On March 30, on the occasion of the 2nd International Zero Waste Day, the "Zero Waste Life, Better Future" salon hosted by the Beijing Entrepreneur Environmental Protection Foundation (SEE Foundation), co-organized by the Tianjin Xiqing District Lingmeng Public Welfare Development Center, and supported by the Meituan Tsingshan Project, was held in Beijing.
The event was divided into two parts: an offline salon and an art workshop. During the sharing session, Ms. Wang Qian, Director of Project Planning of UNEP China, Ms. Yang Biao, Secretary-General of SEE Foundation, and Ms. Tian Jin, Project Director of Meituan Tsingshan Project, were invited to deliver speeches at the salon.
Subsequently, network partners and children's representatives took the stage to launch the "Clean Nature Action Network Declaration". In 2023, Meituan Tsingshan Project and SEE Foundation launched the "Tsingshan Charity Clean Nature Action" recruitment program to support non-profit organizations to carry out front-line waste management, advocate and practice the concept of zero waste, and enhance environmental resilience.
The 12 frontline action partners and universities funded by the first phase of the project in 2023 have jointly formed the "Clean Nature Action Network", which is committed to promoting the active participation of all sectors of society through public publicity and education, frontline practice, action research and policy advocacy, etc., to maximize the goal of zero waste. Based on this, the network jointly proposes that the vision of a "Zero Waste Planet" requires the active participation of different stakeholders in policy development, product design, cutting-edge research, and behavior change. And to the community to issue an initiative:
- It is hoped that the government will play a leading role in formulating forward-looking action targets and implementation paths, formulating waste management policies with clear rights and responsibilities, and doing a good job in relevant scientific statistics and effectiveness evaluation.
- It is hoped that enterprises will fulfill their producer responsibilities, reduce packaging through design innovation, create reuse patterns, establish and expand channels and mechanisms for product recycling and reuse, advocate green procurement and production, and reduce the environmental load in the production process.
- It is hoped that scholars will carry out cutting-edge research on waste management and resource recycling from the perspective of the whole life cycle, and put forward feasible technical and policy recommendations.
- Call on the public to avoid the use of disposable products as much as possible, increase reuse and recycling, reduce garbage generation, do not litter, and consciously fulfill the obligation of garbage classification in accordance with the law.
- Advocate social organizations to actively explore solutions for waste reduction and classification in different fields, identify and break through the difficulties and blockages of waste reduction, classification and recycling, and continuously promote the improvement and implementation of relevant policies.
In the roundtable forum, Wang Qian, Director of Project Planning of UNEP China, Yang Biao, Secretary-General of SEE Foundation, Tian Jin, Project Director of Meituan Qingshan Project, Zhang Deyuan, Researcher of the Institute of Structural Reform, Macroeconomic Research Institute of the National Development and Reform Commission, and Tian Qian, Director of Lingmeng Public Welfare Development Center of Xiqing District, Tianjin, discussed the topic of "How to Build a Zero-Waste Society with Diverse Participation in the Context of International Zero Waste Day" from their own roles.
In the keynote sharing session, Xu Jin, founder of Qingdao You and I Chuangyi Social Work Service Center, shared their practical experience in carrying out community zero waste in Qingdao, and gradually expanded from a pilot to a zero waste ecosystem, Yin Hang, head of Qinghai Snow Ecology Publicity, Education and Research Center, shared the challenges of zero waste on the plateau, and Ma Jiawei, project manager of Meituan Tsingshan Project, shared the green and low-carbon development practice that Meituan Tsingshan plans to carry out in the food delivery industry.
In the art workshop after the closing of the salon, garbage artist Monkey Boy interacted with more than 20 members of the public, leading the public to create musical works from the garbage they carried.
At the same time, eight partners from the Clean Nature Action Network are also carrying out a variety of zero-waste activities in various places.