Sustainable Development·China in the Past Decade｜Our Thinking and Actions(II)

Fund is essential to realize the SDGs. To promote investment in SDG-related fields, the UNDP proposed SDG-Finance (SDGF) in 2017, advocating for investment and financing activities that would be of great help to achieving the SDGs and actively accelerating the construction of a sustainable development investment and financing system.

China Sustainability Tribune has opened the special column “Sustainable Finance” since 2019, introducing the trend of financing for sustainable development. Many famous scholars and experts at home and abroad are interviewed to discuss the value of sustainable investment and financing in helping achieve SDGs. Nearly 40 articles have been published under the column and compiled into a book.

On June 28, 2022, China Sustainability Tribune held the “China Sustainable Development Leadership Forum” and invited Zhan Xiaoning,  Director of the Division of Investment and Enterprises of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), editor-in-chief of the World Investment Report to discuss the trend of global sustainable investment and financing.

At 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), China Sustainability Tribune organized the “Investing in the Future - China SDG Finance International Forum 2022” hosted by UNDP and China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CIETE), and jointly released the “Call for Partnerships: Joining Hands for a Cooperative Partnership for SDG Finance in China” to jointly build an investment and financing ecosystem that contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

With a wealth of resources, China Sustainability Tribune hosted, co-hosted or organized several high-quality CSR and sustainable development forums featuring internationalization, specialization and branding, thus becoming an important platform for sustainability thought sharing and convergence of CSR practices. 

Such forums include China International CSR Forum and International Conference on CSR Reporting in China, which are characterized by focus on overall CSR development trend and CSR disclosure development respectively and have been held for 17 and 14 sessions each so far, becoming one of the most influential events in the CSR field in China.

Symposium on Carbon Neutrality & Corporate Green Development, which is introduced after China proposed to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 (China's 30·60 Decarbonization Goal), has been officially launched for promoting corporate green development. The seminar focuses on key issues in green development through further exploration into carbon trading, carbon finance, low-carbon technology and low-carbon branding.

China Sustainability Tribune, as one of organizers, has also been active in organization of International Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility of Industry and Information Technology Launch Event of the 2020 Sustainability Development Report of China’s Industry and Information Technology and led attended representatives in the exhibition hall tour at China International Export Expo.

China Sustainability Tribune co-hosted the Leadership Forum on Sustainable Development with Research Center for Green Economy and Sustainable Development and Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University as well as Institute for Ecological Civilization, Beijing University of Technology. The forum is of great importance in promoting the sustainable development goals and enhancing the leadership of Chinese enterprises.

Since 2006, China Sustainability Tribune has been selecting and publishing the annual list of top 10 domestic and international CSR events for 16 consecutive years.

The selection and release of the top 10 CSR events have recorded the CSR development in China and witnessed how CSR promotes the sound development of Chinese enterprises and economy, undoubtedly making great contributions to further studies on CSR in China.

China Sustainability Tribune strives to strengthen the construction of think-tank media, provide specialized support in sustainable development. It also conducts a range of special studies and case studies and provides specialized support for corporate sustainable development.

The research project “AI for SDGs” is carried out by China Sustainability Tribune and the China’s Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance under the guidance of the Science & Technology Division of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The project pushes forward in-depth integration of artificial intelligence with the UN SDGs, thus providing basic research support and reference solutions for AI industry policy formulation, technology R&D, and organizational decision-making as well as a clear reference for AI to promote sustainable development.

In addition, recent years has witnessed contributions China Sustainability Tribune has made to enterprises at home and abroad such as Canon, DuPont, Signify, and XAG in preparing and releasing their CSR/sustainability reports and special reports.

The Sino-European CSR Roundtable Forum is organized by the amfori and China Sustainability Tribune. As a professional and practical platform for China and Europe to exchange ideas in CSR, it is held twice every year and has been held 26 sessions since 2008.

Focusing on developing sustainable supply chain, the forum highlights the new path and new opportunity in the transformation of corporate supply chain under the 30·60 Decarbonization Goal and promotes the consensus on green supply chain construction. With consistent low-carbon actions in supply chains, the forum boosts global sustainable development in a greener, more low-carbon and sustainable way.

China Sustainability Tribune has always committed to the spirit of encouragement, assistance, cultivation and promotion. China Sustainability Tribune, together with a number of enterprises, carries out programs themed by social responsibility and sustainability, helping both to solve social and environmental problems and to promote sustainable corporate brand building.

Among those projects, the program “Clean Water for Better Life”, a Chinese university students water resource research competition, is the most representative one. To encourage college students to actively protect water resources and leverage their professionalism and creativity in water resources protection and utilization, China Sustainability Tribune and LANXESS Chemical (China) Co., Ltd.  officially launched the project in May 2015, motivating many more Chinese youths to take up the mission of the times and contribute to water resources protection.

The competition has been held for eight years so far, and the number of participating universities has increased from 5 to 66 across the country, with a total of 273 projects registered and nearly 1,000 participants. “This project is a typical project of LANXESS in fulfilling our corporate responsibility. We hope that students can obtain more experience in the research and apply it to make a positive impact on water conservation and society at large”, Mr. Ming Cheng Chien, President of LANXESS in Asia-Pacific Region said.

The world today is full of crises and challenges, and global climate change has become a real and urgent climate crisis from a future challenge. Youth can make a difference for the world and resolve the crisis. Everyone including youth need to be active, brave and innovative to battle against the climate crisis.

China Sustainability Tribune wants to join hands with the youth and encourage them to advance sustainability. The “UNGC Young SDG Innovators Programme and China Youth SDG Innovation Challenge” is hosted by the Global Compact Network China and co-hosted by China Sustainability Tribune to empower the youth on innovation for achieving the SDGs and show the world China’s youth leadership in contribution to the SDGs. As the only Chinese among the ten “SDG Pioneers 2022”, Tong Chong, a senior engineer of State Grid Suzhou Power Supply Company, participated in the above program, demonstrating such leadership to the world.

The “China Youth SDG Leadership Program” initiated by China Sustainability Tribune, together with the School of Design Thinking of Communication University of China and SAP University Alliance Innovation Community, is launched to enhance Chinese youth’s understanding of sustainable development and their ability to solve real environmental and social problems through innovative activities featuring Design Thinking such as training, research as well as dialogue based on the UN SDGs. With these efforts, the program can help Chinese youth to become future-oriented innovators to influence the world, shaping the image of Chinese youth as leaders in global sustainable development. The first innovation camp has been successfully held in October 2022.