Teresa Yang, Vice Chairman of Esquel Group, kicked off the conference with her opening remarks. Yang highlighted that even though the pandemic has cast a shadow over global socioeconomic development, many businesses strived to stay resilient and seek opportunities to transform themselves in the crisis. Yang said, “No matter how technologies advance, humans will always be a part of nature. Only when we take wisely and use sensibly, can we create a sustainable future.”

Following Yang’s opening remarks, Peng Daiyuan, Executive Deputy Mayor of Guilin, China, gave his warm remarks in a video, recognizing Esquel’s commitment to sustainable development and continuous efforts to become an industry leader in environmental protection.

Inez Fung, Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of California, Berkeley, delivered the Keynote Speech on climate change, in which she dissected the challenges brought by global temperature rise and encouraged us to engage in innovative and transformative solutions. To bend the curve of global warming, she said we must focus on improving energy efficiency, mitigating waste, sourcing alternative energy, and developing geoengineering.

The conference explored pressing topics in the realms of the role of corporation, environment, and health with a series of panel discussions joined by leading experts.

• The panel “Redefining corporate purpose in the new normal”, moderated by Hau Lee, Professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business and Chairman of Sustainability Council of Esquel Group, sparked a thought-provoking discussion on transforming corporates’ value creation model to solve social challenges through their business. Jan Craps, Co-Chair & Chief Executive Officer of Budweiser APAC and President of APAC AB InBev spoke about the company’s different approaches to ensuring employee safety and wellbeing during the pandemic. William Fung Kwok-lun, Deputy Chairman of the Fung Group stated that businesses should strive for a more diversified supply chain to cope with various uncertainties, even though it might not be the most costeffective. Mei Yan, Senior Partner and Chair of China, Brunswick Group, believed that the strength of a corporation should be its employees, and employers needed to take a more proactive role in supporting and taking care of their people in challenging times.? 
  

• The panel “Driving the green economy through environmental action” delved into the immediate climate actions we need to help us achieve the SDGs and thrive in a post-pandemic green economy. Moderated by Norman Tien, Vice-President and ProVice-Chancellor (Institutional Advancement) and Taikoo Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor of Microsystems Technology, The University of Hong Kong, this panel shed light on what businesses and individuals could do across the value chain to help mitigate the effects of climate change. James Bishop, Professor of Marine Science at the University of California, Berkeley and Faculty Senior Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory provided an in-depth analysis of developing oceanbased climate solution with effective and predictable results. John S. Wadsworth, Jr., Honorary Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia projected that carbon emission could be driven to zero by 2050 with the help of sustainable energy and energy-saving endeavors. Alasdair Morrison, Former Group Managing Director of Jardine Matheson Group, and former Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia talked about his project of rebuilding a previously demolished rainforest in Emerald Valley, Australia and bringing extinct species back to the region.