The International Labour Organization (ILO) welcomed the successful convening of the SCORE Pilot Experience Exchange and On-Site Promotion Conference held by the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM) in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, on 19-20 March 2026. The event marked an important milestone in the continued expansion of the Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme across China.
SCORE, first piloted by MEM in 2014, has been progressively localized through close cooperation between the ILO and Chinese stakeholders. Since 2024, the International Economic and Cooperation Center of MEM has served as the programme's national implementing partner, supporting the rollout of SCORE tools, training of trainers and consultants, and promotion of worker‑manager collaboration models that improve workplace safety and productivity.
At the meeting, Vice Minister Song Yuanming emphasized the transformative role SCORE has played in strengthening safety governance. He noted that the programme has helped shift enterprises from passive compliance to proactive self‑management by empowering workers to participate directly in risk identification and improvement processes. Song highlighted that SCORE provides an effective pathway for enhancing enterprise responsibility, improving hazard detection led by frontline employees, promoting service‑oriented regulatory practices and contributing new insights to global safety governance.
Chang‑Hee Lee, Director of the ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, highlighted China's achievements in expanding SCORE, affirming that the country has demonstrated strong commitment and innovation in scaling the programme. He underscored the importance of government leadership in integrating SCORE into broader safety governance frameworks and noted that China's experience reflects the programme's core principle that safety and productivity reinforce one another.
China's SCORE pilots have generated practical innovations tailored to local needs. In several provinces, enterprises have incorporated SCORE methodologies into existing safety systems, enabling frontline workers to play a central role in identifying and resolving risks. Zhejiang's pilots illustrate these outcomes: participating enterprises have submitted more than 16,000 improvement suggestions, identified over 9,200 hazards-most reported by frontline workers-and achieved a notable reduction in work‑related injuries. Other regions have linked SCORE to insurance mechanisms, credit‑based safety management and safety standardization systems, creating policy synergies that further strengthen enterprise incentives.
Across the country, enterprises participating in SCORE have reported clear improvements in communication, operational efficiency and workplace safety conditions. These developments have also helped companies respond to growing international expectations on labour standards and responsible business conduct.
Looking ahead, MEM expressed its intention to use China's SCORE experience to support South-South cooperation by sharing methods, tools and lessons learned with other developing countries. The ILO reaffirmed its commitment to work with MEM to advance decent work and improve workplace safety management globally.
More than 150 officials from provincial MEM branches, the National Mine Safety Administration, relevant MEM bureaus, affiliated institutions and major state‑owned enterprises joined the event. Participants exchanged experiences from SCORE pilot regions and conducted on‑site visits in Yongkang to observe local implementation practices.
