Interviewee: Geng Kaiping
Doctor, Senior Economist
Founder and CEO of Shenzhen T-chef Technology Co., Ltd.
"High-Level Technology Leader" in Shenzhen
Has led and participated in six major national 863 projects,
Natural Science Foundation and provincial and municipal major scientific research projects
Published more than 20 papers and holds more than 30 patents
Awarded the title of "Top 10 Innovators in International Service Robots"
Interviewer: Mai Zhiyang
NetEase Shenzhen Chief Marketing Officer
Editor-in-chief of NetEase's "Hello, ESG" column
Director of the Shenzhen Green Industry Promotion Association
Director of Mingshan Charity
Vice Chairman of the Inspire Education Empowerment Section of the SHERO Initiative
The photo shows Dr. Geng Kaiping, founder and CEO of Shenzhen T-chef Technology Co., Ltd., being interviewed by "Hello, ESG"
From Introduction to Practice The ESG Development Journey of T-chef
Hello, ESG: When did T-chef start focusing on ESG?
Geng Kaiping: From the beginning of our establishment, we have paid great attention to ESG practices and set up a dedicated Social Value Committee. This committee does not only discuss the company's performance indicators but also delves into the future development direction of the company from an ESG perspective. We believe that management methods solely focused on indicators are unsustainable. Therefore, our Value Committee gradually introduces ESG concepts and practices based on the development stage and capabilities of the company to promote sustainable development.
Hello, ESG: Can you tell us more about the Social Value Committee?
Geng Kaiping: The Social Value Committee consists of myself, shareholders, and employee representatives. Interestingly, it was initially founded together with our angel investor, "Heroad Investments", and as the company grew, subsequent investors also applied to join and successfully integrated into it.
Hello, ESG: Besides the Social Value Committee, what specific ESG practices does T-chef have?
Geng Kaiping: First, we believe that continuous ESG practice must be closely connected to the product itself. T-chef's intelligent cooking robots are committed to using technology for good. We want the world to taste the flavor of technology and share the goodness of technology.
In terms of energy conservation and emission reduction, traditional chefs often control the heat by adjusting the distance between the cookware and the heat source based on their experience. However, our intelligent cooking robots, with precise temperature control technology, automatically adjust the heat through programmed adjustments, achieving at least a 30% energy-saving effect, which is the most direct feedback from our customers.
At the same time, we are deeply concerned about the healthy development of the catering industry and the working experience of practitioners. Long hours of cooking in the kitchen is a challenging job for chefs, with issues such as heavy fumes, high temperatures, and occupational injuries from long-term pot handling. Therefore, we hope to improve their work efficiency through technological means, making their work happier. T-chef's cooking robots use a highly efficient temperature control method, reducing kitchen fumes by one-sixth and improving the kitchen environment. At the same time, the simple operation provides more employment opportunities for the elderly and disabled, helping the catering industry solve labor problems. In product design, we always adhere to a people-oriented approach. For example, in response to environmental issues that may arise during the spray coating process of frying pans, we have actively improved product design.
Currently, more than half of our products use non-coated materials. In addition, we follow international standards, use recyclable and recyclable materials, and have obtained international food safety certification, committed to achieving sustainable development.
The photo shows the dishes made by T-chef's intelligent cooking robot.
Hello, ESG: Besides the environmental and social practices mentioned above, what are T-chef's thoughts on employee welfare?
Geng Kaiping: We highly value the welfare of our employees. We often say, "Focus on what employees care about the most." After breaking it down, we found that employees' happiness mainly comes from their children's education and personal skill improvement.
In terms of children's education, we have set up an internal scholarship program. When employees' children achieve excellent academic results, such as reaching an A or above 90 points, they can receive our scholarship. In addition, we regularly organize parent-child events, inviting employees' children to visit the company, watch robots cook, and understand what their parents are doing. We also hold award ceremonies for children who receive scholarships to enhance their sense of honor towards their studies. In interviews, the children expressed that receiving a scholarship from Zhigu Tianchu made them prouder than receiving one from school.
In terms of personal skill improvement, we encourage colleagues who have not received higher education to learn new skills and obtain relevant professional qualifications. We also have various sports clubs to encourage employees to stay physically and mentally healthy. Of course, we also regularly organize welfare activities for employees, such as afternoon teas and birthday parties. Although we are still a startup company, I believe that the company can grow only if the employees grow. We hope that the busyness of entrepreneurship will not be a reason for employees' unhappiness.
The photo shows a group photo of the internal scholarship program award ceremony at T-chef.
Trends and Directions Market Opportunities under the Competitive Landscape of the Industry
Hello, ESG: How do you view the relationship between ESG practice and business development?
Geng Kaiping: I believe that actively practicing ESG is not only responsible for oneself and society but also an investment in the future. Through ESG practice, we can attract more like-minded partners and customers, promoting sustainable development of the enterprise. From the practice point of view, although the promotion of ESG in China still needs to be improved, and not all customers will immediately pay attention to our ESG practices, people deep down yearn for kindness and beauty. When they see our efforts in ESG, they are deeply moved.
In fact, the development and maintenance of some customers are closely related to our ESG practices. Especially for listed company customers, they pay great attention to ESG practices when choosing partners. In the initial contact, they will explicitly request us to meet related ESG standards. But after in-depth understanding and docking, they find that we have done very well in this area, which not only directly reduces the transaction costs of both parties but also successfully promotes cooperation. This recognition and support have also become a major competitive advantage for us.
For example, the cooperation with Café de Coral Hong Kong is such a case: Café de Coral Group is a listed company in Hong Kong that needs to disclose ESG performance annually. They chose to cooperate with T-chef, on one hand, to reduce energy consumption, improve kitchen working environment, increase employee efficiency, and achieve employee care through the use of intelligent cooking robots, thereby improving its ESG performance. On the other hand, it also alleviates their "labor shortage" problem. For foreign customers, their requirements for sustainable development are more clear and specific. For example, they will specifically request the installation of kitchen waste shredders, classifiers, and anti-oil fume splash pollution equipment on machinery and equipment.
These seemingly minor improvements are actually crucial for enhancing the environmental performance and user experience of the product. For Chinese enterprises, "going out" has become a necessary path. In this process, early ESG layout can undoubtedly greatly improve our competitiveness and efficiency in the international market.
The photo shows different models of intelligent cooking robots from T-chef.
Hello, ESG: We understand that in addition to exploring overseas markets, T-chef has also begun to deepen its involvement in the elderly care industry in China. Why did you initially enter the elderly care industry?
Geng Kaiping: ESG practice complements enterprise development. When we started to focus on and deeply practice ESG, the development issues of the elderly care industry gradually came into our sight. Nowadays, elderly care has become a major livelihood issue, and the combination of technology and elderly care provides new ideas for solving this problem.
We saw a huge market potential and decided to devote ourselves to the construction of smart technology elderly care communities. Our goal is clear: to provide intelligent catering solutions for elderly communities, community elderly care canteens, etc. We hope to use technology to provide the elderly with more delicious, nutritious, and hygienic standardized catering services. Let technology not just be a tool for living, but also a source of happiness for the elderly. For us, this is not just a business opportunity but also a social responsibility. We hope that through our efforts, the elderly can feel the warmth and care brought by technology while enjoying delicious food.
The photo shows the finished dishes made by T-chef's intelligent cooking robot.
Hello, ESG: Finally, what advice and expectations do you have for other enterprises practicing ESG?
Geng Kaiping: ESG is one of the values and goals pursued by future enterprise development, and it is the only way to achieve harmonious development of economic and social values. Each enterprise should find its own ESG positioning according to its development stage, size, product, and industry attributes. No matter the size of the contribution or the timing, as long as you follow the right path, there will be rewards.
The photo shows Dr. Geng Kaiping, founder and CEO of Shenzhen T-chef Technology Co., Ltd., and Mai Zhiyang, editor-in-chief and host of "Hello, ESG," during the interview.
Further Reading
Introduction to T-chef Shenzhen Zhigu Tianchu Technology Co., Ltd., founded in 2018, is a globally leading high-tech and specialized new enterprise in cooking robots, focusing on the R&D, production, sales, and intelligent kitchen integrated solutions of intelligent cooking equipment. The company has applied for more than 120 patents and has received nearly 100 million yuan in investment from three rounds of VC institutions to date. The company's products include cooking robot series, intelligent vending systems, and intelligent kitchen systems. The products are popular in the catering markets of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and are exported to Singapore, Thailand, Southeast Asia, North America, and other overseas markets. In the future, Zhigu Tianchu will rely on the core technology of artificial intelligence + cooking accumulated in the catering field, committed to creating a new catering industry ecological service system based on cooking robots + intelligent kitchens + cooking big data + cloud computing, striving to improve human life quality.
Source: NetEase Shenzhen
Editor: Zhou Biao
Review: Jiang Tingting
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