On the afternoon of October 16, the 15th lecture of Nitto ThemedSeries by Center for Japanese Studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University(“theCenter”) was successfully held at the Xuhui Campus of Shanghai Jiao TongUniversity. This lecture was hosted by the Center, co-organized by KoGuan Schoolof Law and School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, andsupported by World Platinum Investment Council and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance(China) Co. Ltd. Zhu Qinghua, Associate Dean and Chair Professor of AntaiCollege of Economics & Management, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and ChenWei, President of Anglo American China, delivered keynote speeches. ShiomiFutoshi, Chairman of Nitto Denko (China) Investment Co., Ltd., released the ESGreport of the company. Lv Jianzhong, Director of Global Reporting Initiative(GRI) and Deputy Director of the Sustainable Development Management Committeeof China Management Sciences Society, along with Chen Biao, General Manager ofMetalor Precious Metals (Suzhou) Co., Ltd, Zhang Rutie, General Manager ofMinmetals Financial Services (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd, Misumi Sadahito, GeneralManager of Nitto Denko (Shanghai Songjiang) Co., Ltd, and Ikeda Hideo, GeneralManager of Shanghai Nitto Optical Co., Ltd. contributed to the lecture via apanel discussion. Ding Jian, Secretary of the Party Committee of School ofForeign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Deputy Director of theCenter, and Cai Yuping, Deputy Director of the Center, moderated the lecture. JiWeidong, University Professor of Humanity and Social Sciences and Director ofthe Center, attended the lecture and delivered a speech. More than 300 Chineseand Japanese expert scholars, entrepreneurs and practitioners, as well as facultiesand students of Shanghai Jiao Tong University attended the lecture.
Ding Jian presided over the opening ceremony of thislecture. He mentioned that, as an important academic platform to promote thecooperation and exchanges between China and Japan, Nitto Themed Lectures hadinvited many well-known Chinese and Japanese experts and scholars in the fieldsof politics, academia and industry to spark new ideas and prompted discussionson the cutting-edge issues of China and Japan for more than five years, whichactively promoted friendly exchanges and development between China and Japan atthe level of academic and industrial exchanges. He expressed his warm welcomeand heartfelt thanks to the guest participants.
Ji Weidong delivered a speech at the opening of thelecture. First of all, he welcomed the arrival of Mr. Shiomi Tai and expressedhis gratitude to all the guests for their attendance and participation. He saidthat the theme of this seminar, “ESG”, is a powerful driving force to lead thetransformation and upgrading of enterprises and to realize green development. Andhe believed that the exchanges and cooperation between the governments,enterprises, and academia of the two countries will inject new vitality intopromoting the in-depth development of the concept of ESG in the global arena.At the same time, he mentioned that the Nitto Lecture has been held for morethan five consecutive years, with a total of fourteen sessions, providing valuableopportunities for academic exchanges and industrial thinking collision betweenChina and Japan. And once again he expressed his gratitude to Nitto Denko(China) Investment Co., Ltd. for its support.
The lecture invited a number of high-profile experts andentrepreneurs in the field of ESG research and practice as speakers. ZhuQinghua, Associate Dean and Chair Professor of Antai School of Economics & Management,Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Chen Wei, President of Anglo American China,delivered keynote speeches on the current state and future trends of ESG insupply chain, mining and other fields.
Zhu Qinghua delivered a speech on the topic of “ESG inSupply Chain: Research and Thoughts from China's Perspective”. She pointed outthat ESG has received great attention from all over the world. The Chinesegovernment has issued relevant policies and regulations; on April 12, 2024, ShanghaiStock Exchange, Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Beijing Stock Exchange issued the“Guidelines on Reporting Sustainable Developments of Listed Companies”, whichclarifies the topics of environmental, social and corporate governancedisclosure. Germany's Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, enacted in 2021and implemented in 2023, and the European Union's Corporate SustainabilityDue Diligence Directive, adopted in 2022 and put into practice in 2024, bothextended existing ESG requirements for companies to their supply chain. Underthis context, Prof. Zhu presented her three related studies: applicable ESGregulation on the supply chains of multinational companies in China and theirimpact on suppliers and the government; the effective response of Chinese small-and-medium-sizedsuppliers to customer demands; and the decision-making strategies of Chinese companiesfacing both Chinese and other foreign markets. Finally, she further expanded onthe idea of a circular supply chain model that takes into account of bothresource conservation and low-carbon development.
Chen Wei delivered a keynote speech on theme of “Shaping the Future - The Role of Mining in a Rapidly Changing World: Anglo American’s ESG”. He mentioned that the mining industry has played an important role in helping make the world carbon neutral, which is not only reflected in reducing the mining industry's own emissions footprint, but also in providing the metals and minerals of the future that will be vital for low-carbon energy, transportation systems and many other areas. Mining played an underlying driving role in the development of civilization, everyday life and technology. Through smart innovation that combines technology, digitization and holistic sustainable development, the mining industry is committed to building a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future. Reducing Carbon emissions, improving quality of life and ensuring food security are fundamental needs and important issues for social development in today's world. Anglo American, as a globally diversified mining company, is working globally with industry partners to meet the opportunities and challenges of this new era.
Mr. Shiomi released the ESG report of Nitto Denko (China)Investment Co., Ltd. titled “Nitto's Characteristic ESG Management”. The reportmentioned that Nitto was founded in 1918 and has a history of 106 years. Inthis ever-changing world, Nitto has always insisted on continuous innovationand growth, and committed to becoming an indispensable presence in society andeven in our lives. Nitto's most distinctive features are the “Niche TopStrategy” and the “Three New Activities”. These two are Nitto's uniquestrategies and important drivers for sustainable corporate development. Interms of ESG, corporate governance is the foundation of Nitto's business andits corporate culture. In its ESG strategy, Nitto has always centered itsmanagement strategy on balancing the need to address social issues with theneed to create economic value, with the goal of becoming an ESG TOP company.Nitto regarded the Earth’s environment, humanity, and society all as itscustomers, constantly challenging for a sustainable future and the people’swellbeing.
After the keynote speech, Mr. Shiomi, on behalf of NittoDenko (China) Investment Corporation, presented certificates of appreciation tothe keynote speakers for their excellent speeches and strong support for this lecture.
The roundtable discussion, moderated by Lv Jianzhong, wasthemed “Green, Low Carbon and ESG Practices in Enterprises - Challenges andOpportunities,” where the panelists put forward their views on their respectiveindustrial fields.
Chen Biao focused on how enterprises should integrate ESGstrategies and implementation methods with their products and servicesaccording to the operating characteristics of their specific industries. Hesummarized that the two key points of ESG are traceability of sources and recyclabilityof products, where traceability is necessary for the integrity of the industry,and recyclability embodies the quality of the industry's business as well asits long-term competitiveness. In addition, he proposed that sustainabledevelopment is a collective term covering economic, social and environmentalbenefits, and also has positive emotional values.
Zhang Rutie mentioned that the manufacturing industry reliedon ore mining, which covered a large number of innovative emission reduction activities,in which financial services played a carbon reduction and empowerment roleworthy of attention. Minmetals Group's main business is mining, where ESG isvery important in the development of green mining intelligence. As a state-ownedenterprise, Minmetals Group is committed to bearing its corporateresponsibility of sustainability. He pointed out that ESG is very close totraditional concepts, which can be summarized as “following the human nature, respectingthe nature’s order, making ambitious wishes, yet taking practical steps”, incoporatingthe idea of “Taoism and nature” into corporate development.
Misumi Sadahito shared Nitto Denko (Shanghai Songjiang)Co., Ltd.'s ESG policies and objectives, which were to develop ESG strategiesbased on the three goals---carbon reduction, recycling of waste plastics, andobtaining green factory certification, in order to accelerate the expansion ofNitto's distinctive business of “environment-friendly and human-contributingproducts”. Using adhesive tapes as an example, he explained the feasibility ofcreating economic value while addressing social issues, and said that althoughit was difficult to balance the two goals, the company had always endeavored tobe effective in both ESG environment and profitability .
Ikeda Hideo shared the example of Shanghai Nitto Optical Co.,Ltd.’s proactive plastic reduction activities and the company's concreteinitiatives to implement ESG. He mentioned that Shanghai Nitto Optical wascommitted to becoming an indispensable presence for the earth, people andsociety under the Nitto Group's ESG management philosophy. In addition, he alsointroduced Shanghai Nitto Optical's ESG related measures in the semiconductorand display-screen industries, and pointed out that Nitto prioritizedenvironmentally friendly suppliers, which would become a more obvious trend inthe future. The concept of green, transparent and high-quality production andoperation needed to be established in the full value chain management of thesupply chain.
In the Q & A session, the participants asked questionsfrom the perspectives of green factory certification and government regulatorypolicies, as well as how small/medium-sized enterprises could participate inESG. The moderator and the panelists answered the questions one by one, andcarried out in-depth exchanges and discussions. The atmosphere at the scene wasactive and warm.
Cai Yuping presided over the closing speech session, pointingout that this lecture had enhanced our understanding of ESG concepts throughthe collision of ideas and the integration of wisdom, promoted exchangesbetween China and Japan in the field of ESG and enriched the perspectives ofexploring ESG practices. The lecture has also enabled us to grasp the broadprospects and profound impacts of ESG .
Ji Weidong delivered the closing speech. He mentioned thatin this lecture, Chinese and Japanese scholars and entrepreneurs discusseddeeply, harmoniously and openly; the keynote speeches were full of goldenphrases; the atmosphere of the roundtable discussion was warm; and the ESGreport of Mr. Shiomi, presented us novel expressions and concepts, aswell as valuable practical experiences. At the same time, he expressed hisheartfelt thanks to Nitto Denko for its long-term support, the wonderfulsharing of the panelists, the active participation of the audience, and thepresence of all the participants.
On behalf of the Center, Ji Weidong presented certificatesof appreciation to the roundtable panelists for their wonderful sharing andstrong support to the Center.
In November 2018, the Center collaborated with Nitto Denko(China) Investment Co., Ltd. to organize the titled lecture series “Center forJapanese Studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Nitto Lecture”. Fourteen sessionshad been held in more than five years so far. On the occasion of the fifthanniversary of establishment of the lecture, Nitto Denko (China) InvestmentCo., Ltd. and the Center exchanged souvenirs and took a group photo, and thelecture came to an end in a pleasant atmosphere.
