On March 25, BE OPEN visited Thailand, as The Economist Group’s signature sustainability summit returned to Bangkok for the fourth time. Sustainability Week Asia rounds off a series of global conferences – from Cape Town to New York – which bring together the world’s foremost experts and industry leaders shaping the transition to a more sustainable future.
Opening with keynote addresses by high-ranking officials from Thailand’s Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Industry, this year’s event welcomed more than 900 delegates from across Asia and beyond. It also marked BE OPEN’s first time participating in this important summit to witness the conversations about banks driving the ongoing green vehicle transition in the streets of Bangkok, providing subsidised financing options for green auto consumption; Asian manufacturers adapt to ‘net zero’ goals or the region’s brightest architects are revolutionising sustainable living, and many more.
The founder of BE OPEN Elena Baturina focused on the value of the conference: “We are happy to be at the event that connects businesses, investors and innovators to achieve a more sustainable future. For the past six years, we at BE OPEN have worked to support SDGs by running international student competitions. Our objective is to raise awareness of SDGs and contribute to achieving them. We do that via recognizing, promoting and awarding the best design ideas and projects.
“Every year we collect hundreds of outstanding creative projects from young people all over the world. Every year we see that educating and motivating young people to become leaders of sustainable change is the best way forward. And every year we try to do more by offering them a platform for discussion and exchange of ideas, opportunities for self-education, boosting their confidence and helping them to see that they matter.”
Sustainability is a goal that challenges everyone to rethink attitudes on many issues from energy conservation and food security to the changing nature of labour and welfare, as societies everywhere undergo unavoidable transformation. There is no doubt that Asia is at the very frontier of these changes, since the continent is home to over half the world’s population and accounts for the greater share of global GDP. As a potential world’s economic engine for many years to come, Asia is at the forefront of innovating for a sustainable future.
Since its inception, BE OPEN has tried to identify the evolving needs of the future, offering a platform for the enterprising young leaders of tomorrow to realise their potential as they work to design, create and innovate for the betterment of the planet. As BE OPEN believes in the power of human creativity to push the boundaries, it values such opportunities to share insights and derive inspiration from the cutting-edge developments taking shape in Asia.