On September 19th, 2024, the International Industry-Education-Research-Application Conference on Digital Economy and ESG, in conjunction with the Fourth Forum on Contracts and Governance in the Digital Economy, was successfully held at the School Building. The event was organized by East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai Enterprise Confederation/Shanghai Entrepreneurs Association, Wind Information Technology Co., Ltd., and the ESG Leaders Organization Forum, and co-hosted by ECUST School of Business, the Oliver Hart Research Center of Contracts and Governance, and the Digital Economy Research Institute.

Nearly 200 entrepreneurs from the Yangtze River Delta region, along with over 100 academic experts, scholars, students, and faculty from Harvard University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and ECUST, attended the conference. Additionally, more than 5,000 participants joined online. The forum's opening ceremony was presided over by Prof. YAN Haifeng, Vice President of East China University of Science and Technology.

Prior to the conference, Prof.JIANG Chuanhai, Chair of the School Council, had a conversation with Prof. Oliver Hart, the 2016 Nobel laureate in Economics, Professor at Harvard University, Honorary Professor at ECUST, and Director of the Oliver Hart Research Center of Contracts and Governance. Prof. Hart expressed his admiration for the University's achievements in talent cultivation, discipline construction, scientific research, and international exchange and cooperation. He also affirmed the recent accomplishments of the Oliver Hart Research Center of Contracts and Governance.

Prof. JIANG Chuanhai attended the forum and delivered a speech, extending warm congratulations on behalf of the university for the convening of the meeting and expressing sincere gratitude to all sectors of society for their long-term care and support for the University's development. He emphasized the increasing importance of focusing closely on the development needs of digital industrialization and industrial digitization, vigorously cultivating talent in the digital economy, and promoting the deep integration of digital technology with the real economy. He expressed his hope that, taking this meeting as an opportunity, the university will join hands with sister institutions and all sectors of society to further deepen cooperation and exchange in the digital field, advance the integration of industry and education, and the convergence of science and education.

LIU Jiaping, President of the Shanghai Enterprise Confederation and Shanghai Entrepreneurs Association, pointed out in his speech that the digital economy and ESG have become significant drivers for global enterprise development, and their integration is an inevitable trend in the development of the times. The forum, which gathers Nobel laureate in Economics, entrepreneurs, and scholars, aims to share cutting-edge ideas and practical experiences.

Prof.Oliver Hart delivered a keynote speech on the theme "Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG: Where is the Future Path?", delving into the future development of corporate social responsibility and ESG. He introduced the current state of ESG theoretical and empirical research, pointed out the challenges faced by the traditional view of shareholder value maximization, and revealed the differences between shareholder value maximization and shareholder welfare maximization through case analysis. He further stated the significant role of shareholder intentions and shareholder voice in the development of enterprises, discussed and analyzed the obstacles to shareholder voice, and proposed various methods to increase shareholder participation.

Prof.WU Yuming, Executive Director of the Oliver Hart Research Center of Contracts and Governance, successively signed a cooperation agreement on industry-education-research-application with Cai Changkun, Vice President of Wind Information Technology Co., Ltd., Wang Lin, Head of Sina Finance Shanghai Station, Jiang Peng, Founder of Shanghai Furui Medical Technology Group Co., Ltd., and Yan Mingfeng, President of Shanghai Technology Exchange. On behalf of the Shanghai Enterprise Confederation/Shanghai Entrepreneurs Association, Liu Jiaping granted the Oliver Hart Research Center of Contracts and Governance the Shanghai Municipal People's Government Grassroots Legislative Contact Point (Shanghai Enterprise Confederation) as a legislative work consultation point.

In the keynote speech session, Zhu Hongren, Executive Vice President, and Secretary-General of the China Enterprise Confederation/China Entrepreneurs Association, delivered a keynote speech titled "Jointly Building China's ESG System to Promote Enterprises' Sustainable and High-Quality Development" via online video. He emphasized that Chinese enterprises should, on their new journey, use ESG as a reference to form new fulcrums for the development of new productive forces, as a benchmark to guide new directions for sustainable development, as a driving force to enhance new levels of high-quality development.

Prof. ZHOU Li from the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University delivered a keynote speech on the theme "Sustainable ESG Information Disclosure and Assurance of Listed Companies on China's A-Shares: Observations and Reflections." Taking chemical pharmaceutical companies with a market value of over ten billion as an example, he explored the quality and value of information disclosure in ESG reports and further discussed whether the ESG reports disclosed by A-share companies help shareholders understand the company's operating behaviors. He pointed out that quantifying the relationship between ESG information and corporate financial performance and market valuation, through the analysis of big data samples, he focused on specific issues such as the business introducers and intermediary commissions in the context of commercial bribery risks and compliance arrangements.

Prof. WU Yuming delivered a keynote speech titled "ESG and Sustainable Development Evaluation of Listed Companies: Theoretical Methods and the Launch of the ECUST-Wind Index." He elaborated on the theoretical and methodological foundations of ESG evaluation, pointing out the high degree of alignment between the traditional concept of "unity of heaven and humanity," the modern "five major development concepts," and the ESG philosophy. This alignment provides a profound ideological foundation and conceptual pathway for the localization of ESG practices. He also emphasized the importance of multi-dimensional sustainable and coordinated development in terms of population, resources, environment, economy, and society.

The sub-forums focused on in-depth discussions and exchanges on themes such as "Corporate Governance and Sustainable Development under the Digital Economy," "Building a High-Quality ESG System: ESG Information Disclosure, Assurance, and Investment Practices," and "New Quality Productive Forces, Brand Value, and Corporate Sustainable Development (ESG)."

At Sub-forum One, Prof. WANG Yongqin, a professor at the School of Economics at Fudan University, a specially appointed professor in the National Talent Program of the Ministry of Education, and director of the Lvting Research Center for Emerging Financial Forms at Fudan University, delivered a keynote speech on "Law, Finance and Labor." Prof. LI Youping, the head of the Economics Department, presented a report titled "Data Portability and the Collection of Personal Data." Prof. Jiang Shicheng, the deputy director of the Oliver Hart Research Center of Contracts and Governance, shared on the theme "Will ESG Become a Tool for Managers to Pursue their Private Benefits?" Li Jiang, a doctoral student of the School, shared a paper co-authored with Prof. Wu Yuming and Liu Zhenying. The sub-forum was chaired by Prof. Qin Xiangdong, an adjunct professor at the Business School and a professor at the Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

At Sub-forum Two, Dong Dexiang, ESG Business Director of Wind Information Technology Co., Ltd., Xue Dongyang, Chief Human Resources Officer of China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd. and President of China Chengxin Green Finance Technology Co., Ltd., Ni Tianling, Partner of the ESG Business Group at JunHe Law Offices, Shen Haoran, Founder and CEO of WeGreen Consulting and Chief Researcher at the ESG Research Center of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Li Tao, Director of the Sina Finance ESG Rating Center, Zhang Xinxing, Director of the ESG Research Center at the Shanghai Branch of the China Urban Planning and Design Institute, Mao Juan, Partner of Rongzheng Group, and Zhang Chenfeng, faculty member at the Business School, made thematic presentations.

This forum not only demonstrated the School's research capabilities in the fields of digital economy and ESG, but also established a good platform for exchange and cooperation among industry, academia, research, and application stakeholders. During the seminars and sub-forums, participants actively asked questions and engaged in lively discussions, gaining a lot from the event. The experts present unanimously believed that this conference would promote innovative development in theoretical research, empirical research, and practical application of digital economy and ESG, contributing wisdom and strength to China's sustainable and high-quality development.