Event Roundup: The 30th Sino-European CSR Roundtable Forum

Mr Richard Teply, Head of Business Development and Network at amfori, opened the Forum by emphasizing the need for adaptability and robustness in supply chain systems to help companies master real-time visibility, proactively respond to disruptions and enhance resilience. He highlighted the significance of collaboration in supply chain development and said that, the value from an intelligent supply chain is derived by developing maturity in selecting digitally driven capabilities that place focus on the customer and continuously innovate, build competitive advantage, and improve business, and societal outcomes.

During the keynote speeches, Mr Liu Dacheng, Vice President of the Internet Industry Research Institute, Tsinghua University led the participants to gain insights into the supply chain from a global perspective. He concluded that at the core of the changes is that optimized allocation of production factors drives the efficiency of supply chain operations.

Ms Zhang Wenya, Head of Corporate Partnerships for Sustainable Innovation Projects, Social Responsibility Office of China National Textile and Apparel Council introduced the LCAplus, a digital traceability platform for the cradle-to-grave footprint of textiles. This platform serves as a digital, industry-level solution for one-stop product carbon footprint assessment, certification, and label promotion.

Mr Dai Qibo, Assistant General Manager of digital technology sector at Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, shared the challenges and opportunities in digital collaboration of the industrial chain. The success of Geely’s unified traceability network that unpins digital collaboration across the industry chain hinges on compliance, collaboration and technologies.

Mr Lars Ringtved Nielsen, Compliance and Quality Director at JYSK highlighted the importance of digitized due diligence in enhancing supply chain sustainability. JYSK itself does not engage in production, but it conducts strict audits of all suppliers and business lines and strengthens follow-up and monitoring, which are performed with JYSK’s robust data tools and based on global sustainability initiatives and certifications, such as, amfori BSCI and amfori BEPI.

In the subsequent Q&A session, guests had a heated interaction on cross-border supply chain compliance. Mr Richard Teply remarked that China is proactive in driving sustainable development with a succession of related national policies rolling out. This has granted the Chinese companies a competitive advantage to go global and demonstrate that China is well positioned.

The keynote speeches were followed by a panel discussion moderated by Mr Yu Zhihong, President and Editor-in-Chief of the China Sustainability Tribune. A diverse group of experts including Mr Bruno Güemes, Product Manager Environment at amfori, Mr Wu Xuejun, Vice General Manager at Sungent Urban Development Co, Ms Han Tingting, Head of Sustainability & CSR at Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) China and Mr Yu Xianghai, Consulting Director at GoldenBee Consulting, discussed how enhanced ESG practices can improve supply chain sustainability with an emphasis on collaborative innovation and transparency. During the panel discussion, Mr Bruno Güemes discussed that partnerships through the membership network and the application of standard tools like amfori BSCI and amfori BEPI assure the reliability of data at amfori.

Supporting Organisations:

• China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC)
• China Electronics Standardization Association – CSR Committee (CESA – CSR)
• Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC)

The recording of the event can be viewed here in English and here in Chinese.

Highlights of the event can be viewed here.