Sustainable Administrative Practices in Provincial SOEs: Evidence from Paper and Energy Intensity Metrics

This study quantifies administrative sustainability performance in a provincial state-owned enterprise (SOE) subsidiary through intensity-based metrics, addressing a critical gap in SOE green management research. Using 2024–2025 operational data (OA system, procurement ledgers, meeting logs), we demonstrate that despite organizational scale expansion (staff: 10→20; area: 235 m²→900 m²), the subsidiary achieved: (1) 20.0% reduction in paper intensity (0.0486→0.0387 tons/person) via 5% electronic document adoption increase; (2) 5.7% decline in per-meeting paper use (148.6→140.0 sheets) with 5.7% higher online meeting adoption (34.3%→40.0%); and (3) 25.3% cost-per-m² electricity increase (¥127.66→¥160.00) below industry average (≥ 30%). These results directly align with Article 3 of the State-owned Assets Regulation (2021) No. 93 ("Provincial SOEs may adopt this guidance for carbon neutrality implementation"). We argue that sustainability in SOE administrative operations must be evaluated through intensity indicators (not total volumes) to avoid misjudging efficiency during scale growth. The findings provide actionable policy levers for provincial SOEs to meet ESG reporting requirements under the 2021 SASAC Guidelines.