Welcoming Ceremony for New Members of the Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative
On April 12, 2023, the 3rd Sustainable Consumption Forum was successfully held at the 3rd China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE). As the core outcome of the forum, two new members Perfect World Investment & Holding Group and China CITIC Bank Credit Card Center joined the Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative, bringing the number of its partners to 14.
Launched in May 2021, the Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative was jointly initiated by China Sustainability Tribune and enterprises or brands that have been deeply engaged in sustainable development for years and have proactively promoted sustainable consumption. So far, the members of the Initiative include Dell Technologies, Sateri, Nestlé, Visa, GoldenBee Branding, L'Oréal China, China Resources Snow Breweries, JD Logistics, Lee Kum Kee, M&G, Trip.com Group, Perfect World, China CITIC Bank Credit Card Center, etc. The Initiative has been guided and supported by the Department of Market Operation and Consumption Promotion of the Ministry of Commerce and the Hainan Provincial Bureau of International Economic Development, and has also been widely recognized by the media and consumers. The Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative has become a shining card for the CICPE to promote sustainable and high-quality development together with the Sustainable Consumption Forum.
The Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative adopts the "1+N" model. The "1" principle initiative includes strengthening top-level design; providing sustainable products and services; communicating sustainability messages to consumers; fostering a sustainable consumption culture; paying attention to the consumption needs of special groups; and collaborating with multiple parties to create a social atmosphere and promote policy mechanisms. "N" stands for initiatives and commitments of each brands in their respective areas of sustainable consumption and production.
Representatives of the two new member companies put forward the following commitments and initiatives from different perspectives based on their respective businesses:
Innovate in cultural consumption with the integration of digital technology and the real economy to revitalize cultural industries, and meet people's new expectations for a better spiritual and cultural life. (Perfect World Investment & Holding Group)
Give full play to the advantages of financial technology (FinTech) and gather low-carbon wealth to create a new experience of green consumption, and lead the new trend of green life. (China CITIC Bank Credit Card Center)
Members of the Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative
As the initiator of the Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative, Yu Zhihong, President and Editor-in-Chief of China Sustainability Tribune, released the latest progress of the Initiative and participating institutions in promoting sustainable consumption in the past year, and extended welcome to new members. He said that consumption is the key driving force of economic development and also carries people's yearning for a better life. Sustainable consumption helps guide healthy consumption, opposes luxury and waste, and strives to promote moderately economical, green and low-carbon, healthy lifestyles and consumption patterns. It is of great significance to addressing global challenges such as climate change, promoting social prosperity and progress, and helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The members of the Initiative have achieved fruitful results in many fields in the past year and promoted its implementation, including:
1. Carrying out cutting-edge research on sustainable consumption with new results released. Take China Sustainability Tribune as an example, it launched the Preventing Global Deforestation: China's Actions and Opportunities with the World Economic Forum during the second phase of the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity; released the Action Guide for Household Chemicals Industry to Promote Sustainable Consumption with China Environmental Protection Foundation and L'Oréal; compiled the Guiding Principles for Promoting Sustainable Consumption in Urban Business Districts with Visa. JD Logistics released the Guidelines for Carbon Neutrality of Logistics Parks and the Report on Supply Chain Decarbonization Actions. During the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), GoldenBee Branding released the Report of China Corporate Action on Sustainable Consumption.
2. Promoting sustainable production with breakthroughs in low-carbon and circular development. Dell Technologies, for example, has reached new highs in green packaging, the number of products recycled, and the proportion of recycled or renewable materials used in products. Sateri has achieved a technological breakthrough in recycled fibres with a recycled raw material content of up to 50%. Nestlé has made packaging designs recyclable across several product lines. M&G Stationery is promoting sustainable material replacement. JD Logistics has launched new energy battery-swappable vehicles on a national scale, improving the comprehensive carbon emission reduction efficiency by 35%.
3. Driving sustainable product innovation to lead the industry's low-carbon transition. For example, Nestlé launched a plant-based meat brand, a number of plant-based beverages and China's first carbon-neutral organic milk powder. Sateri developed three carbon-neutral fibres. M&G and Meituan's "Blue Mountain Project" used recycled discarded lunch boxes to make the first carbon neutral series stationery in China. Visa advanced green travel and innovated green incentives in 350 cities across the country. L'Oréal China and the Shanghai Consumer Foundation established the "L'Oréal Responsible Consumption Special Fund" to continue to promote the implementation of the L'Oréal Product Environmental and Social Impact Labeling System in China, and guide the cosmetics industry to jointly build a responsible and sustainable Chinese consumer industry ecosystem.
4. Unleashing communication potential and set an example of action. China Sustainability Tribune hosted the "GoldenKey - SDG Solutions" campaign, included the "Sustainable Consumption" category, selected 10 exemplary excellent actions, and created influential communication content on sustainable consumption through professional media. For instance, Lee Kum Kee proactively conducted public health activities to educate consumers about sustainable production and consumption. GoldenBee Branding launched the "Sustainable Consumption Action of Mission XR" and joined hands with 10 brands to carry out online and offline art exhibitions and interactions.
Yu Zhihong said that the 2023 Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative will strengthen actions in research, case studies, platform building and partnerships. First of all, the Initiative will unite more partners to discuss the issue of "sustainable consumption development in the context of Chinese modernization" and carry out a series of leading research. Secondly, the Initiative will identify a number of high-quality practices to promote sustainable consumption, and bring more contextualized examples of sustainable consumption in China at next year's Sustainable Consumption Forum. Third, the Initiative will keep offering a platform to strengthen exchanges between governments, industry associations, research institutions and enterprises to identify persisting challenges, reach consensus, construct and improve a sustainable consumption ecosystem in a targeted manner. At the same time, the Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative will welcome more partners to join in, and collaboratively contribute to the high-quality development of consumption and people's better life.
At the 3rd Sustainable Consumption Forum held on the same day, representatives of the initiators and new joining enterprises of the Global Sustainable Consumption Initiative, including Dell Technologies, M&G Stationery and other enterprises, shared their best practices and lessons learned in promoting sustainable consumption and production in the Panel Discussion "Embracing a Better Life: Sustainable Development Boosts New Consumption".
Source: China Sustainability Tribune
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