Wu Zheying, Fudan Management Institute: The demand for carbon reduction will bring certainty to all industrial chains

21st Century Business Herald reporter Zhang Sainan reported from Shanghai

After the explosion of artificial intelligence represented by ChatGPT this year, the positive role of artificial intelligence in environmental governance, social governance and corporate governance has attracted attention. Among them, "technology for good" has become a high-frequency word, which is highly reflected in ESG governance on the enterprise side.

At the "Fudan Management Institute - Xingdong ESG Lecture Hall", co-hosted by the School of Management of Fudan University, China Industrial Securities Global Fund and IB Wealth Management, scholars, entrepreneurs, experts in the operation of sustainable industrial parks, experts in international standardization, and ESG investment managers from Fudan University discussed "smart technology" and "low-carbon challenges", and discussed the integration of scientific and technological innovation and sustainable development.

Yang Qingfeng, professor and researcher of the Institute of Science and Technology Ethics and the Future of Mankind of Fudan University, gave a keynote speech on "How Intelligent Technology Can Make Human Beings Happier", in which he elaborated on the fundamental characteristics of the current era, the development direction of intelligent technology, how human beings pursue happiness, and whether intelligent technology will bring happiness to human beings. Yang Qingfeng said that people are flawed, temporal, can make mistakes, and have desires, which is a metaphysical defect of people, and we are currently in the era of digital intelligence, so what changes will occur to human nature in the era of digital intelligence has become an important question in the era of technology. Fundamentally, intelligent technology is actually developing itself in the direction of enhancement, so as to try to transcend the metaphysical defects of human beings and pursue a better life of human perfection, happiness and desirelessness.

"Intelligent technology can make human beings happy, and happiness is the eternal pursuit of human beings. Yang Qingfeng said that everyone has different answers and bases for happiness, and in his opinion, happiness should be interpreted from three aspects: one is to let the sick and weak be healthy, the second is to let the young and weak be strong, and the third is to let the old and weak be protected. For example, smart technology needs to be able to bring hope to patients, including the possibility of treating human diseases in different ways. He pointed out that in the era of acceleration and anxiety, we should be aware of the "meaning of weakness" in the development process of the times, find and protect our own rhythm of life, in order to alleviate anxiety and find the meaning of life.

Wu Zheying, associate professor of the Department of Business Management at the School of Management of Fudan University, analyzed the demand for science and technology innovation and development opportunities in the carbon emission reduction industry chain from the perspective of global climate pressure, how enterprises can carry out net zero emissions, and the compliance pressure of carbon emission reduction. She pointed out that corporate action to net zero emissions means that direct and indirect value chain emissions need to be reduced, and that more than 61% of Fortune's top 2000 companies have set carbon reduction plans and more than 31% have committed to net zero emissions.

Wu Zheying mentioned that science and technology enterprises are characterized by high uncertainty in their products, and even uncertainties in demand and application scenarios. In the low-carbon era, the demand for carbon reduction in the industrial chain will be a definite application scenario, in which enterprises located in all links of the industrial chain can explore in depth and find new solutions to carbon emission reduction needs from various dimensions such as enterprise operations, raw materials, logistics, green energy, circular economy and data services. "The low-carbon era means risk for everyone, but for those who understand, risk also means the opening of new markets. ”

She took the manufacture of new energy vehicles as an example, first of all, the production of new energy vehicles should reduce carbon emissions in the manufacturing process, so as to win the favor of consumers with environmental tendencies. At present, many new energy vehicle manufacturers are striving to build zero-carbon factories, and building a zero-carbon factory will generate demand for the industrial chain. For example, in order to understand the energy consumption and supply situation in the factory, it is necessary to have a digital intelligent management system to achieve precise control.

There will also be demand for the outside, such as industrial real estate developer GLP, which can do distributed photovoltaic on the roof of the factory, and the electricity generated by the photovoltaic can not only support the electricity required by the manufacturer's logistics center, but also part of the electricity can be connected to the national grid, which can be zero-carbon arranged on the energy side. "Therefore, the first step in carbon reduction is that there will be external demand, and other companies need to provide technical support in this regard. Wu Zheying said.

In addition, as a key component of new energy vehicles, the battery plays an undoubted role in its speed and range, but the battery will also bring an increase in weight and affect the range. Therefore, when new energy vehicles want to reduce the carbon of the entire product life cycle, it will inevitably generate carbon reduction demand on the battery production end, and will continue to radiate upstream to the battery shell material manufacturers.

"In the downstream of new energy vehicles, carbon emissions can also be reduced through the logistics end, for example, in the transportation process, the original wooden frame is now used, because the steel frame can be recycled and carbon reduced. Wu Zheying also mentioned the demand for carbon reduction on the fuel side of logistics and transportation. "In the low-carbon era, as a company, you will bear expectations, and if everyone else reduces carbon and you don't, you will take green risks, which may be under pressure for companies to comply. But more intuitively, it brings great opportunities to enterprises, and there is a huge demand for recycling in various industries, and the demand has not been fully met. In the end, these carbon reduction needs will be converted into orders and the impact on the industrial chain. ”

In the roundtable session, a number of experts also discussed topics such as the importance of science and technology innovation for good and sustainable development to the social environment and economic development.

Chen Yong, Vice President of MioTech, said that from the perspective of technology development and information orientation, science and technology innovation and sustainable development are inseparable. Mankind is facing severe challenges of climate change, and in order to cope with climate change, huge structural adjustments must be made to the energy structure and industrial paradigm. In this series of changes, it is inseparable from the power of science and technology, but also from the power of finance. MioTech is helping the financial community effectively invest capital in the energy structure and industrial paradigm change.

"The source power of scientific and technological innovation comes from the never-ending curiosity of human beings, and in the business environment, the driving force of scientific and technological innovation comes from capital, and the binding force comes from laws, regulations, standards, and ethics. Dong Chongqing, deputy secretary-general of Shanghai Standardization Innovation Center (logistics), said that the driving force and binding force of science and technology innovation will act on the word "direction" of "science and technology for good". He also mentioned that at present, China can combine standardization and digital intelligence in the recycling standards of thermoplastic waste plastics and the recycling safety and classification standards of power batteries, integrate into the world, and maintain openness.

Xu Ying, an ESG investment manager, said that from the perspective of the asset management industry, in order to better help ESG integration into enterprises, it is necessary for all sectors to work together to formulate standards for mandatory information disclosure. At present, the overall excess return of ESG products at home and abroad is not obvious. "ESG is essentially about the character of a company. Companies with good character have long-term value advantages, but from the perspective of short-term returns, the tolerance given by Chinese residents to the asset management industry is still relatively low. How to find high-quality enterprises and create excess returns in the short term is the direction we are working towards in a short assessment period. ”

"Science and technology innovation for good and sustainable development are mutually successful. Liu Yifeng, senior ESG researcher at China Industrial Securities Global Fund, believes that technology itself has no direction, and ESG governance is the common goal of mankind. Improving efficiency, improving employees' sense of belonging, and improving corporate governance through digital transformation can all lead to improvements in production energy efficiency. When enterprises do a good job of information disclosure, data providers can help enterprises improve their operations and make better investment judgments, and the sustainable and win-win path of cooperation between all parties will surely develop better and better.

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