International conference in Shenzhen promotes sustainable business along Belt and Road
The Second International Sustainability Conference in Guangdong convened today in Shenzhen.
The Secretary of State for Wales, Rt Hon Mr. Alun Cairns MP delivered a speech.
More than 300 participants gathered at the Conference to discuss techniques to strengthen economic, environmental and social development along the Belt and Road and in the Greater Bay Area.
Sustainability encompasses a range of issues which align with the ‘UN Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs): green investment, workforce diversity and engagement, the efficient use of water and energy, pollution control and supply chain transparency etc.
Against a backdrop of growing global inequality and the increasingly visible impacts of climate change, which according to the latest predictions from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will soon become irreversible, the conference will stimulate action to address all seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – action which is critical if we are to deliver economic growth that can provide people of every social background with educational opportunities, skills and jobs and a safe and healthy living habitat.
In this context, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Greater Bay Area both have the potential to deliver a new wave of high-quality economic growth that is inclusive, carbon-neutral and pollution-free. As demand for green investment capital grows, there is an open opportunity for businesses to drive the transition towards a sustainable world.
Launching the conference, the Secretary of State for Wales, Rt Hon Mr. Alun Cairns MP said:
The opportunities to harness technology in the pursuit of a sustainable world, including along the Belt and Road, are unprecedented: through efficient and sustainable water and energy usage; through better recycling; through research into new materials; through better understanding the costs and benefits of financial decisions from an environmental and social perspective; and through international partnerships with China that draw on UK strengths which are at the heart of our industrial strategy – strength in green finance, in cutting-edge research, in clean tech and in wider sustainability services.
Through the launch of the UK’s ‘Pledge for Progress’ campaign in South China – which will feature the unveiling of the FCO’s Gender Charter – the conference will aim to secure responsible business pledges from participants relating, among other, to gender parity, workforce diversity, responsible water usage, responsible investment and worker education.
To learn more about the Conference Programme and Speakers, please visit the Conference website.
Notes for editor:
About the Conference:
The Second International Sustainability Conference (ISCG 2018) is organised by five Consulates-General in Guangzhou (the British Consulate-General, the Australian Consulate-General, the Dutch Consulate-General, the Royal Norwegian Consulate-General and the New Zealand Consulate-General) and The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) with financial support from Huawei, BYD, APG, E-Fund and Shenzhen Airlines. It creates a platform that connects like-minded professionals and organisations to develop new business opportunities and cross-sector partnerships which catalyze collective impact in the region.
ISCG 2017, which took place in November 2017, was the inaugural International Sustainability Conference in Guangdong. Attended by senior diplomats, high-profile thought-leaders and other distinguished guests, it paved the way for a closer working relationship between international and local partners. At national-level, under the framework of the UK Economic and Financial Dialogue, it helped secure a commitment for the UK and China to promote implementation of the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to enhance cooperation through regular exchanges. It also laid down an important marker on gender equality, which – through Pledge for Progress – remains an integral part of ISCG 2018.
About Pledge for Progress:
The UK Government in China is working in partnership with China’s Mulan Club and the British Chamber of Commerce in China to promote gender equality across the business world through the ‘Be Yourself: Pledge for Progress’ campaign. Launched in May 2018, Pledge for Progress invites businesses to publically pledge to foster gender equal practices within their own organisations, and has so far secured 50 pledges. Huawei, BYD, Hays, Kendal Mountain Festival, and University of Central Lancashire are among the businesses that will make public pledge announcements at ISCG 2018.