The 5th Global CSR Summit: Leading Voices in Low Carbon, ESG, and Sustainable Development

The 5^th Global CSR Summit

 Beijng – May 18^th

The 5th Global CSR Summit was held on May 18th, Beijing time at the Kerry Hotel in Beijing, China. 30 speakers from diverse government authorities, NGOs, and academic fields around the world focused on three topics – Green and Low-carbon Development, ESG Development in China, and Sustainable Urban & Rural Communities. In total, more than 200,000 people offline and online attended the session.

The event also commended six companies, institutions, cities and individuals that apply corporate social responsibility into their core business strategies and accelerate the realization of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In the context of the UN’s SDGs, the Paris Agreement, and the “historical turning point” of the sustainable energy transition, the Global CSR Foundation and the Beijing Rongzhi CSR Institute co-organized, embracing the initiative of the United Nations – committed to turning recovery from the pandemic into real opportunities to rebuild a better home for our world.

The event was host by ZHANG Chujun. QU Shengwu, the Acting Chairman and Secretary-General of the South-South Cooperation Promotion Association (former Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassador to foreign countries, and consul-general) was invited to attend the meeting, and together with WANG Xiaoguang (Director of the Beijing Rongzhi CSR Institute) as well as Jing Zhao Cesarone (President of Global CSR Foundation) delivered opening remarks for the meeting.

WANG Xiaoguang, Director of the Beijing Rongzhi CSR Institute

WANG Xiaoguang, Director of the Beijing Rongzhi CSR Institute, pointed out that COVID-19 is raging around the world, the economic and social development of many countries have been impacted. Under such serious constraints, we will continue to vigorously promote fulfillment of corporate social responsibilities and commitment to the sustainable development of mankind. This will undoubtedly produce profound and realistic effects.

Jing Zhao Cesarone, President of Global CSR Foundation

Jing Zhao Cesarone explained that there are fewer than 10 years remaining to achieve the UN’s 2030 SDGs. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the global economy shrank in 2020. In the face of reconstruction, global unity is not only a moral responsibility, but it also aligns everyone’s interests. Now more than ever, strong international cooperation is imperative. Everyone has the obligation to participate in the cooperation as members of the global society, and work hand in hand after defeating the virus, transforming to a green economy, and helping the recovery of society and the public.

QU Shengwu, the Acting Chairman and Secretary-General of the South-South Cooperation Promotion Association

QU Shengwu highlighted that The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development focuses on the harmonious coexistence of human and nature, taking into account the development of mankind both today and in future generations.

He also gave examples of China’s important contributions to sustainable development. While eradicating its poverty, China is also doing its best to provide assistance to developing countries within the scope of the “shared spirit” to promote international cooperation in the field of peace and development, and to share China’s plans.

The summit focused on three topics – Green and Low-carbon Development, ESG Development in China, and Sustainable Urban & Rural Communities.

YU Zhidi, Director and Expert of the Foreign Cooperation and Exchange Center of the Ministry of Ecology & Environment

The first speaker YU Zhidi, Director and Expert of the Foreign Cooperation and Exchange Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, focused on “Green Transformation and Corporate Social Responsibility”, from “Ecological Civilization and Green Transition” and “Corporate Social Responsibility and Multilateral Governance”.

WANG Huijun, Executive Vice Premier of Beijing Green Exchange

WANG Huijun, Deputy General Manager of Beijing Green Exchange, shared the theme of “Review and Prospect of the National Carbon Market under the Vision of Carbon Neutrality”, explaining in detail the positioning and function of the carbon market, transaction specifics and main challenges. He pointed out that climate investment and financing laid the foundation for the financialization of the carbon market and introduced the six aspects of implementing major decision-making arrangements to address climate change.

Thomas Gehl, Director of Global CSR Foundation

Thomas Gehl, Director of the Global CSR Foundation, presented “Global Trends in Carbon Emissions Trading and Corporate Social Responsibility”. He pointed out that according to the World Bank report, there are currently 40 countries and more than 20 cities, states and provinces are using carbon pricing mechanisms. These mechanisms cover about half of the emissions from these sources, equivalent to 13% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“Many companies know that they are not only working now, but also investing in the future.” Thomas Gehl said that as climate change and other environmental issues have become the focus of increasing attention and have affected all aspects of our lives, “Even a small effort will have a huge impact on the environment!”

ZHANG Wei, Deputy Secretary-General of Center for China and Globalization (CCG)

ZHANG Wei, Deputy Secretary-General of Center for China and Globalization (CCG) pointed out that realizing the production, storage and consumption of green renewable energy requires comprehensive, multi-level, intra-regional, and cross-industry coordination; in terms of technological innovation and application, coordination and integration are required, and green and renewable energy can be intelligently integrated through emerging technologies.

ESG Development in China (Panel Discussion)

The topic “ESG Development in China” was held in the form of a round table meeting. WU Ying (Founder and CEO of Prestige and Fortune Fintech) hosted this session as panel moderator and introduced five participating guests – Professor Dwight N. Hopkins (Director of The ESG Research Initiative Center at the University of Chicago), Stephen Markscheid (President of the International  Finance Education Association), WANG Xiaomeng (Vice Chairman of the Swiss Chinese Scholars Association for Science and Technology), YU Jiantuo (Deputy Secretary-General of China Development Research Foundation), YANG Zhao (Vice President and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Jinyu Biological).

Speakers shared the status quo and prospect analysis of ESG development in China from the five areas – ESG concept, ESG financial investment, ESG system evaluation standards, ESG corporate practice strategies, and the role of ESG for the sustainable development of Chinese enterprises and the whole society.

Professor Dwight Hopkins introduced the three key objectives when ESG was established in 2005 which were to increase profits, help people and help the planet.

Stephen Markscheid, introduced in detail various methods of ESG investment, analyzed the scale of ESG investment, the relationship between ESG and value creation, and enumerated ESG investment methods, methods of integrating ESG into the investment process, and the effectiveness of ESG.

WANG Xiaomeng raised three suggestions for corporate ESG application:

YANG Zhao said that the company had published its ESG report for the second year, and he also shared specific experiences with the audience.

YU Jiantuo noted that although China had not yet completed its ESG system, major companies are following the concept of ESG, especially in the photovoltaics and wind power generation sectors.

The guests collided with infinitely wonderful thinking sparks in the exchange and sharing, and also brought a lot of inspiration and experience to the audience on site and in front of the screen.

Session 3: Sustainable Urban & Rural Communities(Panel Discussion)

This session was divided into two parts. Part I was hosted by WU Ting, Founder of Jiabin University while Part II was hosted by CHEN Yingwei, Secretary-General of the Executive Committee of Social Innovation Stars. A total of nine speakers participated in this session.

Part I (from the second left to right)

Part II (from the second left to right)

Dr. LIANG Xiaohui, Deputy Chief Economist of China Textile Information Center

In the award session, LIANG Xiaohui, Deputy Chief Economist of China Textile Information Center, spoke on behalf of the Global CSR Summit Award Committee. He maintained that companies should combine social responsibility, corporate development, and corporate cases in order to achieve innovation. The award review was conducted across the four evaluation dimensions of “E+S+E+I”, namely economy, society, environment, and innovation (management, profit model, business model, etc.). Projects should seek to make achievements in each dimension.

2021 Global CSR Summit Award Ceremony

WANG Xiaoguang, Thomas Gehl, and Zhao Changhui, Chief Scientist of the National Risk Research Center awarded certificates to the six award-winning companies, institutions, cities and individuals. Finally, ZHANG Ke, secretary-general of the Global CSR Foundation, delivered a closing speech to celebrate the successful conclusion of the conference.

ZHANG Ke, Secretary-General of the Global CSR Foundation

The 5^th Global CSR Summit Group Photo

★AWARD LIST★

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