First look at Sustainable Design China Summit taking place in Beijing this September

Following on from its successful launch last year, the Sustainable Design China Summit returns for 2023. The event, an evolution of Design China Beijing, is held at the Beijing Exhibition Center from 21-23 September 2023 and is a must-visit for designers, architects, developers, and decision makers looking to design a sustainable future.

Thanks to a change of venue, the event organisers are this year able to expand the exhibition area. In addition to the Sustainable Design China Summit, the event will also feature a must-visit mix of exhibitors showcasing sustainable products and materials, technology and other innovation solutions plus specially curated installations and features.

The Sustainable Design China Summit will focus on innovative, nature-positive solutions and material uses for the built environment. It will focus on circular regenerative strategies, and groundbreaking net zero design concepts that also perform well to guarantee real, sustainable innovation.

A total of 3,500 Sustainable Design China Summit attendees and over 10,000 exhibition visitors will participate in thought-leading talks and workshops. They will have the opportunity to explore an exhibition space full of eco-focussed products with the opportunity to forge key partnerships with architects, designers, local and national government professionals plus development and education specialists.

There are six key themes over the three days.

 Day One – 21 September – Designing a Sustainable Future & Circular Design Matters

Day one will open with the theme of Designing a Sustainable Future including an opening session by Orianna Fielding, Chief Sustainability Advisor, Sustainable Design China Summit plus a session on Sponge Cities featuring Allan Zhang, CEO of Shui On Xintiandi Limited and another on the theme of Nature Positive Design Biodiversity where Mario Cucinella, Founder and Creative Director, Mario Cucinella Architects will be speaking. Sessions that afternoon are focussed on the theme of Circular Design Matters and include discussions on the Circular Economy Boosts Carbon Peaking Carbon Neutrality featuring Zhu Dajian, Distinguished Professor of School of Economics & Management, Director of the Institute of Governance for Sustainable Development, and Vice Chairman of University Academic Committee at Tongji University.

Materials Designer and Curator Chris Lefteri, who also has a material installation at the Sustainable Design China Summit featuring100 different design materials will speak about Sustainable Materials on the first afternoon of the Summit. A panel discussion entitled: How to Create Sustainable Design Products that Engage and Connect with Consumers? will also take place in the afternoon with panellists including Alex Sun, Vice President, Envision Digital/GM of Carbon Management Business/Chief Sustainability Officer and Zhao Xin, Vice President, Yili. There will also be a session on The Impact of Sustainable Business Models on Design moderated by Dr. Lu Jianzhong, board member of Global Reporting Initiative GRI with panellists including David Zhang, the China CEO of Oatly.

Day Two – 22 September – On the path to Net Zero & Towards A Greener FUTURE

Day two will begin with sessions looking at the theme of On the Path to Net Zero including an examination of How Scientific and Technological Innovation Promotes Zero Carbon Cities Planning and Design by Dr Zhang Yalong, Executive Director of SISD (Science-Innovation Institute of Sustainable Development, Shenzhen).

John Haffner, Deputy Director-Sustainability of Hang Lung Properties will discuss Carbon Negative Construction and there will be a panel discussion on How to Balance Economic and Ecological Benefits in Zero-energy Building, moderated by Haizhu Zhou, President of Urban and Rural Planning Institute of China Construction and Research Institute with panellists Raymond Yau, General Manager – Technical Services and Sustainable Development at Swire Properties, Jesper Jos Olsson, Group CEO and Founding Partner, White Peak and MK Leung, Director of Sustainable Design, Ronald Lu & Partners.

The theme of Towards a Greener Future, held in conjunction with the BRE will include a welcome speech from Gary Zhao, General Manager of BRE China. There will be a talk on International Exchange and Integration of Advanced Concepts of Green and Sustainable Buildings from Chong Meng, Director of the Green Buildings Research Centre at the China Society for Urban Studies, as well as a talk on Green Building Case Studies by Angus Li, Senior Associate Director of Savills Property Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd and Henry Yang, Managing Director at Haskoll.

Day Three – 23 September – Holistic Hospitality & The Empathetic Workplace

The Holistic Hospitality theme will be examined through sessions on Hyper Local Design with Tina Tang, The Tang Hotel and EOSO hotel founder and designer Aoyama Shuhei. There will also be a session on Zero Waste Hospitality and Mars Tang, Engineering Director, Hilton will speak on Holistic Wellness Strategies plus there will be a panel session on How Hotels are Blending Design and Technology for a Greener Tomorrow, moderated by Lucky Chan, President, Celebrity City Hotel Group with panellists including Cody J Allen, the China Managing Director of Stey.

Finally, the theme of the Empathic Workplace will be explored through sessions on Creating the Positive Workplace Experience by Design with contributions from Qing Ye, Chairman, Shenzhen Institute of Building Research Co Ltd. A session on Flexibility and Wellbeing in the Workplace will feature Patricia Viel, CEO & Partner, ACPV Architects and Antonio Citterio. Speakers at The Agile Workplace session will include Freck Qin, Principal and Studio Director, Gensler.

Sustainable strategies require ongoing commitment from all of us, both individuals and businesses to continually strive for better, carbon positive solutions in everything we do and all we consume. Sustainable Design China Summit brings together thought leaders, innovators, and pioneers of sustainability in the world of architecture and design to make this happen.

Zhuo Tan, Show Director of Sustainable Design China Summit says, “We are proud of what we achieved in the inaugural edition of the Summit and will look to build on that success, providing a unique platform for senior decision makers to take part in discussions, network and make new connections in the world of sustainable design.”

Orianna Fielding, Chief Sustainability Advisor, Sustainable Design China Summit adds,  “Having a structure in place to enable the making of continuous improvements towards your corporate sustainability goals by setting positive environmental targets and measuring and reducing carbon emissions, should form the cornerstones of every company’s core values and business strategy.”