May 13, Shanghai Campus -- The China Europe International Business School held the 2007 BEING GLOBALLY RESPONSIBLE Conference (BGRC) from May 11 to 13 on the Shanghai campus. Launched by CEIBS in 2006, the conference is the first and largest student-organized CSR conference in the Asia-Pacific region. BGRC 2007 focused on "Responsible Leaders Building a Sustainable Future."
Organized by the CEIBS MBA2006 class, the conference attracted MBA students from top business schools in eight countries and territories, as well as representatives from prominent non-government organizations and from socially active corporations. Participants hailed from top B-schools in mainland China as well as Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippine, Korea, Australia and Spain. In addition, the conference attracted government officials, representatives from UNDP, Global Contract and NGOs and CSR-supporting executives from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai as well as individual multinational companies including Bayer, Degussa, B&Q, and Dow Corning.
Event speakers covered a range of business topics of high concern to China executives including: sustainable development and environmental protection in China, CSR and Chinese enterprises, Chinese MBA student attitudes on business and social issues, environmental protection and energy resources, corporate governance, business ethics through the Asian perspective, and social entrepreneurship.
In his opening address, CEIBS Dean and Vice President Rolf Cremer stressed the school's commitment to social responsibility in education. He also emphasized the importance of sustainable development practices for businesses in China and around the world.
CEIBS Dean and Vice President Rolf Cremer opens the 2007 Being Globally Responsible Conference with a message promoting CSR in China.
During the keynote speeches, United Nations Development Programme Deputy Resident Representative Alessandra Tisot shared her insights on "Poverty Eradication in China." She stressed that China is outperforming the world in terms of growth, which has yielded a massive reduction in poverty, however many challenges remain.
Environmental media specialist and former CNN Senior Journalist Gary Strieker discussed "Business, Innovation and the Global Compact." Strieker related his experiences as a pioneering environmental journalist at CNN, drawing on his investigative reporting on the destructive impact of the timber products industry on deforestation. In his research for CNN, he discovered that while China had increased importation of wood by 400 percent in the last 10 years, this increased intake was mainly processed in China and re-exported to either the U.S. (which increased exports from China by10-fold in the past decade) or Europe (which increased 8-fold). He pointed out the need for responsible development of the wood product industry, with the goal of sustainability and reforestation. "I believe China will change," he told conference participants, "but I hope the speed of change will come faster."
The topic of "Hong Kong ? Asia Sustainable Development" was next addressed by Chandran Nair, CEO of Global Institute for Tomorrow. Nair covered the key environmental challenges facing emerging markets worldwide, but especially in China and India -- including destruction of natural habitat, resource management, and the impact of pollution on human health. Nair outlined the challenges of achieving sustainability in Asia, namely balancing rural versus urban development, managing population growth, and safeguarding public health, and the need for viewing social development alongside economic development.
The CEIBS-sponsored 2007 Being Globally Responsible Conference attracted students, officials, and media from eight countries and territories.
Last, Shanghai Environmental Protection Regulation Division Chief Zeng Yixiong briefed BGRC participants on Chinese environmental protection law.
In addition to guest speeches, the three-day conference included panel discussions on "Green GDP in China" and "CSR Practices in Asia," plus workshops sharing CSR best practices. In addition, student representatives from different countries shared their CSR experiences with each other and enjoyed networking during informational field trips to the facilities of Wuxi Suntech and Baosteel.
About the BGRC
The Being Globally Responsible Conference was initiated in 2006 by CEIBS MBA students together with Asia Link. The goals of the conference are:
- to provide an open forum for MBA students to exchange ideas with experts and practitioners on social responsibility;
- to promote Corporate Social Responsibility in the Asia-Pacific region;
- to encourage, recognize and involve MBA students -- the future business leaders of Asia -- in preparing to incorporate globally responsible principles into their future business practices;
- to ensure that CSR policies and practices are formulated as an effective corporate strategies that are actually put to use.
CEIBS will hold the event annually in order to demonstrate students' commitment to social responsibility -- the key to sustainable development of China, and Asia.
BGRC 2007 was organized by CEIBS MBA students with generous support from corporate sponsors Degussa China, Atlas CPCO, Gamesa and media sponsor ChinaCSR magazine.
About the China Europe International Business School
Since its launch in 1994, the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) has built a solid reputation as the leading international business school in Asia. CEIBS is the only China-based business school that has achieved top-tier global rankings for its MBA, EMBA and Executive Education programmes. It has held the ranking of #1 in Asia for its MBA program since 2004 and was ranked #11 worldwide in 2007 by the Financial Times annual global survey. CEIBS is the only business school in mainland China that has earned an internationally recognized EQUIS accreditation.
For more information, contact External Communications Director Laurie Underwood at lunderwood@ceibs.edu or Communications Manager Yuan Mei at ymei@ceibs.edu.
