Global ESG summit to take place at Bund City Hall
The 2024 ESG Global Leaders Conference will take place at the Bund City Hall Plaza, the former home of the Shanghai Municipal Council and city government, next week.
Between October 16 and 18 it will focus on advancing global cooperation in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices.
This year's event will feature high-level attendees, including government officials, business leaders, and Nobel Prize winners. A total of 269 speakers have been confirmed so far, with 139 international guests.
The conference will address topics such as sustainable energy, green finance, and responsible consumption. With over 50 core subjects and multiple parallel forums to foster deep discussions on the future of ESG.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, current vice president of the International Olympic Committee are among the confirmed speakers.
Shanghai's Huangpu District, where the event will be held, plays a vital role in supporting ESG initiatives, said Xu Zhi, deputy director of Huangpu.
The district government has been actively working to create an international business environment that aligns with ESG goals, Xu said.
The Bund City Hall Plaza, originally built to manage local foreign settlements, later housed the Shanghai Municipal Council and the city government. It is a five-story neoclassical building with a granite facade, baroque styling, Ionic columns and arched windows.
Many significant events in Shanghai's history took place there, including the first raising of the national flag in the city in 1949. Also, physicist Albert Einstein gave a lecture on the theory of relativity in the building's auditorium in 1923.