Reading the RELX ESG report: R&D investment remains stable, but employment opportunities are greatly reduced

Reading the RELX ESG report: R&D investment remains stable, but employment opportunities are greatly reduced

Comparing RELX's 2022 and 2023 ESG reports shows that although scientific research investment has stagnated, the number of global patents has increased. While the retail scale has shrunk, the industry's ecology has been purified, employment opportunities have been significantly reduced, and environmental protection projects have expanded significantly.

 

In the past few years, RELX (Longxin Technology, NYSE: RLX), as a well-known company focusing on the field of electronic atomizers, has experienced significant development and changes. Recently, RELX released the 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report (hereinafter referred to as the "Report 2023"), and 2FIRSTS compared it with the 2022 ESG Report (hereinafter referred to as the "Report 2022"). It was found that RELX has experienced varying degrees of growth or decrease in scientific research, economics and social responsibility in the past two years.

(See RELX Technology in numbers; the top picture is from "Report 2023", the bottom picture is from "Report 2022")

1. Scientific research: R&D investment stagnates, and the number of global patents increases

In the rapidly changing e-cigarette market, scientific research strength has become a key driving force for the sustainable development of enterprises. By comparing the changes in scientific research indicators shown by RELX in "Report 2022" and "Report 2023", the two top 2Firsts clearly see the trend changes in its R&D investment, external cooperative scientific research projects and the number of global patent applications.

 

Specifically, as of the end of April 2023, RELX's cumulative R&D investment is consistent with the amount shown in "Report 2022", both of which are 800 million yuan; secondly, RELX's external cooperative scientific research projects have increased from 13 to 17 from 2021 to April 2023; in terms of global patent applications, from June 2022 to April 2023, it has increased from 610 to 900.

 

2. Economy: Retail scale is reduced and the industry ecology is purified

With the continuous tightening of domestic and foreign regulatory policies, increasingly fierce market competition, and significant improvements in consumer health awareness, the economic environment faced by RELX has also ushered in changes. By comparing the changes in economic indicators shown in RELX's "Report 2022" and "Report 2023", it can be found that its market size and seizures of counterfeit and copycat products have decreased.

First of all, as of the end of April 2023, the number of RELX products in stores nationwide has been reduced from 24,000 at the end of 2021 to 20,000, and the retail market size has shrunk by approximately 16.7%. The company is facing policy changes, intensified competition and market adjustment and other factors.

Secondly, in RELX's "Operation Golden Shield" - assisting the police in handling product anti-counterfeiting cases, the number of counterfeit and copycat products seized by the company decreased from 797,891 in 2021 to 54,600 in 2022, a year-on-year decrease of 93.1%. The results are remarkable. It can be seen that with the strengthening of special law enforcement, the advancement of corporate compliance operations, and the improvement of consumer awareness, the number of counterfeit e-cigarette products on the market has significantly decreased, and the ecology of the domestic e-cigarette industry has been purified.

3. Society: Employment opportunities have been significantly reduced and environmental protection projects have been expanded.

In terms of promoting the development of the industrial chain and social responsibility, by comparing the changes in social indicators shown in RELX's "Report 2022" and "Report 2023", it can be seen that RELX not only has areas that need reflection and improvement, but also There have been significant improvements in some areas.

First of all, as of the end of April 2023, RELX has effectively created approximately 120,000 jobs in the upstream and downstream of the industry chain. Compared with its industry performance of 370,000 jobs at the end of 2021, the number of jobs has shrunk by 67.7%.

In addition, the "Empty Bomb Rebirth" environmental recycling program is an important environmental protection initiative launched by RELX, aiming to reduce environmental pollution from electronic cigarette cartridges and promote the recycling of resources. As of April 2023, the "Blank Rebirth" environmental recycling program has been launched in 297 cities across the country. Compared with the performance of the project in 188 cities in June 2022, the project has expanded by approximately 58%.