Elion Resources Group in Ordos receives an award during a ceremony held by the People’s Daily, a State-owned media organization, for its contribution to environmental protection, on Dec 11. [Photo/WeChat account of Ordos]

Elion Resources Group in Ordos was honored at an awards ceremony held by the People’s Daily, a State-owned media organization, for its contribution to environmental protection, on Dec 11.

The organizing committee set five categories for awards, one of which was awarded to Elion Resources Group because of what the company had achieved in the field of ecological protection.

The company was initially set up in the Kubuqi desert, the seventh largest desert in China. After 30 years of operations, it now has assets of over 100 billion yuan ($15.55 billion). It has managed to lift 100,000 people above the poverty line, and has greened more than 6,000 square kilometers of desert.

In December 2017, Wang Wenbiao, president of the company, won the Lifetime Achievement Award for “Champions of the Earth” at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya.