WESF plays a role in promoting standardization and eliminating global trade barriers.
October 16, Shanghai – The 2025 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference kicked off at the Shanghai Expo Park in Huangpu District under the theme "Joining Hands to Address Challenges: Global Action, Innovation, and Sustainable Growth."
"In the next 25 years, we can envision a very cool China, where green technology and sustainable development technology will become crucial cornerstones for realizing this vision," stated Kevin Kelly, author of The Inevitable, technology forecaster, and founding editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, during his speech.
Building upon the foundation of the previous four conferences, this year's fully upgraded event gathered approximately 500 Chinese and international guests. Attendees included political leaders, representatives from international organizations, Nobel Laureates, Turing Award winners, and executives from Global 500 companies. The conference aims to build consensus and contribute solutions for global sustainable governance.
Over the three-day session, participants will engage in in-depth dialogues centered on nearly 50 core topics. These include energy and the "Dual Carbon" goals, green finance, sustainable consumption, and technology for public good, collectively exploring practical pathways and long-term mechanisms for sustainable development.
To enrich the conference's substance and showcase cutting-edge practices, this year's event introduced, for the first time, a "One Conference, Two Exhibitions" model. The concurrently held "Green Industry and Sustainable Consumption Expo" focuses on displaying innovative technologies and products in the field of sustainable development. Meanwhile, the "Outstanding Sustainable Case Studies Exhibition" brings together replicable and scalable practical cases from various institutions, offering valuable reference models for different stakeholders.
It was also announced that the 2025 Shanghai ESG Development Report, led by the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, will be released during the conference. The report focuses on urban sustainable development and governance innovation, aiming to provide valuable path analysis and policy recommendations for sustainable development nationwide.
As the permanent host city of the conference, Shanghai's Huangpu District is also a steadfast practitioner of sustainable development concepts. In recent years, the district has actively explored a high-quality development path for green and low-carbon transformation in super-large urban centers. This has been achieved through initiatives such as promoting building energy efficiency retrofits, developing green finance, and guiding green consumption.
The 2025 Sustainable Global Leaders Conference is jointly hosted by the World Green Design Organization and Sina Group, co-organized by the IFRS Foundation Beijing Office, undertaken by Sina Finance and the Beijing Representative Office of the World Green Design Organization, and supported by the Huangpu District People's Government.