CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY - Alibaba

WE TRULY BELIEVE THAT
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
IS NOT A BURDEN AND
THAT EVERY BUSINESS
CAN STRIKE A BALANCE
BETWEEN ITS BUSINESS
MODEL AND ITS
CONTRIBUTIONS TO
SOCIETY.
Representatives of Animals Asia endorsed Alibaba.com’s ban on the sale of
bear bile products at our company’s 2010 annual general meeting.
ANIMAL wELFARE
In addition to our ban on shark fin, cat and dog fur and meat
products, we also initiated a ban on the sale of bear bile products
on Alibaba.com in May 2010. This restriction applies to all our
online marketplaces as well as our sister company Taobao, the
largest online retail site in China. Working with Animals Asia, a
Hong Kong-based animal welfare group that saved more than
330 bears in China and Vietnam, we rescued an adult bear from
a bear bile farm in Sichuan Province that had been caged for
many years for regular bile extraction. We hope our efforts in this
rescue mission will help raise animal welfare awareness around
the country.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
In 2010, Alibaba.com organized the “Green Mobilization”
initiative to encourage all our staff to help preserve the earth by
developing eco-friendly everyday habits, such as: reducing the
use of disposable chopsticks, boxes and paper cups; limiting the
use of posters wherever possible; adopting double-sided printing;
turning off computer monitors while off duty and so on. Every
year, Alibaba.com also organizes tree plantation activities that
more than a thousand of our employees participate in. Since the
program’s initiation, we have planted approximately 25,000 trees.
An estimated 446 tons of carbon dioxide are expected to be
absorbed when these trees are fully grown.
To highlight the importance of committing to a green living and
working environment across our organization, we also launched
the “Green Commitment” campaign and called on our employees
to declare their commitment to a greener environment. The
campaign received support not only from our chairman Jack Ma
and former chief executive officer David Wei, but also from the
United Kingdom’s former First Lady, Cherie Blair.
The “Green Gurus,” the largest environmental team within
Alibaba.com with more than 1,000 members, was also set up
during the year with a mission of creating a greener working
environment for all fellow colleagues. The Green Gurus advocate
the belief of “starting green initiatives at the grassroots level,”
and formed their own committee to design company-wide
environmental initiatives. Each quarter, up to three environmental
protection plans will receive approval from our management and
will be carried out with company funding.
39 Alibaba.com Limited Annual Report 2010