专题:2025可持续全球领导者大会&首届绿色产业与可持续消费博览会
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来源:世界绿色设计论坛
The 2025 Sustainability Global Leaders Conference was convened at the Expo Park in Huangpu District, Shanghai, from October 16 to 18. Jointly presented by the World Green Design Organization (WGDO) and Sina Group, the Conference was organized in collaboration with the IFRS Foundation Beijing Office. The event was hosted by Sina Finance and the Beijing Representative Office of WGDO, with support from the People‘s Government of Huangpu District, Shanghai.
Below is the full transcript of the address:
Distinguished guests, business leaders, innovators, and friends:
It is a true honour to stand before you here in Shanghai– a former fishing village and market town that now symbolizes both the depth of history and the energy of innovation. I bring you warm greetings from Iceland – a land of fishing towns, active volcanos, melting glaciers and green energy – from people who have learned to live in harmony across genders and with the forces of nature, out of necessity and with some wisdom.
We gather here to talk aboutresponsible business and ESG. And I would like to begin with a simple truth: Business, at its best, is a force for good.
I would like to elaborate a little. Business, at its best, can lift people out of poverty. It can drive innovations that help solve the great challenges of our time. It can foster inclusion, dignity, and opportunity. It can support healthy communities and a peaceful world. But – and this is crucial – business only does so when responsibility, sustainability, and humanity are at the heart of decision-making.
Iceland is a small country in a huge world. And yet we have long believed inthinking beyond our size – not only in terms of economic reach, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse, but also in terms of responsibility. We are a Nordic welfare society built on high trust, a country where collaboration between government, business, and citizens is perhaps more common than in larger societies. Our homes and businesses are powered almost entirely by renewable energy. And we are a nation where gender equality is not just a vision, but a lived value – though, like all other countries, we still have work to do.
An entrepreneur at heart, I’ve spent much of my life championingbusiness that serves the world, not just shareholders. That is the essence of ESG. It is not about ticking boxes or producing glossy reports. It is about ensuring that how we do business, and why we do business, aligns with the long-term wellbeing of people and planet. And that includes every corner of the globe – from the Arctic to the Yangtze River Delta.
The world is facing urgent, complex, and interconnected challenges. These include geopolitical instability, conflicts and wars; an existential climate crisis; unsustainable inequality within countries and the world; demographic shifts; declining trust in international and local institutions; and an economic model that too often prioritizes short-term profit over long-term value. But where there is complexity, there is also opportunity – if we act with courage and collaboration.
The ESG movement is not a trend. It is a transformation. And China, with its global economic influence and ambitious sustainability targets, has a crucial role to play.
In comparison to China, or even just Shanghai with its 25 million inhabitants, we Icelanders are few in numbers. We are certainly not a major economic power, but still our voice and values carry weight, and we are proud to be a partner in building a more sustainable future. Allow me to name a few examples: We have used our geothermal expertise to support clean energy efforts around the world; Icelandic companies in fishing and food production lead in sustainable practices; our pension funds – among the largest per capita in the world – are increasingly aligning investments with ESG principles; and we are active participants in the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership, which seeks to reframe what we measure and value in our economies.
ESG, I want to underline,is about redefining success and preparing for the future. GDP alone does not capture the full picture of what a healthy economy and society looks like. What about clean air? Safe communities? Mental health? Intergenerational equity? These are future-fit metrics because we can neither deliver financial profit nor economic growth in a world where we can’t breathe, where people and nature are depleted, where we can’t trust each other or where the young have lost faith that a better future awaits them.
To the business leaders in this room: The choices you make today shape the world your children and grandchildren will live in tomorrow. ESG is not a cost – it is an investment in long-term resilience. And the greatest risk now is inaction. Responsible business means looking beyond quarterly reports and profits. It means asking a series of simple and yet significant questions: Are we building trust? Are we supporting our employees’ wellbeing? Are we making our supply chains more transparent and just? Are we innovating in ways that protect the environment? Are we unlocking the full potential of all our people? These are not easy questions, but leadership never is.
To the young entrepreneurs and change-makers in this room: In my experience, your generation sees the world differently from earlier generations. You are not satisfied with business as usual. You expect purpose, not just profit. You understand that the line between climate and economy, between ethics and enterprise, has disappeared. Stay true to that instinct. You are the architects of our future economy.
Ladies and gentlemen:
The Chinese character for “crisis” famously contains the symbols for bothdanger and opportunity. That is the moment we are in. The future of business is not extractive – it is regenerative. It is not competitive at all costs — it is collaborative for shared value. It is not about perfection – but about progress, transparency, and humility.
I believe thatEast and West have much to learn from each other but also that there is a large common ground. In Chinese Daoism, the concept of “天人合一” (Tiān rén héyī) symbolizes the harmony between humans and nature. It deeply resonates with our Nordic traditions of living with, not against, the natural world. We must draw on such wisdom as we forge the future of responsible business.
We are in the most important decade when it comes to climate action and the business case for sustainability has never been more powerful. Research from World Economic Forum Alliance for CEO climate leadership – the largest CEO-led community in terms of carbon footprint committed to delivering a net zero carbon world – have collectively grown by 20% while cutting absolute emissions by 12% in just four years, between 2019 and 2023. A recent UN Global Compact study shows that 9 of 10 CEOs intend to maintain or expand their sustainability commitments. The transformation is happening and those of you who choose to join will not only survive but thrive. We see many Nordic companies leading the way, such as the Nordic retailer IKEA with its bold vision to be people and planet positive by 2030, and Novonesis, the sister company of Novo Nordisk, which is advancing a healthy planet and healthy lives with BioSolutions, using enzymes and microbial solutions to tackle global sustainability challenges — from reducing carbon emissions to improving food production and industrial efficiency.
The Nordic countries may each seem small in comparison to China, but collectively our region represents the 10th largest economic area in the world, and our countries consistently rank at or towards the top when it comes to metrics ranging from GDP per capita to wellbeing and happiness.
I believe in the power of partnerships, irrespective of size. When we work together progress is not only possible but inevitable. Iceland was the first European country to sign a free trade agreement with China. While we already enjoy a powerful partnership in geothermal energy, I know there are ample opportunities to do more together. Incidentally, I was invited to come to China this week to explain how gender equality has helped drive economic and social progress in Iceland.
May we be wise enough to choose long-term thinking over short-term gain. May we choose courage over conformity. And may we, big or small, work together to build a future where business is truly in service of humanity and our shared home.
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世界绿色设计组织
World Green Design Organization (WGDO) was founded in Brussels, Belgium, in 2013. It is the first non-profit international organization to promote the development of green design throughout the world. WGDO is an official transparency register (Ref. No. 781472292243-61)NGO in European Union system and has been granted Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council. WGDO Beijing Rrepresentative office was registered in China in 2020, with the approval from Administrative Office of Overseas NGOs of Ministry of Public Security of the People‘s Republic of China. WGDO aims to advocate and broadcast the concept of “Green Design” globally, by means of “green design”, to lead the transformation of modes of production, lifestyle and consumption,to achieve the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.
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