[Davos 2020] Building a Sustainable Society: There's No Time to Wait

Image from the World Economic Forum's official photos

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, commonly known as the "Davos Meeting," held in Davos, eastern Switzerland, in late January each year, celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

This conference, which has played a role in solving global challenges through dialogue, is said to have seen a "turning point" this year. A sense of urgency was palpable regarding building a sustainable society. This series introduces the global trends observed at the 2020 "Davos Conference" and this year's key themes.

A Davos Dominated by "Sustainability"

This year's theme was "A Sustainable and Cohesive World Built by Stakeholders." To tackle the world's greatest challenges—from social divisions caused by income inequality and political polarization to the imminent crisis of climate change—the focus was on establishing stakeholder capitalism(※).

※ = Stakeholder Capitalism
An approach emphasizing contributions to all stakeholders—including customers, suppliers, and local communities—rather than prioritizing shareholder interests alone.

The World Economic Forum (hereafter the Forum) first articulated the idea in 1973 as the Davos Manifesto: "Businesses must contribute to the interests of society as a whole, not just shareholders." In 2020, it revised this for the first time, updating it to "present a vision of stakeholder capitalism that addresses critical contemporary issues, including fair taxation, anti-corruption, executive compensation, and respect for human rights."

This shift aligns with the August 2019 announcement by the U.S. CEO organization Business Roundtable, which declared that companies should prioritize social responsibility over shareholder primacy. Consequently, stakeholder capitalism appears poised to become the prevailing trend.

Climate change-related risks dominated the top five positions in this year's Global Risks Report for the first time, leading to stricter environmental considerations being demanded of annual meeting participants than in previous years.

To reduce carbon emissions, the conference layout was changed to minimize carpet usage. Meals featured more locally sourced ingredients and plant-based options than in previous years. Plastic bottles were completely banned from the main conference venue, and no plastic bottles were provided there either, making this year's "plastic-free" initiative thorough.

Furthermore, 90% of transportation used hybrid vehicles, and participants (world leaders!) were strongly encouraged to take the train. Measures like offering a 50% fare refund for bookings made within the specified period showed a genuine commitment to not just reducing traffic congestion, but to curbing car use itself. Given the severe traffic jams in Davos during this period and the associated CO2 emissions, the organizers' reasoning for promoting shuttle buses is understandable.

On the other hand, it's not so simple for the entourage staff accompanying VIPs and corporate executives. There were many instances of resistance, with people protesting, "Making them walk on icy roads is out of the question!" While it feels somewhat like a never-ending battle, perhaps we need to fundamentally rethink the very concept of "transportation" moving forward.

Initiatives at the Annual Meeting

SDGs That Are Just Talk Draw Cold Stares

While it's become common to see people wearing SDG pins on their lapels in Tokyo, at Davos, wearing a pin isn't the end of the story. Even outside of speaking sessions, their actions are scrutinized.

This year, alongside Greta Thunberg, who rose to fame, young people from around the world aiming to build a sustainable society participated in the conference. Even when dignitaries and corporate leaders tried to lecture them, the young people did not flinch and presented their arguments. They were utterly serious, creating an atmosphere that conveyed the urgency: "lip-service SDGs" are meaningless, and companies are required to take grounded, "real" action.

Particularly notable at this conference was Melati Wijsen (18), founder of the Indonesian NGO "Bye Bye Plastic Bags," which works to eliminate plastic waste by phasing out plastic shopping bags.

"We decide what goes on supermarket shelves. We will drive change through citizen power," she passionately declared, enveloping the venue in an atmosphere that demanded, "We must listen to the youth."

1t.org, launched by the World Economic Forum to plant one trillion trees (Quoted from the 1t.org website)

The initiative to plant one trillion trees launched at this forum was also mentioned in U.S. President Trump's keynote speech. However, young people remain skeptical, saying, "That won't be enough."

Sponsoring companies also implemented their own initiatives. For example, Zurich Insurance changed its annual campaign of distributing blue hats outside the venue to one where they would plant a tree for each hat distributed.

Dialogue is increasingly valued

You might think: if the environment is so important, why not hold meetings online instead of gathering in the snowy mountains? That would reduce CO2 and waste. However, stakeholders consider "meeting face-to-face and shaking hands" crucial for communication (of course, when geographical or situational circumstances exist, it's also necessary to consider the other party's feelings and decide not to meet in person).

Therefore, in addition to the existing Open Forum sessions hosted by the World Economic Forum outside the main venue, a new initiative called Ice Village was created, where companies propose their own themes.

Private events and houses hosted by companies and organizations were as lively as ever. Meeting, shaking hands, and discussing ideas in these settings is the first step toward generating new ideas and innovation. Face-to-face meetings and discussions will likely continue to increase in importance going forward.

Next time, we'll delve into "mental health," a topic that gained significant attention from last year into this year.