At the invitation of United Nations Global Compact Korean Network, and under the guidance of Professor Qian Xiaojun, Ms. Wendy (Qi) Wen (Tsinghua-MIT Global MBA), participated in the 7th China- Japan-Korea Roundtable Conference held in Seoul on Oct. 28-29, 2015. 

The Global Compact China-Japan-Korea Roundtable Conference was initiated in 2009 aimed at promoting collaborations among three Global Compact Networks. Over the past 6 years, the CJK network has successfully shared a wide variety of best practices and defined common challenges facing these Networks in promoting the principles of Global Compact. The joint academic research under the CJK network has also contributed a lot to corporate sustainability in the region. 

The 7th China-Japan-Korea Roundtable Conference was convened in Seoul this year, attended by member companies of Global Compact, as well as academic and youth representatives. Major topics this year include “post-2015 business engagement”, “climate change & public private partnership”, and “private sustainability nance”. As an integral part of this year’s Roundtable Conference, Youth Session brought together over 40 students from top universities in China, Japan, and Korea to explore the significance, execution and implication of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) from future leaders’ perspective. 

This year’s Roundtable Conference was comprised of 2 parts: the preliminary Youth Session in the afternoon of Oct. 28 and the whole-day’s conference on Oct. 29. In the afternoon of Oct. 28, students were divided into 3 CJK mixed teams to discuss how to promote innovation and cooperation among governments, companies and academia from the 3 Networks. In the meanwhile, each network youth team was also working on proposals to propel United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in China, Japan and Korea respectively. For more details about SDGs, please refer to the last part of this article. 

During the conference on Oct. 29, participants from the three Networks were invited to engage in the post-2015 development agenda and bring regional private sector perspectives into the implementation of the sustainable development goals. Participants stressed the importance of integrating the UN Global Compact into companies' supply chains, and discussed the types of partnerships and collective action that create the best environments for corporate sustainability. At the “Youth Session” taking place that afternoon, the 3 CJK mixed teams and the 3 Network Youth teams presented their thoughts and proposals resulting from the discussions of the previous day. Wendy joined the mixed CJK team of Academia, and played an instrumental role in helping develop the presentation of the China Youth team. 

Before joining the Tsinghua-MIT Global MBA Program, Wendy has been working in the sector of corporate sustainability for almost 9 years. She has an in-depth understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility and rich experience in the integration of CSR and corporate business strategies. Her knowledge and experience contributed a great deal to the conference and was acclaimed by the Youth Network teams from the 3 countries. 

Wendy sees the Roundtable Conference as a platform to broaden vision in global CSR and to enhance collaboration with people from the 3 countries to develop a sustainable future. She believes that Tsinghua MBA students, as the most innovative future leaders, should and will play a more constructive role in promoting corporate sustainability and social innovation. 

About United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)