecological Environment

ZTE continued to promote innovative energy-saving technologies, launched a number of innovative 5G application scenarios in the overall project planning, and actively carried out innovative green 5G+ practices to reduce energy consumption of network equipment. The project used the GaN+ technology cooperating with hardware algorithm improvement to elevate the 5G cell site power amplification efficiency by more than 55%. The V-type bionic heat sink AAUs combined with new materials and ultra-light architecture improved the heat dissipation efficiency by 20%. Lithium-iron batteries rather than lead-acid batteries were selected for energy products to reduce environmental pollution, increase energy density, and shrink the footprint. In terms of network planning and construction, diversified and minimized site solutions were used to significantly reduce equipment room rental costs and electricity fees, achieving the goal of decreasing carbon emissions by 25% to 30%. Meanwhile, the environment protection area or ecologically sensitive area were avoided when obtaining the site, and the excavation area was strictly controlled during the basic construction to reduce the affected area. In addition, after the construction was completed, the on-site environment was cleaned and sorted out, and the waste and packaging during the construction was cleaned to ensure that the local ecological environment was not affected.

Harmonious Coexistence, Practicing Social Responsibility

In the project delivery process, ZTE fully explored local resources and purchased a large number of materials and services. In terms of creating local employment opportunities, about 850 local employees were recruited during the peak demand period of the project, and over 6000 employees served 1000 teams of partners. In addition, more than 8000 indirect jobs from other downstream suppliers were created. Totally, about 15000 jobs were created and more than 800 local communication technical talents were trained. In terms of talent training, ZTE has set up the FLIP Program (Filipino Localization Improvement Program) in the Philippines, including ZTE Incentives Program, K.D.T (Knowledge Delivery Training) Program, and L.E.A.D (Localization Excellence and Achievement in Delivery) Program, to explore and cultivate more than 800 high-quality, high-capability, and high-potential local communication technology talents, continuously contributing to the network construction in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, ZTE attached great importance to joint innovation, industry association cooperation, school-enterprise cooperation, and partner empowerment, and carried out in-depth strategic cooperation with the International Project Management Association (IPMA), Human Resource Management Association People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) , Philippines Association of Quality (PSQ), International Business Exchange Association (IABC), and local famous universities in the Philippines.

Precisely and Pragmatically, Building Operation Resilience

ZTE is committed to building a resilient organization to comprehensively upgrade its predictability, immunity, and adaptability. With the help of digital tools, relatively comprehensive risk management and internal control management methods were formulated and the construction and introduction of the business continuity system were continuously improved. In terms of guaranteeing business continuity, improving turnover efficiency, and reducing operational risks,  ZTE has effectively safeguarded the security and stability of the supply chain, enabled continuous delivery to global customers, and the operation quality and organizational resilience of the company were constantly enhanced.

ZTE has adopted many innovative management modes in the Philippines DITO Project, including audit priority in project initiation, and regular Business Continuity Management (BCM) mechanism, etc. Through self-check by the project team and audit by the headquarters, the project implementation process was comprehensively controlled in the aspects of laws and regulations, compliance, corporate processes, and project management, ensuring that the project always moves in the right direction and safeguarding successful delivery.

With outstanding performance and positive contributions in project management, innovative technologies, and ESG, ZTE Philippines DITO Project has won many international honors, including PMI (China) Outstanding Project Award 2021, IDC Innovation Award by W.Media, Telecom Vendor of the Year Award and Men & Women Who Matters Award of Asia Leaders Awards, and IDC Innovation Award and Telecommunication Construction Award of Asia Technology Excellence Awards . ”

The title of “2022 Overseas Sustainable Infrastructure Project” is the recognition and encouragement in the industry for ZTE’s efforts in environment, society and corporate governance. Li Weizheng said, “It is the responsibility of a global company to adhere to green and sustainable development. ZTE upholds the ecosystem positioning of ‘Driver of Digital Economy’, reviews and closely follows the trend of high-quality development road of the enterprise, actively promotes the implementation of the ESG development concept in the company, and integrates the ESG concept into all aspects of corporate governance and operation. In the future, ZTE will firmly implement the concept of sustainable development around the world, promote the upgradation and consumption reduction of communication infrastructure, practice corporate social responsibility, and strengthen cooperation with customers and partners to realize green and sustainable development all around the world. “