Categories and this year's winners
This year’s awards recognize outstanding initiatives across six categories — Supply Chain Collaboration, ESG Innovation Strategy, Climate Action, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Circular Economy, and Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) ESG Public Star — showcasing the commitment and innovation of companies driving sustainable business practices.
- In the Supply Chain Collaboration category, Bosch (China) Investment Ltd., DHL Group and Viessmann Heating Technology Beijing Co., Ltd. were shortlisted, with Bosch (China) Investment Ltd. named the winner.
- The ESG Innovation Strategy category featured Boehringer Ingelheim (China) Investment Co., Ltd., DEKRA (Shanghai) Investment Co., Ltd., and SAIC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. as shortlisted, with Boehringer Ingelheim (China) Investment Co., Ltd. taking the top honor.
- For Climate Action, Boehringer Ingelheim (China) Investment Co., Ltd., DHL Group and Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd. were recognized as finalists, and Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd. emerged as the winner.
- In the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category, Adidas Sports (China) Co., Ltd., BMW (China) Automotive Trading Co., Ltd., and Mercedes-Benz Group China Ltd., were shortlisted, with Mercedes-Benz Group China Ltd. receiving the winner award.
- The Circular Economy category honored Bader China Ltd., Evonik Specialty Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and Volkswagen (Anhui) Automotive Co., Ltd. in the finalist, with Evonik Specialty Chemicals (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. taking home the winner prize.
- Finally, JUMO Automation Dalian Co., Ltd. was recognized as the Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) ESG Public Star.
In addition to the awards presentation, the award ceremony also featured the release of “The Excellence ESG Projects of German Companies in China (2025 edition)”, as recognition of each participating company’s dedication and contribution to advancing sustainability in China and aims to inspire more businesses to engage in impactful ESG and community initiatives.
About 'More Than A Market'
This year, the More than a Market initiative—jointly launched by the German Chamber of Commerce in China and the German Consulate General in Shanghai—celebrated its tenth anniversary. The initiative aims to recognize German companies and organizations in China that go beyond business to actively contribute to Chinese society through innovative sustainability and CSR projects.
In the application phase, 71 companies have submitted 106 projects for the competition. Over the past months, the jury carefully evaluated all applications, combining with the online public voting result, the winning projects for this year are confirmed, which was announced during the More than a Market Awards Ceremony on October 30th, at the Portman Ritz-Calton, Shanghai. The large number and variety of submitted projects reflect a far-reaching and impactful engagement of German companies.