At the 25th Anniversary of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), held on 2 December in Beijing, Dr Huimin Song, Professor of Accounting at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC) and Director of the University of Nottingham Case Innovation Centre (NCIC), was appointed to the UNGC’s Sustainable Finance Expert Group. This appointment highlights her widely recognised academic leadership and underscores UNNC’s active contributions to advancing global sustainability research and practice.
During the ceremony, Dr Song joined six other distinguished experts to witness the official launch of the Sustainable Finance Expert Group and to formally take up her position as a member. Embedding Chinese insights and practices in the global agenda, the group will focus on building a collaborative platform for sustainable finance that supports the development of international standards and provides financial solutions for the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Dr Song elaborated on the group’s mission: "Specifically, we will dedicate our efforts to developing a sustainable finance standards system tailored to the BRI, establishing a comprehensive assessment framework that integrates environmental benefits, social inclusivity, and economic sustainability. Furthermore, we will leverage financial instruments to direct capital towards projects that deliver both ecological and social value, and use collaborative governance networks to provide stable policy expectations and risk mitigation for sustainable investments."
These initiatives seek to address a fundamental bottleneck in global sustainable development. According to UNGC research, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 requires global annual investment of between US$3 to 5 trillion. Faced with this immense need, establishing a new financing paradigm that holistically balances environmental impact, social inclusion, and economic sustainability has become crucial to promoting high-quality BRI development and supporting the UNGC's Forward Faster initiative.
As a long-term knowledge partner of the UNGC, NCIC continues to contribute its professional expertise to academic research and the development of knowledge systems. Key outputs—including 20 Case Examples of Private Sector's Sustainable Development in China for 20 Years and United Nations Global Compact 2025 Progress Report—have been officially released through the UNGC's global channels. These valuable knowledge products, reflecting UNNC’s insight and scholarship, provide robust academic foundations and practical guidelines for achieving the global SDGs.
We aim to integrate more 'Chinese Practices' into the global agenda, refining them into 'Chinese Solutions' for international reference. This will help build a rich and diverse global governance system, continuously transforming local wisdom into public value that supports the world in addressing our shared challenges.
Published on 02 December 2025