In 2007, in response to worldwide criticism of the practice of killing sharks for their fins, Jack Ma, CEO of Alibaba, announced that he and his family had "sworn off Shark Fin Soup now and forever." Ma has stated that that moment created a newfound interest in environmentalism that would shape his future ethos.

In January 2009, Alibaba Group revised its listing policy and banned the sale of shark fin products on all of its e-commerce platforms.

At the annual general meeting of shareholders for Alibaba.com in May 2010, Ma announced Alibaba Group would begin in 2010 to earmark 0.3 percent of annual revenue to environmental protection, particularly on water and air quality improvement projects. Of the future of Alibaba, he has said that "our challenge is to help more people to make healthy money, 'sustainable money,' money that is not only good for themselves but also good for the society. That's the transformation we are aiming to make."

Jack Ma became a trustee of The Nature Conservancy’s China program in 2009 and joined its global board of directors in April 2010. Ma is the first Chinese citizen to serve on The Nature Conservancy’s board.

On May 10, 2013, Jack Ma retired from his post as CEO of Alibaba Group. The next day, he became Chairman of the Board for the Nature Conservancy's China Program.