Wuliangye Group: Building a Responsible Business System through the "Four Cycles"

As global sustainable development enters a phase of deep execution, the baijiu industry, due to its high energy consumption, high emissions, and large by- products, is considered one of the most challenging traditional industries to undergo a green transformation. However, Wuliangye has taken circular economy as its breakthrough point, transforming sustainability from a compliance requirement into a business method and brand value proposition. This fully aligns with the definition of "sustainable brand creation": integrating sustainable development throughout the value chain and earning social trust through authentic, long- term, and transparent practices. Wuliangye has also deeply aligned its system with global frameworks, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), achieving broad understanding and recognition in international contexts.

Wuliangye's core exploration is the creation of the baijiu industry's first systematic Four Cycle System, which reconstructs resource utilization methods using "soil, heat, electricity, and water," forming a responsible business system. Compared to traditional environmental governance, this system focuses on the regeneration of resources within the system, transforming waste from a cost burden into production factors, and creating new economic value through cross- industry collaboration. The Four Cycles align with multiple SDGs, for example, the soil cycle corresponds to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 15 (Life on Land), the heat and electricity cycles support SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), and the water cycle aligns with SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), demonstrating that Wuliangye's industry innovation can be extended to international standardized scenarios, contributing more Chinese solutions to the green governance model of the baijiu industry in the global circular economy.

In the soil cycle, large amounts of spent fermented grains are processed into edible alcohol production or used as feed additives for cattle farming. Livestock manure is combined with mud- grain residue to produce organic fertilizer, which is returned to grain bases. This forms a closed loop in agriculture, not only improving resource utilization efficiency but also increasing farmers' income, linking sustainable development with rural revitalization.

The heat cycle achieves bidirectional recycling of energy and materials. Dried distiller's grains are used as biomass fuel in the boiler system to generate steam, which is reused in the brewing process. The boiler ash is then converted into white carbon black, used as an additive in products such as rubber. This cross- industry cycle generates an annual economic benefit of 350 million RMB, saves 45,000 tons of standard coal, reduces CO₂ emissions by 80,000 tons, and has won multiple industry awards, including the BRICS Industrial Innovation Competition Excellent Project Award, showcasing the innovation potential of traditional industries in the circular economy.

The electricity cycle transforms brewing wastewater into green energy. Wastewater undergoes anaerobic digestion to produce biogas for power generation. In 2020, the company built China's largest biogas- to- power demonstration project for baijiu wastewater, generating 8 million kWh annually. The soon- to- be- launched centralized sewage treatment plant's biogas- to- power project will achieve an annual power generation capacity of 50 million kWh, reducing carbon emissions by 30,000 tons.

The water cycle reflects the company's responsibility in watershed governance. Wuliangye has remodeled its water supply system, adopted reuse technologies, and established the industry's first ecological wetland, purifying wastewater through three stages before replenishing 4 million cubic meters of water annually into the Songgong River. This creates a healthy cycle of "water extraction—treatment—replenishment," contributing to the protection of water ecology in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

The essence of the Four Cycle System is to use systemic governance to transform environmental protection from a cost center into a value center. For an enterprise with an annual revenue of over 100 billion RMB, this is not only a necessary condition for green development but also an important source of long- term competitiveness.

Wuliangye demonstrates a feasible path for traditional industries to build sustainable brands: by establishing a responsible business system, turning resource recycling into a new mechanism for economic growth, transforming ecological responsibility into brand competitiveness, and earning trust through authentic, long- term actions.